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Emily McDonough Souza is an Associate in the Litigation Department and the Labor and Employment Practice Group of Murtha Cullina LLP.  Her experience includes representing clients in a broad range of disputes involving insurance coverage, business torts, and contractual rights, as well as representing employers in claims involving discrimination and retaliation, breach of non-compete and restrictive covenants, and wage and hour violations.  Emily has regularly appeared on behalf of clients in both state and federal court matters, including oral arguments, mediations, depositions, and pretrial conferences.

Prior to joining Murtha Cullina, Emily clerked for the Honorable Eliot D. Prescott of the Connecticut Appellate Court.  She received her J.D. magna cum laude from Quinnipiac University School of Law, where she served as the Executive Managing Editor of the Quinnipiac Law Review. Emily earned her B.S. magna cum laude from the University of Connecticut, where she was a member of the Honors Program.

On August 2, 2023, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) adopted a new standard for assessing whether workplace rules, including policies found in handbooks, infringe upon employees’ rights under Section 7 of the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), in violation of Section 8(a)(1) of the NLRA.
Continue Reading NLRB Issues New Standard for Scrutinizing Employers’ Workplace Rules

On May 18, 2023, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) issued a non-binding “technical assistance” document that offers employers guidance on the applicability of Title VII to the use of artificial intelligence (“AI”) in employment selection procedures such as hiring, promoting and firing. The guidance comes as the EEOC continues to prioritize its consideration of potential discriminatory policies and practices that incorporate AI
Continue Reading EEOC Issues New Guidance on Use of Artificial Intelligence in Employment Selection Procedures

The National Labor Relations Board’s General Counsel Jennifer Abruzzo issued Memorandum GC 23-05 which provides additional guidance on the recent NLRB decision in McLaren Macomb regarding confidentiality and nondisparagement clauses
Continue Reading NLRB General Counsel Issues Guidance on Recent Decision Regarding Confidentiality and Non-Disparagement Clauses

On February 21, 2023, the National Labor Relations Board (the “Board”) issued a decision that returns to previous precedent, holding that employers may not offer employees severance agreements that require employees to broadly waive their rights under the National Labor Relations Act (“NLRA”).

Under the Board’s new rule issued in McLaren Macomb, 372 NLRB

On May 17, 2022, Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont signed into law the so-called “captive audience” bill (Senate Bill 163), which prohibits employers from requiring their employees to (a) attend employer-sponsored meetings that have a primary purpose of communicating the employer’s opinion concerning religious or political matters, or (b) listen to speech or view communications that have a primary purpose of communicating the employer’s opinion regarding religious or political matters.  The law goes into effect on July 1, 2022.
Continue Reading Connecticut Governor Signs Law Prohibiting Employer-Employee “Captive Audience” Communications

On January 13, 2022, the United States Supreme Court issued its highly anticipated decision blocking the Biden administration from enforcing an Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”) rule mandating vaccine-or-testing for large businesses.
Continue Reading Supreme Court Blocks Enforcement of OSHA Vaccine-or-Testing Mandate

As we first blogged on May 17, 2019, the Connecticut state hourly minimum wage will increase on August 1, 2021 from $12.00 to $13.00.  The change, made pursuant to Public Act 19-4, “An Act Increasing the Minimum Fair Wage,” will be the third of five scheduled annual increases to Connecticut’s hourly minimum wage since 2019.  A breakdown of the remaining increases under the Act is as follows:
Continue Reading Connecticut Minimum Wage to Increase to $13/hour on August 1, 2021

On January 21, 2021, President Biden issued an Executive Order on Protecting Worker Health and Safety. The order directed the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to take action to reduce the risk that workers may contract COVID-19 in the workplace. On June 10, 2021, OSHA announced a highly-anticipated Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) setting forth steps that employers in the healthcare industry must take to protect workers from COVID-19 risks while the pandemic is ongoing. The ETS will become effective 14 days after it is formally published in the Federal Register.
Continue Reading OSHA Announces COVID-19 Emergency Temporary Standard for Healthcare Industry