On March 22, 2022, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) partially reopened the comment period to allow for additional public comment on specific topics covered by its proposed final standard to protect healthcare workers from workplace exposure to COVID-19.
Continue Reading OSHA Seeks Comments on Proposed Final Rule Protecting Healthcare Works from Occupational Exposure to COVID-19

On November 4, 2021, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration of the U.S. Department of Labor (“OSHA”), issued its long-awaited Emergency Temporary Standard (“ETS”), applicable to employers with at least 100 employees.  The ETS was issued by OSHA pursuant to President Biden’s COVID-19 Action Plan, announced last month, and provides minimum requirements in the implementation of mandatory vaccination policies.  The 490 page ETS is effective immediately, and preempts or supersedes any state or municipal law that conflicts with its requirements.
Continue Reading OSHA Issues Long-Awaited Emergency Temporary Standard for Employers

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

For the first time in sixty years, the U.S Department of Labor is substantively revising the regulation that articulates when two people or businesses are “joint employers” of an employee under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).  The final version of Joint Employer Status under the FLSA will be published this Thursday, January 16, and is effective on March 16, 2020.  See 29 CFR Part 791.  The unpublished version is available here.  The revisions are meant to “reduce uncertainty over joint employer status, promote greater uniformity among court decisions, reduce litigation, and encourage innovation in the economy.”  Franchise chains, temp agencies, and businesses that outsource their workforces are among those that will benefit from the revised rule.
Continue Reading U.S. Department of Labor Issues New Joint Employer Rule Applicable to Wage and Hour Violations under the Fair Labor Standards Act

On September 24, 2019, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) issued its final overtime rule as it relates to the minimum salary threshold for exempt employees. The DOL estimates that 1.3 million workers will be eligible for overtime pay as a result of its final rule.  Here is how the new rule will impact workers in Connecticut, Massachusetts and New York.
Continue Reading Update: DOL Issues Final Rule On Minimum Salary Threshold for Exempt Employees: The Impact in Connecticut, Massachusetts, and New York