Rojgar Job News

Are you one of those people who thinks two is better than one? I know I am. So, with that in mind, I’m pleased to announce that my lawfirm, Shipman & Goodwin has launched a new labor & employment law blog called “Employment Law Letter”.  The firm’s blog is an extension of the firm’s long-standing newsletter led, most recently, by my partner Brian Clemow. And when I mean long-standing, I mean 40  years worth of production. That’s a publication record worth recognizing! As announced by my fellow partner, Gabe Jiran, the new blog will also provide frequent and timely articles on a variety of topics as they occur.  In addition, the blog will post announcements of upcoming seminars and events, including my firm’s popular CLE webinar series. One of the first posts of that blog highlights a CLE program that I’m doing this Tuesday via webinar entitled “Are You at Risk? An In-Depth Look at Workplace Sexual Harassment P...

In trying to eliminate sexual harassment in the workplace, how do we go beyond just training? That is, in essence, the question that my colleagues (Jarad Lucan and Ashley Marshall) and I have been talking about recently. And, fortunately for you, a topic of a free CLE webinar we are putting on a few weeks.  It’s set for February 13th at 12 p.m. What we are really looking at is how do you get your company culture and actions in line to try to reduce and eradicate sexual harassment from your workplace? It does not, obviously, happen overnight.  Perhaps it’s revising your policies. Perhaps it’s adding an ombudsman program if you’re large enough. Or perhaps it involves encouragement of employee complaints so that you can tackle the issue more directly. There is no one size fits all to this but it’s an important enough topic (naturally) that we wanted to devote a CLE webinar just to this. Hope you can join us for this timely topic. The post Beyond Trai...

In college, I wanted to write for some of the major newspapers and be on their front page. Little did I know that my big break would now come years later, as a result of being on the cover of the Hartford Business Journal.   Wow. But enough about me.  This blog is about employment law so let’s talk about the article inside the HBJ because it’s definitely worth a read.  ‘ You see, the photo, has little to do with the content.  And the content is what employers should really be paying attention to. The article is all about the topic of sexual harassment in the workplace, which continues to make headlines each day. As I noted in the article, we just haven’t seen an increase in lawsuits….yet. [F]or non-celebrity victims and their employers, the implications are just as dangerous and costly, so prevention is becoming a greater focus for many companies, lawyers say. “It’s been the topic of conversation,” said ...

Did you ever have an employee post a status update from his termination meeting with HR? I wrote about it a few years ago.  It seemed shocking then, and if anything, we’ve only seemed to be shocked more and more as each new tweet or blog post gets distributed with some outrageous behavior from an employee (or sometimes an employer!). It used to be that companies would have weeks, if not days, to respond to publicity.  Now, it’s hours or even minutes. Companies want to preserve their culture and reputation — and their corresponding products and services — more than ever. One misstep can get the online outrage machine going.  heck, even McDonalds’ got into a online snafu when it released (and then promptly sold out of) a unique retro szechuan sauce. This Thursday, my colleague Jarad Lucan and I will be talking about these issues at our annual Labor & Employment Fall Seminar.  It’s nearly sold out, but you can still see about regi...

Last night, I had the opportunity to attend a terrific little CLE program at the Hartford County Bar Association about practicing before administrative agencies in the state.  And while the discussion regarding the Department of Children and Family Services wasn’t exactly helpful for my own practice, a short presentation by Charles Krich of the Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities was. He offered up a description about the CHRO practice but even more helpful, offered up practice tips and descriptions of the pet peeves of CHRO staff. Among the pet peeves? “Lack of communication makes things difficult. There are some firms, particularly complainant representation, that are difficult to schedule with.” I won’t share all his secrets here on a blog, but as it turns I’ve got the perfect opportunity coming up to talk about this and more. Next week, my colleague Chris Engler and I are presenting “When the CHRO and EEOC Come Calling: Strategies fo...

Fun fact: There was no class on pandemics in law school. Sure, we briefly joked about the power that Governors and Presidents COULD exert in case of an emergency but it was mostly in the context of nuclear war and talking about how a Secretary of Commerce could become President (yes, this was way before Designated Survivor). And yet this week, my fellow lawyers and I have been fielding calls that would’ve seemed absolutely crazy a few weeks ago. The weird thing is that I’ve been driving a few of my friends, family and colleagues a little crazy with my predictions for over a month that we were headed here. I got designated a COVID-19 “expert” (no certificate required!) early on and frankly, I think they were humoring me. How DO you practice law in a pandemic? In answering that I’m reminded of a joke about how you tell the difference between a male and female bear? Very carefully. Over the course of this week in particular, I’ve had several conference c...

A few weeks ago, I did an inital post about how the new OSHA guidance on masks only served to complicate efforts for employers to comply with any such rules. This week, my colleague Alfredo Fernandez (with only a little help from me — byline notwithstanding) posted a more thorough post on the ins and outs of masks, face coverings and personal protective equipment. You can read the entire post here.  Here’s a sneak peek: The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) recently issued guidance to answer frequently asked questions (FAQs) about the proper use of cloth face masks “at work” during the COVID-19 pandemic. The OSHA guidance must be read in conjunction with any applicable state rules and orders, many of which currently mandate that employees wear a face covering with limited exceptions. Because face masks are an essential defense against the spread of COVID-19, understanding your employees’ respiratory health risks and establishing...