Rojgar Job News

With the final few working days of the General Assembly session, we’re starting to see the outlines on bills that are pretenders vs. contenders. Yesterday, the House passed a contender on the subject of pay equity in a bi-partisan vote.  Unless the Senate decides not to bring up the matter (as it decided last year), employers should start preparing for its likely overall passage and implementation later this year. Four other states (including Massachusetts) have a bill of this type on the books. So what does House Bill 5386 say exactly? Well, less than it originally said. At the vote yesterday, the House passed “Amendment A” that eliminated some of the more controversial provisions of House Bill 5386. Ultimately, the bill would expand the prohibitions on pay secrecy now found in Conn. Gen. Stat. 31-40z, and prohibit an employer from: Inquiring or directing a third party to inquire about a prospective employee’s wage and salary history unless a prospecti...

January 1st is typically a time for new laws to kick in and 2019 is no exception. For employers, the biggest change is one that I discussed way back in May with amendments to Connecticut’s Pay Equity law. The new law prohibits employers from asking a job applicant his or her wage and salary history. But the prohibition does not apply in two situations: if the prospective employee voluntarily discloses his or her wage and salary history, or; to any actions taken by an employer, employment agency, or its employees or agents under a federal or state law that specifically authorizes the disclosure or verification of salary history for employment purposes. While salary may not be inquired, the law DOES allow an employer to ask about the other elements of a prospective employee’s compensation structure (e.g., stock options), but the employer may not ask about their value. The bill has a two year statute of limitations. Employers can be found liable for compensatory damages, attorn...

At our Shipman & Goodwin Labor & Employment Law seminar last week, one of the hot topics that got attendees talking was about minimum wage & overtime rules — both of which are in the midst of change. But my fellow partners brought up another law in that discussion that shouldn’t be overlooked.  And that provides a nice entry way into this week’s Employment Law Checklist Project #emplawchecklist. The law is set forth at Conn. Gen. Stat. Sec. 31-40z. The key prohibitions are set forth in subsection (b) as follows: No employer shall: (1) Prohibit an employee from disclosing or discussing the amount of his or her wages or the wages of another employee of such employer that have been disclosed voluntarily by such other employee; (2) Prohibit an employee from inquiring about the wages of another employee of such employer; (3) Require an employee to sign a waiver or other document that denies the employee his or her right to disclose or discuss the amount of ...