Rojgar Job News

Wednesday evening is the first night of Passover — one of my favorite Jewish holidays. (And, not surprisingly, not the first time I’ve written about it.) Why? Traditionally, it is one of the few times the entire extended family gets together and celebrates with great homemade food. Think matzo ball soup, gefilte fish, hard-boiled eggs, latkes (yes, my family eats them for Passover too) and, of course, my mother’s meatballs (made with my late-grandmother’s recipe, of course). But this year will be different. No family seder. At least not in person. Instead, we are using the 2020 technology instead – a video conference. Call it the Year of the Zoom Seder. Will it work? Well it won’t be the same, but it’ll be different. And that’s just fine by me.  At least we’re together. And what about the food? Well, as it turns out, my mother lives nearby and we did a distanced tradeoff.  I received a fresh batch of matzo ball soup and mea...

Let’s face it: Trying to keep up with all the pandemic-related employment rules released by the state only to see them modified again and again, is challenging to say the least. And yet, the Safe Workplace Rules for Essential Employers have been modified yet again Tuesday night by the Department of Economic and Community Development, just two business days after they were already updated to ask masks as a requirement. The modifications don’t just fix a typo, but significantly change what had been put in place over the weekend by reducing the need for employees to wear a mask at all times. Effective immediately, in workplace settings where employees are working alone in segregated spaces (i.e. cubicles with walls, private offices, etc.), employees may remove their masks . But, workers need to wear masks or face coverings “from the time they enter the building until the time they arrive at their cubicle/work station and at any time they are leaving their work station an...

Governor Lamont late Friday issued new Executive Order 7BB, making it mandatory that everyone wear a mask or cloth face-covering in any public place where he or she is unable to maintain a safe social distance of at least six feet. The EO goes into effect on Monday, April 20th at 8 p.m. and also applies to any means of transit, including ride-sharing. The EO also requires DECD to update its safe workplace and safe retail store rules setting forth additional requirements for those settings. Thus, late Friday, DECD issued new workplace rules (here) and new retail store rules (here). Both appear to be effective immediately and run until at least May 20, 2020.  The rules require masks for all employees and customers. Specifically, in the workplace : Each employee shall be required to wear a mask or other cloth material that covers his or her mouth and nose at all times while in the workplace. Employers shall issue such masks or cloth face coverings to their employees. In the event an ...

Updated 10:15a, May 9, 2020 Late Friday afternoon, Governor Lamont announced that Phase I reopenings will occur as soon as May 20, 2020.  These will include “non-essential” offices that had been closed, restaurants, retail stores and hair salons.  Early on Saturday, we also got all the detailed rules that will need to be met to reopen; we’ll have a full update on my firm’s website after a full review . You can download the rules for offices here. The basic outline for the reopening rules are set forth is fairly consistent with the “Safe Workplace” rules for essential workplaces and also my posts on the subject as well. Here’s what you can look for, according to the early details released in the press conference: Offices should be limited to 50 percent capacity Employees should still work from home where possible Meetings are subject to a five person limit Employees should be seated at least six feet apart and employers should leave des...

Today (April 30th) was filled with more news for employers and, for the first time in a while, some of it was hopeful. Governor Ned Lamont gave the broad outline of a plan to reopen the state (as I predicted early this morning) though the plan’s details depend on control of the pandemic. What we do know is that if certain trends continue, some businesses will be allowed to reopen on May 20th including some retail (smaller stores), restaurants (outdoor seating only),, offices (with work from home still recommended), nail and hair salons, and some outdoor areas of museums and zoos. Lamont has indicated that masks will be required for most activities at this first stage.  Which additional businesses will be permitted to open and when is still very much to be decided.  No doubt that day camps and pools will be heavily discussed as numerous parents rely on such camps to watch their kids during the summer months. As of publication, the exact details of the reopening hadn...