• a bill designed to curtail worker misclassification by increasing civil penalties for improper classification and facilitating worker complaints. Additional details about the Act may be found in a prior blog entry.  Day Pitney Alert. 
  a bill creating a new protected class under Connecticut’s Fair Employment Practices Act – family violence victims – and providing certain unpaid leave entitlements for eligible victims. (H.B. 5497). Governor Rell has not yet signed this legislation.

Two new bills, affecting only public employers, were also passed by the House and Senate:

• a bill requiring Connecticut to develop and implement guidelines authorizing employee telecommuting and work-at-home programs for employees of public employers (H.B.5202); and

• a bill prohibiting certain public agencies from asking about a prospective employee’s prior convictions until the person is deemed qualified for the position. (H.B. 5207).

The legislature, however, failed to take action on the following two significant bills:

• a bill giving employees seeking relief under Connecticut’s Fair Employment Practices Act the option of circumventing the Connecticut Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities (“CHRO”) and heading straight to state court (H.B. 5206); and

• a bill mandating Connecticut employers to provide paid sick leave to qualifying employees. (S.B. 63).  Discussion of Bill. 

Many believed that economic conditions would propel consideration of employee-friendly legislation but the legislative session failed to produce many changes to employment laws. Nevertheless, we expect bills like mandatory sick pay to be raised again in the next year.