Changes in labor and employment bills affecting Connecticut employers

From MTAC partner Wilson Elser.

Lawmakers in Connecticut are considering several proposed bills in the state House and Senate that would significantly impact employers if enacted.

On-Call Shift Scheduling

The House and Senate proposed legislation that would require hourly workers to be paid if their shifts are cancelled on short notice. An employer would have to pay employees half their hourly regular rate for any scheduled work hours they do not work because the employer cancels or reduces the employees’ work hours when the employee has already reported to work or has not received a three-day notice from the employer.

Further, this bill requires an 11-hour break between shifts. Specifically, an employee may decline to work a shift that begins less than 11 hours after the end of the employee’s previous day’s shift or during the 11-hour period following the end of the employee’s shift that spanned two days. If the employee consents to this shift, the employer must obtain the consent in writing and the employee must be compensated at time and a half for the hours worked during the shift. On a related note, voluntary written consent is required if an employer wishes to schedule an employee without giving three days’ notice.

Read the full alert from Wilson Elser, which also discusses paid family medical leave and minimum wage.