Legislation winding its way through the General Assembly could mandate that local and regional boards of education employ automatic external defibrillators as soon as July 1, 2009. In fact, S.B. 981 as proposed requires schools to train personnel in defibrillator operation and in the use of cardiopulmonary resuscitation at each school under the board’s jurisdiction. In addition, […]
Recent amendments to the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”) are certain to have a far-reaching impact on employers, as the new amendments expand the ADA’s reach and reverse an employer-friendly trend in court decisions that interpreted the statute. By expanding certain key definitions, the 2008 ADA Amendments bring within coverage of the statute a large number […]
The United States Department of Labor, the agency charged with the task of interpreting the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA), issued final revised regulations to the Act on November 17, 2008. The regulations will take effect on January 16, 2009, just days before President-elect Barack Obama takes office. The regulations mark the first major regulatory update of […]
Through H.R. 3195, our 110th Congress has vastly expanded the reach of the Americans with Disabilities Act, by effectively bringing within its reach a large number of individuals previously excluded under the current jurisprudence interpreting the Act. The Act still maintains its primary definition as to who is included thereunder (those with “a physical or mental […]
Today’s bills filed in the General Assembly include Raised Bill 5833, a proposed amendment to Connecticut General Statutes Section 53a-119, which would add as a felony criminal charge “obtaining school accommodations by misrepresenting a child’s residence”. This would be defined as a parent, guardian or person acting on behalf of such person (or student if […]
The Connecticut State Board of Labor Relations recently issued a decision, Region 16 Board of Education, Decision No. 4270 (2007), in which it held that a unilateral change in the workload of Special Education Teachers constituted a prohibited practice. In doing so, the Board created an exception to the general rule that a unit wide fixed practice […]
In a decision rendered recently by the American Arbitration Association, a AAA Arbitrator has ruled that a board of education had just cause to terminate a custodian with a relatively unblemished record for repeatedly leaving work early and recording on their time sheets that they had worked their full shift. The case involved two evening shift […]
On January 28, 2008, President Bush signed into law H.R. 4986, the National Defense Authorization Act for FY 2008 (“NDAA”). Section 585 of the NDAA amends the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (“FMLA”). The NDAA provides two new types of FMLA leave to employees with family members serving in the military: 1. Caregiver Leave: Permits […]
On May 23, 2007, the Equal Employment Opportunities Commission (EEOC) issued guidance on the treatment of employees with “caregiver responsibilities.” While the federal discrimination statutes do not directly prohibit discrimination against “caregivers,” the new EEOC guidance does note that discrimination against caregivers that is grounded in a federally protected class, such as sex or disability, can […]
In at least partial response to an incident in which a pedestrian was struck and killed by a school bus driver who had cocaine in his system, a law has been passed which now requires background checks and random drug testing of school bus drivers. While bus drivers employed by school districts are already subject to […]
