DianeN

Aug 16, 2021 by DianeN

HOW THE NEW MARIJUANA LAW IMPACTS EMPLOYERS IN CT

-Article from SBDC

On June 22, 2021, Governor Lamont signed the Act Concerning Responsible and Equitable Regulation of Adult-Use Cannabis into law, legalizing the use of recreational marijuana in our state.

The new law allows adults (21 and older) to have on their person up to 1.5 ounces of marijuana or have up to 5 ounces in a locked container. It also allows for the expungement of some marijuana-related convictions, sets up a framework for businesses to apply for licenses to grow, manufacture, retail and distribute, and carries out restrictions on employers and protections for employees.

Many businesses have drug-free workplace environments, and it is important to understand what the new law means in the context of maintaining safety in the workplace. Many of the provisions in the law have gone into effect as of July 1, 2021, but policies related to the workplace do not go into effect until July 1, 2022, which gives you time to review them and make any necessary adjustments.

So which provisions impact you as an Employer?

As an employer, you can still maintain a drug-free workplace and implement policies prohibiting the possession, use or other consumption of cannabis by an employee, except for those employees protected by the state’s medical marijuana law. If you implement a policy of this kind or are updating an existing one, you must have them in writing and make them available both to employees and prospective hires (at the time of an offer) prior to these policies going into effect.

If employees use marijuana outside the workplace, you cannot take action against them unless you have made it explicitly clear in your policies. If you put into place a policy that prohibits use of marijuana outside the workplace, you need to be aware of the laws in our state limiting drug testing of current employees (with the related exemptions for certain types of employees). You must also make reasonable accommodations for those protected by the state’s medical marijuana law.

Similarly, you cannot take action against or refuse to hire someone because of their use of marijuana outside the workplace before you hired them. There are exemptions here as mentioned above, for employees or prospective employees in certain positions such as those whose position requires them to operate a motor vehicle, are in a position which creates conflict with federal law or funded by a federal grant, care for children or medical-needs individuals, and a few others.

Under the following circumstances you are able to take appropriate action based on:
1. Reasonable suspicion of an employee’s use of marijuana while on the job or on call, or
2. A determination that an employee “manifests specific, articulable symptoms of drug impairment while working at the workplace or on call that decrease or lessen the employee’s performance of the duties or tasks of the employee’s job position.”

The Act defines “articulable symptoms” to include (but not limited to):

“(i) symptoms of the employee’s speech, physical dexterity, agility, coordination, demeanor, irrational or unusual behavior, or negligence or carelessness in operating equipment [or] machinery, (ii) disregard for the safety of the employee or others, or involvement in any accident that results in serious damage to equipment or property, (iii) disruption of a production or manufacturing process, or (iv) carelessness that results in any injury to the employee or others.”

If as an employer you are required to carry-out drug-testing due to compliance with federal funding guidelines, or a collective bargaining agreement that addresses it specifically, and an employee fails to pass the test (shows a positive result), you may take action regarding their employment. You may also do so if there is reasonable suspicion of use on the job, or if the employee presents the articulable symptoms described above.

While you have time to review and implement changes until July 1, 2022, you want to make sure to do so and communicate them across your workforce.

To read the full Act (300 pages) please follow this link: https://www.cga.ct.gov/2021/ACT/PA/PDF/2021PA-00001-R00SB-01201SS1-PA.PDF

Aug 16, 2021 by DianeN

NEW LAW-MUST REPORT CYBERSECURITY BREACHES

Connecticut state law requires any person who conducts business in the state and experiences a breach of security involving computerized data to provide notice to the Office of the Attorney General in addition to state residents who may be affected.

Anyone who conducts business in Connecticut and who– in the ordinary course of business– owns, licenses or maintains computerized data that includes personal information is required to disclose a security breach to state residents whose personal information is believed to have been compromised. Notice to consumers must be made without unreasonable delay but not later than ninety days from discovery of the breach.

The details of Connecticut’s reporting requirements are outlined in Connecticut General Statutes § 36a-701b.

Business owners must also notify the Office of the Attorney General, no later than when the affected residents are notified, according to the law. Failure to provide such notice may be considered a violation of the Connecticut Unfair Trade Practices Act (CUTPA).

To assist business owners in complying with this requirement, the Office of the Attorney General has a dedicated email address for reporting: ag.breach@ct.gov.

To simplify the process and minimize the need for the Office of the Attorney General to request additional information, business owners are asked to include the following in any breach notification:

A general description of the breach, including the date(s) of the breach, when and how the breach was discovered, and any remedial steps taken in response to the breach.
The number of Connecticut residents affected by the breach.
A detailed list of the categories of personal information subject of the breach.
The date(s) that notification was/ will be sent to the affected Connecticut residents.
A template copy of the notification sent to the affected Connecticut residents.

The name and contact information of person reporting the breach, and name and address of the business that experienced the breach, along with the type of business should also be provided.

The office should also be informed as to whether credit monitoring or identity theft protection services has been or will be offered to affected Connecticut residents, as well as a description and length of such services. As of October 2018, the required minimum length of credit monitoring is 24 months.

The legislation is Public Act 21-119, An Act Incentivizing the Adoption of Cybersecurity Standards for Businesses goes into effect on October 1, 2021.

According to a 2018 CBIA survey, nearly one-quarter of Connecticut businesses experienced a data breach or cyberattack in the previous two years. And 90% of those were small businesses with less than 100 employees.

Aug 16, 2021 by DianeN

WHAT IS A FRINGE BENEFIT AND ARE THEY TAXABLE?

The subject of taxation of employee benefits made rare headlines earlier this month when a New York grand jury indicted the Trump Organization and its chief financial officer, Allen Weisselberg, for tax crimes relating to unreported fringe benefits.

The indictment alleges that Weisselberg intentionally failed to report and pay taxes on over $1.75 million of indirect employee compensation. Such indirect compensation is alleged to include lease payments for Weisselberg and his spouse’s apartment and their personal cars, utility bills, garage expenses, and private school tuition for members of Weisselberg’s family.

In support of the criminal charges in this case, the indictment describes concerted, years-long efforts by Weisselberg and the organization to conceal these payments, while at the same time internally tracking them as part of Weisselberg’s employee compensation.

But in less nefarious-seeming instances, employer-provided benefits for housing, automobile use, and tuition are actually pretty common, and sometimes non-taxable.

So how do you know when such an item is taxable employee compensation and must be reflected in employee pay, and when it isn’t?

What Are Fringe Benefits?

According to the IRS, a fringe benefit is a form of pay for the performance of services. This is naturally a broad category.

For example, an employee receives a fringe benefit when an employer allows the employee to use a business vehicle to commute to and from work.

Unless specifically excluded by the tax code, any fringe benefit provided by an employer to an employee is taxable.

Unless specifically excluded by the tax code, any fringe benefit provided by an employer to an employee is taxable, and must be included in the employee’s pay and reported on their annual Form W-2.

Luckily, there are a number of such exclusions. The most common tax-free fringe benefits include group health insurance, and contributions to qualified retirement plans (e.g., 401(k) plans), Health Savings Accounts, and flexible spending arrangements.

But what about the other fringe benefits mentioned above that employers may provide?

Rent/Lodging Expenses

The Internal Revenue Code provides a very narrow set of circumstances in which an employer’s payment or reimbursement of an employee’s regular housing expenses could be excluded from an employee’s pay.

To qualify for the lodging exclusion under Section 119 of the code, the lodging must be provided: (1) for the employer’s convenience; (2) on the employer’s business premises; and (3) as a condition of the employee’s employment (i.e., the employee is required to accept the lodging).

The tax code provides a very narrow set of circumstances in which reimbursement of regular housing expenses is non-taxable.

If these conditions are met, the value of lodging provided to the employee, as well as the employee’s spouse and dependents, may be excluded from the employee’s pay.

In contrast to housing expenses that mostly benefit an employee personally, employer reimbursement of substantiated hotel and other travel expenses incurred by employees on bona fide business trips for employers are commonly excludible from an employee’s pay.

Auto Allowances/Company Vehicles

An employee’s personal use of an employer-provided automobile any more than a minimal amount is generally considered compensation that must be included in an employee’s gross income.

There are a variety of ways that the income tax regulations permit employers and employees to account for the taxable portion of an employee’s use of an employer-provided automobile.

One of the more common methods used by employers for calculating employee compensation is the cents-per-mile rate set annually by the IRS.

There are a variety of permissible ways to account for the taxable portion of an employee’s use of an employer-provided automobile.

Another common, transportation-related fringe benefit is parking and/or transit passes.

For 2021, benefits up to $270 per month can be excluded from employee income for both qualified parking and/or for combined commuter highway vehicle transportation and transit passes.

Any benefit provided in excess of these annual limits must be included in employee pay.

Tuition

Section 127 of the tax code allows a special exclusion from employee pay for up to $5,250 per calendar year in expenses paid toward qualified educational assistance programs.

For purposes of this exclusion, “educational assistance” means payment by an employer, of expenses incurred by or on behalf of an employee, for education of the employee (including, but not limited to, tuition, fees, and similar payments, books, supplies, and equipment).

An employer may also generally provide courses of instruction for an employee (including related books, supplies and equipment— but not lodging, transportation or meals) on a tax-free basis.

An employer may generally provide courses of instruction for an employee on a tax-free basis.

In addition, under the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, employer payments toward qualified student loans (including principal or interest), as either payments to employees or direct payments to lenders, are excludible from an employee’s pay through Dec. 31, 2025.

In summary, it is important for employers to be aware when they provide employees with fringe benefits, at the time the benefits are provided, to ensure that such benefits receive proper tax and accounting treatment.

If an employer is unsure whether—and to what extent—a particular fringe benefit should be included in an employee’s pay, it is always prudent to seek advice from a competent professional.

This article was first posted on the Carmody Torrance Sandak & Hennessy LLP website and is reposted here with permission.

Aug 16, 2021 by DianeN

HR QUESTION ABOUT MANDATORY VACCINES

Q: We made the COVID-19 vaccine mandatory for our employees and asked each employee to show their vaccination card to our HR manager. One of our employees misplaced their card, and another submitted a card that’s photocopied and blurry.

How should we handle situations like this, where the employee is not able to adequately establish their vaccination status? And for those who refuse the vaccine and are discharged, are we on the hook for their unemployment claims?

A: As an employer, you may require that your in-person employees be vaccinated, and you may require that they submit proof of vaccination status. (Remember that there are two exceptions to this rule: those employees whose disabilities conflict with the COVID vaccine, and those with religious objections.)

If you believe an employee’s vaccination card is illegible, unreliable, or missing, you may require that your employee obtain and submit a replacement card.

Individuals can easily obtain a replacement vaccine card by contacting the provider that administered the employee’s vaccine in the first place—such as Walgreen’s or Hartford HealthCare.

Individuals can also contact the Connecticut Department of Public Health, and request written confirmation of their vaccination status.

Keep in mind that you, as an employer, may not request this information; you may only require that your employees obtain it, and forward it to you.

You should not request more information than what is contained on a CDC vaccination card.

Unemployment Benefits

If you terminate an employee for refusing to get a vaccine, in violation of company policy, that employee will likely not be eligible for unemployment benefits, as long as the following is true:

You terminated the employee for willful misconduct, in that they knowingly violated an effectively-communicated company policy requiring the vaccine.
The policy was “reasonable” and “reasonably applied.” For example, it considered exemptions for disabilities and religious objections, and gave employees sufficient time to obtain the vaccine.
The policy was uniformly enforced.

Unemployment claims based on terminations for vaccine refusal are new developments for the Connecticut Department of Labor.

However, if employers follow the guidelines listed above, they are unlikely to be liable for such claims.

HR problems? Email or call CBIA’s Diane Mokriski at the HR Hotline (860.244.1900) | @HRHotline.

Aug 16, 2021 by DianeN

EMPLOYERS NEED TO UPDATE EMPLOYEE HANDBOOKS

Several recent legal and cultural changes may influence the practices and policies of employers and their expectations of employees.

Reviewing and revising employee handbooks is an important step that employers can take to ensure their practices and policies are compliant with the applicable federal, state, and local laws.

Handbooks also provide an avenue for employers to communicate expectations to their employees related to their prescribed practices and policies.

Employers looking to update their handbooks may wish to discuss changes with competent legal counsel to be compliant with existing laws and ensure they are appropriate for their industry and workplace culture.

Connecticut employers may wish to address the following key topics in their employee handbooks for 2022.

Family and Medical Leave

Beginning Jan. 1, 2022, several significant changes to the Connecticut Family and Medical Leave Act will go into effect. In addition, covered employees will be eligible for paid leave benefits for certain qualifying reasons, consistent with the CTFMLA, including the birth or adoption of a child, the employee’s own serious health condition, and to care for a family member with a serious health condition.

These new changes to Connecticut leave law will likely necessitate changes to employer policies, practices, and procedures. This will include reviewing current employee leave policies, such as pregnancy leave and sick leave policies, to determine whether related polices are consistent.

Hair Texture and Style

Connecticut recently passed legislation prohibiting workplace discrimination based on hair texture and hairstyle.

The new law amends the Connecticut Fair Employment Practices Act, which prohibits employers with three or more employees from discriminating against employees based on protected characteristics, including race.

The legislation states that, effective March 4, 2021, “race” shall encompass ethnic traits historically associated with race, including hair texture and protective hairstyles.

“Protective hairstyles” include wigs, headwraps, individual braids, cornrows, locs, twists, Bantu knots, afros, and afro puffs. Employers also may want to review their equal employment opportunity policies to confirm consistency with this law.

Marijuana

Adult recreational use of marijuana was legalized in Connecticut on June 22, 2021. The new law contains several provisions that affect employers.

Specifically, effective July 1, 2022, employers may generally create and enforce policies to prohibit the possession, use, or other consumption of cannabis by an employee in order to maintain a drug-free workplace.

Employers may also take adverse employment action against an employee for the employee’s use of marijuana outside of the workplace, so long as the action is taken pursuant to an employer policy prohibiting such conduct.

Such policies must be in writing and made available to each employee prior to the policy’s enactment.

For prospective employees, employers must make the policies available at the time the employer makes an offer or conditional offer.

The new law also makes changes to reasonable suspicion testing obligations. Thus, employers may want to revise their handbooks to include applicable policies.

New Federal Holiday

On June 17, 2021, President Joe Biden signed legislation making Juneteenth, or June 19, a federal holiday.

The date commemorates the day in 1865 when enslaved people in Galveston, Texas learned of their freedom, two months after the Confederacy surrendered in the Civil War, and more than two years after the Emancipation Proclamation was issued.

Employers with handbook policies regarding holidays may want to amend those policies and/or amend other current time off options for employees in light of this legislation.

Remote Work

As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, many employers allowed their employees to work remotely.

Some employers have contemplated altering work arrangements for their employees on a more permanent basis as they encourage employees to return to the workplace.

Employers who offer new work arrangements, allow for more flexible schedules, or hire a remote workforce may want to update their employee handbooks to reflect these changes.

Employers may want to include information related to working remotely, such as appropriate communication tools and systems for meetings, protection of confidential information, employee oversight, electronic monitoring of remote employees, professional development, work hours, required hours of availability, and time off.

Additionally, employers may include a remote working alternative within any emergency or inclement weather closing policy.

Gender Pronouns

Ensuring that the workplace is inclusive and productive is critical to employers. As part of that commitment, employee handbooks may need to be updated to encompass more inclusive pronouns or otherwise reflect nonbinary gender identities.

Age of Applicants

On June 24, 2021, Connecticut passed legislation prohibiting employers with three or more employees from asking about a job applicant’s age, date of birth, graduation date(s) or dates of attendance at an educational institution on an initial application for employment, unless the request is based on a bona fide occupational qualification or if the information is required for complying with federal or state law.

Employers may want to review their equal employment opportunity policies and hiring procedures to ensure consistency with this law.

Lactation Breaks

Current law regarding expressing milk and breastfeeding in the workplace in Connecticut requires an employer with one or more employees to make a reasonable effort to provide a location, in close proximity to the work area, where an employee can express milk in private.

Beginning Oct. 1, 2021, this location must (1) be free from intrusion and shielded from the public while such employee expresses breast milk, (2) include or be situated near a refrigerator (or employee-provided portable cold storage device), and (3) include access to an electrical outlet.

Employers who have pregnancy accommodation policies may want to update them to ensure compliance with these new criteria.

Voting

Connecticut recently passed legislation, effective June 23, 2021, that requires employers to grant employees two hours of unpaid time off to participate in state elections.

Under this new law, the employee must request such time off not less than two working days prior to the election.

Employers may wish to modify handbooks that include voting leave policies to ensure compliance with the new law.

About the authors: Stephen W. Aronson is a partner with Robinson + Cole and chair of the firm’s employment litigation practice group. Rachel V. Kushel and Abby M. Warren are partners at Robinson + Cole and Kayla N. West is an associate in the firm’s labor, employment, benefits, and immigration group.

Aug 16, 2021 by DianeN

TAX FREE THIS WEEK!!!

Connecticut’s annual sales tax free week runs from Aug. 15 through Aug. 21. Retail purchases of most clothing and footwear items priced under $100 are exempt from the Connecticut sales and use tax during this week. The exemption applies to each eligible item costing under $100, regardless of how many of those items are sold to a customer on the same invoice.

Sales tax still applies to the entire price of any item that costs $100 or more.

Articles that are normally sold as a unit (for example, a pair of shoes) must continue to be sold in that manner; they cannot be separated and sold as individual items to qualify for the exclusion.

No tax is due on shipping and delivery charges in connection with any sale that is not taxable before adding the shipping and delivery charges. Adding shipping and delivery charges to an item of clothing or footwear costing less than $100 does not make the item taxable, even if the price of the item exceeds $100 after the shipping and delivery charges are added.

The state Department of Revenue Services has more information about sales tax free week.

HOW THE NEW MARIJUANA LAW IMPACTS EMPLOYERS IN CT

-Article from SBDC

NEW LAW-MUST REPORT CYBERSECURITY BREACHES

WHAT IS A FRINGE BENEFIT AND ARE THEY TAXABLE?

What Are Fringe Benefits?

Rent/Lodging Expenses

Auto Allowances/Company Vehicles

Tuition

HR QUESTION ABOUT MANDATORY VACCINES

Q: We made the COVID-19 vaccine mandatory for our employees and asked each employee to show their vaccination card to our HR manager. One of our employees misplaced their card, and another submitted a card that’s photocopied and blurry.

How should we handle situations like this, where the employee is not able to adequately establish their vaccination status? And for those who refuse the vaccine and are discharged, are we on the hook for their unemployment claims?

Unemployment Benefits

EMPLOYERS NEED TO UPDATE EMPLOYEE HANDBOOKS

Family and Medical Leave

Hair Texture and Style

Marijuana

New Federal Holiday

Remote Work

Gender Pronouns

Age of Applicants

Lactation Breaks

Voting

TAX FREE THIS WEEK!!!

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DianeN

-Article from SBDC

What Are Fringe Benefits?

Rent/Lodging Expenses

Auto Allowances/Company Vehicles

Tuition

Q: We made the COVID-19 vaccine mandatory for our employees and asked each employee to show their vaccination card to our HR manager. One of our employees misplaced their card, and another submitted a card that’s photocopied and blurry.

How should we handle situations like this, where the employee is not able to adequately establish their vaccination status? And for those who refuse the vaccine and are discharged, are we on the hook for their unemployment claims?

Unemployment Benefits

Family and Medical Leave

Hair Texture and Style

Marijuana

New Federal Holiday

Remote Work

Gender Pronouns

Age of Applicants

Lactation Breaks

Voting

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