Conn. Employers Should Start Preparing Now for Hike in State’s Minimum Wage to $8.25 in 2010
NEW HAVEN, Conn., Nov. 16 /PRNewswire/ — Connecticut employers should start preparing now for the impending increase in the state’s hourly minimum wage and should take note of new poster requirements being imposed this month by both the federal government and the state labor department, said attorneys on LeClairRyan’s Labor & Employment team.
“Employers will want to hit the ground running on January 1 when the minimum wage goes up to $8.25,” advised Elizabeth K. Acee, a partner based in the firm’s New Haven office. “With a view toward adjusting seamlessly to the change in the hourly rate, they would do well to start taking a look at their payroll operations and ordering and displaying new wage-and-hour posters.”
And as they conduct this advance-planning, Acee added, employers should bear in mind that the state’s wage-and-hour statutes contain a number of unique provisions, all of which are strictly enforced by the Department of Labor (DOL). Under state law, for example:
- Employers are prohibited from paying employees on a biweekly basis without a DOL waiver.
- Employers are required to store certain wage and hour records on individual sites, even in cases where a company with multiple Connecticut locations is headquartered in the state. Deviation from this requirement requires a DOL waiver.
- Employers are prohibited from deducting the cost of uniforms, meals and the like from employee paychecks without appropriate DOL waivers.
As a result of the minimum-wage increase, employers are legally required to obtain and display updated posters showing the new wage. A digital copy of the poster (“Wage & Workplace Administrative Regulations”) may be downloaded from the website of the Connecticut Department of Labor via the following link: http://www.ctdol.state.ct.us/wgwkstnd/DOL-75.pdf
Lawmakers passed the wage hike in June 2008 by successfully overriding Republican Gov. M. Jodi Rell’s veto. The law raised Connecticut’s minimum wage by 35 cents in 2009 and 25 cents in 2010.
The new rate will affect approximately 65,000 workers in the state. All employers, including those with out-of-state headquarters, must comply with the deadline or face minimum civil fines of $300 for each employee paid at the old rate, Acee noted. “This is over and above back wages and interest,” she said. “Employers who are based outside of Connecticut but operate in the state should take note–they must comply with all changes to Connecticut’s wage and hour laws.”
Meanwhile, Connecticut employers covered by federal anti-discrimination laws have until November 21 to meet new poster requirements related to the ADA Amendments Act and the Genetic Information Non-discrimination Act (GINA), said Margaret P. “Penny” Mason, senior counsel on the firm’s Labor & Employment team.
“The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is requiring updated posters to address changes under both of these acts,” Mason noted. “Don’t get tricked into paying a fee to conform to the requirement for these updated postings. Employers can obtain both a supplemental GINA poster and updated comprehensive posters for free by downloading them from the EEOC, or by ordering copies from the EEOC by mail.”
The posters are available for download at: http://www.eeoc.gov/employers/upload/eeoc_gina_supplement.pdf and http://www.eeoc.gov/employers/upload/eeoc_self_print_poster.pdf
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Founded in 1988, LeClairRyan provides business counsel and client representation in corporate law and high-stakes litigation. With offices in California, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Washington, D.C., the firm has more than 300 attorneys representing a wide variety of clients throughout the nation. For more information about LeClairRyan, visit www.leclairryan.com.
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