Employment Alerts

• EEOC to Authorize Differences in Health Care Benefits for Older Retirees.
  
  In a January 15, 2007  ruling, the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission advised employers that it would allow employers to have slight differences in retiree health benefits.
  
  http://www.eeoc.gov/policy/docs/qanda_retireehealthrule.html

• Connecticut Supreme Court Interprets State Anti-Discrimination Law to Require Reasonable Accommodation for Disabled Employees.

Curry v. Allan S. Goodman, Inc., 286 Conn. 390 (2008) - The Connecticut Supreme Court recently reversed a summary judgment decision in favor of the employer defendant, and found that although CFEPA does not explicitly require that an employer make a “reasonable accommodation” for disabled employees, the Court now “require[s] employers to make a reasonable accommodation for an employee’s disability” under Connecticut antidiscrimination law. Explaining its rationale, the Court states that it has previously looked to federal antidiscrimination law when interpreting Connecticut antidiscrimination statutes. The Court also looked to the legislative history of CFEPA, which illustrates that the act was meant to provide significant protections for those with disabilities. Furthermore, many other states impose a reasonable accommodation requirement with regard to their own antidiscrimination laws and the CHRO has long embraced the right of reasonable accommodation for disabled employees under CFEPA. In evaluating the plaintiff’s reasonable accommodation claim, the Court looked to federal precedent for guidance. The Court further adopts the federal requirement that once an employee suggests an accommodation, the employer “must make a good faith effort to participate in that discussion,” as under federal law an employer has a “duty to engage in interactive processes in good faith.”