Employment Laws in Connecticut
Definition of employee. Employee means any person employed by an employer but does not include any individual employed by his or her parents, spouse or child, or in the domestic service of another.
Definition of employer. Employer includes the state and all political subdivisions of the state and any person employing three or more workers. For purposes of the prohibition on discrimination against smokers and the electronic monitoring provisions, employer includes anyone engaged in business who has any employees.
Prohibited employment discrimination. Employers may not discriminate against employees or job applicants on the basis of race, color, religious creed, age, sex, marital status, national origin, ancestry, present or past history or mental disorder, mental retardation, learning disability, or physical disability, including, but not limited to, blindness, or genetic information.
Effective October 1, 2007, the Human Rights and Opportunities Act makes it a discriminatory practice for any person to subject or cause to be subjected, any other person to the deprivation of any rights, privileges or immunities, secured or protected by the Constitution or laws of Connecticut or of the United States, on account of race, color, national origin, alienage, religion, sex, sexual orientation, blindness, and physical disability.
Sexual orientation. Employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation is prohibited. Religious organizations are excepted from the ban on sexual orientation discrimination.
Civil unions. Civil unions between same-sex couples are legally recognized in Connecticut.
Smoking preference. Employers or their agents may not require, as a condition of employment, that any employee or prospective employee refrain from smoking or using tobacco products outside the course of employment, or otherwise discriminate against any individual with respect to compensation, terms, conditions or privileges of employment for smoking or using tobacco products outside the course of employment. Any nonprofit organization or corporation whose primary purpose is to discourage the use of tobacco products by the general public is exempt from this law.
Age Discrimination. Requiring medical examinations for older employees for the purpose of determining such employees' physical qualification for continued employment is not unlawful.
Office seekers. Employers of 25 or more employees can not discriminate against, discipline or discharge any employee because the employee is a candidate for the office of representative or senator in the General Assembly; holds such an office; is a member-elect to such an office; or loses time from work in order to perform duties as a representative, senator or member-elect. However, employers are not required to pay wages or salaries for time lost due to these activities.
Electronic monitoring. Except as provided below, each employer who engages in any type of electronic monitoring must give prior written notice to all employees who may be affected, informing them of the types of monitoring that may occur. Each employer must post, in a conspicuous place that is readily available for viewing by its employees, a notice concerning the types of electronic monitoring that the employer may engage in. Such posting will constitute such prior written notice. When (1) an employer has reasonable grounds to believe that employees are engaged in conduct that (a) violates the law, (b) violates the legal rights of the employer or the employer's employees, or (c) creates a hostile workplace environment, and (2) electronic monitoring may produce evidence of this misconduct, the employer may conduct monitoring without giving prior written notice. The electronic monitoring provisions do not apply to a criminal investigation. Any information obtained in the course of a criminal investigation through the use of electronic monitoring may be used in a disciplinary proceeding against an employee.
Recordkeeping/posting requirements. Employers must post information concerning the illegality of sexual harassment and remedies available to victims of sexual harassment. Employers must post notices regarding compliance with Connecticut's Fair Employment Practices Act as provided by the Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities.
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