In Connecticut, an employer may be held liable for double damages and attorney's fees if it fails to pay "wages" that have been earned by an employee. Conn. Gen. Stat. §31-71a. By permitting an employee who has earned wages to bring suit for not only his or her wages, but also for double damages and attorney's fees the State took a strong stand in favor of the payment of earned wages.

However, the type of compensation included in the definition of "wages" has long been debated in Connecticut. Recently, the Connecticut Supreme Court put an end to this debate. The Court ruled that even when an employee has a contractual right to a year-end bonus, if the amount of the bonus was discretionary, it did not constitute wages under Connecticut's wage and hour statute. The Supreme Court's recent decision closes a loophole in the law for employees with contractual annual bonuses if the amount of the bonus is subject to the employer's discretion.

Nevertheless, an employee with a contractual right to a bonus may still bring an action for breach of contract (as distinct from a "wage" claim under the statute) against his or her employer if a contractual bonus is wrongfully withheld.

Interpretation of FMLA Expands Definition of "Son and Daughter" to Accommodate
Non-Traditional Families

The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) issued an "Administrator's Interpretation" of the Family and Medical Leave Act's (FMLA) definition of "son and daughter" on June 22, 2010. The definition was expanded to allow an employee to take FMLA leave to care for children for whom the employee provides day-to-day care or financial support and intends to assume parental responsibility, despite the lack of a legal or biological parent-child relationship.

The Administrator's Interpretation would apply, for example, to an employee jointly raising an adopted child with a same-sex partner who does not have a legal relationship with the child. The Interpretation would also apply to stepparents of a child whose biological parents have divorced, who would be deemed the "son or daughter" of both the biological parents and the stepparents.

If an employer has questions about whether an employee's relationship to a child is covered under FMLA, the employer may require the employee to provide a statement asserting that the requisite family relationship exists.

Our Employment Law Practice

Rucci Burnham's Employment Law attorneys have a wealth of experience in all aspects of the employment relationship and offer a broad spectrum of legal representation in the many facets of Employment Law. While most law firms limit their practice to the representation of either employers or employees, it has been our experience that seeing both perspectives provides valuable insights that better serve our clients' interests and facilitates creative solutions to employment disputes. We regularly assist employers and employees in the negotiation and drafting of employment, severance, and non competition agreements.