Hartford's Shipman & Goodwin has launched EmploymentLawLetter.com, a free online resource for employers to stay current on developing issues in labor and employment law.  For the last 40 years, the firm has published the popular hard-copy version of the Employment Law Letter, and wanted to continue this legacy by expanding to an online format.

“In this day and age, many firms have gone to online publications such as blogs or mini-sites,” said Gabriel J. Jiran, chairman of Shipman's employer defense and labor relations practice group. “In fact, we are very proud of the award-winning blog ctemploymentlawblog.com, authored by our partner Dan Schwartz. However, as we looked at how people get information on any number of nonlegal subjects, we decided that we needed to add a format where our readers get updates in the same way they may get them from a news outlet.”

Recently launched, the site has a collection of articles and details on upcoming seminars, events and attorney speaking engagements. The site uses a rotating list of authors from members of the firm's national practice group, with guest authors from other practice groups. “The idea is to give readers a wide variety of topics from different authors each week so that the content remains fresh and interesting,” Jiran said.

The firm's labor and employment team consists of more than 25 attorneys, and covers areas such as employment discrimination, sexual harassment prevention, immigration, employee investigations, data privacy and labor relations.

Recent articles include:

Timing Is Everything When Firing Someone Attorney Brian Clemow discusses a recent Connecticut federal court case exploring whether or not an employee engaged in conduct or exercised a right that could provide grounds for a claim of unlawful retaliation if he or she is disciplined.

Avoiding Mistakes in Responding to Accommodation Requests Attorney Gary Starr explains the importance of engaging in the interactive process in assessing essential requirements of a job when an employee requests an accommodation under the ADA.

Plan Now to Retain Your Workforce: The Uncertain Future of Employment Authorization for H-4 Dependent Spouses Attorneys Brenda Eckert and Ashley Mendoza discuss the Buy American Hire American Executive Order (Executive Order 13788), and its effect on H-4 dependent spouses who are in jeopardy of losing their eligibility for such U.S. work authorization once DHS amends or potentially removes the rule that permits H-4 dependent spouses to obtain U.S. employment authorization.

New 'PAID' Program Allows Employers to Resolve FLSA Violations and Avoid Penalties Attorney Peter Murphy discusses the Payroll Audit Independent Determination (PAID) program, which will provide employers with an important opportunity to work with the DOL's Wage and Hour Division (WHD) on resolving violations of overtime and minimum wage laws without paying the double damages, civil penalties, or attorney fees allowed by the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

Supreme Court Limits Protections for Whistleblowers Under Dodd-Frank Attorney Keegan Drenosky reviews a recent Supreme Court ruling that protections afforded by the Dodd-Frank Act to “whistleblowers” apply only to reports to the SEC, not employees' internal reports of misconduct to their supervisors.

To see more articles, visit www.employmentlawletter.com.

Shipman & Goodwin is a full-service law firm with more than 170 attorneys in offices throughout Connecticut, New York and in Washington, D.C., and serves the needs of local, regional, national and international clients. For more information, visit www.shipmangoodwin.com.