Connecticut Bar Journal: Survey Of Developments in Employment Law July 2024 – June 2025

The Connecticut Bar Journal recently published an article by partner Jeffrey J. Mirman. He reviews the decisions and rulings across a variety of courts that set forth the elements of a plaintiff’s case in chief under the various statutes, the defenses available, and the tools that each side might make use of to establish a winning approach to cases.

Among the questions tackled by the decisions in this article are: what evidence establishes a constructive discharge; may a plaintiff rely only on her own testimony to avoid summary judgment; what facts support application of the ministerial exception; what must an employee prove to establish a claim under the Equal Pay Act; and what is the consequence of failing to move for judgment as a matter of law under F.R.C.P. Rule 50(a)?

A few case highlights include a review of the U.S. Supreme Court’s important decision on what is the correct standard to apply for proving disparate treatment under Title VII by a member of a majority group, even though there were few cases at the Court. In a case of first impression, the Second Circuit considered whether an employee with a disability may receive a reasonable accommodation under the Americans With Disabilities Act even if the employee is able to perform all of the essential functions of the job with or without an accommodation. The Connecticut Supreme Court answered the question of who qualifies as a “supervisor” for purposes of rendering an employer vicariously liable for the creation of a hostile work environment under the Connecticut Fair Employment Practices Act. And even though the NLRB was without a quorum for much of the year, it did issue several decisions meriting review.

Read the full article here. (Guest account required.)