Google’s Most Asked Questions About Employment Law, Part 4

Jan 18 2021

Can employers assign mandatory overtime?

For the most part, yes. Employers are allowed to make the ability to work overtime – even without notice – a condition of employment. There is no federal or Connecticut law that prohibits employers from assigning more than 8 hours of work per day or 40 hours of work per week, so long as employees are compensated correctly and are permitted to take appropriate breaks during the workday.

Is it against the law to pay employees late?

With limited exceptions, how and when employees must be paid is a matter of state law (not federal law). In Connecticut, per § 31-71b of the General Statutes, employees must be paid at least once every two weeks, and their pay cannot be delayed more than eight days after the end of the pay period in which it was earned. In addition, per § 31-71c, if an employee resigns their employment, the employer must pay all wages due no later than the next regular pay day; and if an employee is terminated, the employer must pay all wages due no later than the next business day. If an employer violates these rules, it can be sued under § 31-72 of the General Statutes and can be liable to the employee for twice the amount of the withheld wages, as well as attorney’s fees and costs.

What are the laws for 1099 employees?

Someone who gets paid to do work is either an employee or an independent contractor. Employee compensation is reported on a W-2; independent contractor compensation is reported on a 1099. So from an employment law perspective, at least, there is no such thing as a “1099 employee.” That said, many workers who are called independent contractors and whose compensation is reported on 1099s are actually employees who have been misclassified. As you can see here, though, determining whether a worker is actually an employee or an independent contractor can be a complex inquiry.

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