A Note from our President, Lynn Ward
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Dear Chamber Member,
Just last week, Governor Ned Lamont issued an executive order allowing municipalities to implement universal mask requirements, regardless of vaccination status. Under a statewide policy, businesses can require masks to be worn by everyone entering their facility. The Mayors of New Haven and Hartford recently mandated that all individuals wear masks indoors. Waterbury Mayor Neil M. O'Leary said earlier this week that he is considering a local mask mandate as well.
The trend is clear: there is much uncertainty regarding the pandemic as we head into the fall. We encourage you to stay tuned to our website, your email inbox, and our social media to learn about the latest news and regulations.
On September 15, the Northwest Regional Workforce Investment Board and the Connecticut Department of Labor are hosting Next Gen Manufacturing hiring events throughout the region. As a convening team member of the Next Generation Manufacturing partnership, we are encouraging manufacturers to contact us to sign up for the event, which will allow jobseekers to meet one-on-one with representatives from from participating employers with the goal of on-the-spot hiring. Waterbury's event will be held at the Manufacturing Alliance Service Center (MASC) at 173 Interstate Lane from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Additional details and locations are listed below.
Do you know of a coworker or individual who might be interested in our Leadership Greater Waterbury personal and career development program? Participants will gain valuable insights from area community and business leaders, receive personal and business coaching, and more. The deadline to apply is November 1, 2021. To register, or for more information, click here.
We received some great news last week from Blue Back Health, who organized a three-monthlong wellness challenge among eight chambers across the state. The Waterbury Regional Chamber came in second place, with more than 40 participants logging 713,207 steps. Great work to all the individuals who joined our team! I hope you'll join us for the next challenge in April.
Lastly, we are helping to promote a new program called "MyCTSavings" that's being overseen by the Connecticut Retirement Security Authority. This voluntary retirement savings program gives businesses a convenient way to help employees save and plan for the future. Before the program rolls out across the state, MyCTSavings is seeking interested employers to take part in an exclusive pilot of the program, which will provide dedicated support staff to help guide you through the enrollment. If you are an employer with more than five employees and do not provide a qualified retirement savings plan, please consider participating in the pilot. Scroll down for more details.
You can reach me, as always, at (203) 757-0701 or [email protected]. Keep scrolling for this month’s updates and events to take full advantage of what our Chamber has to offer.
Thank you, more than ever, for your continued membership,
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In This Issue:
- President's Note
- Reopening Resources & Information
- Newsletter Sponsor Post University
- HR Corner by Carmody, Torrance Sandak & Hennessey LLP
- Next Gen Manufacturing Hiring Event Sept. 15
- Health Care Council Annual Meeting and Awards Ceremony August 17
- In the News
- Wellness Challenge
- Welcome New Members
- Upcoming Opportunities
- Hiring/Training Programs
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Reopening Resources & Information
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A Message From Newsletter Sponsor,
Post University
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Meet the Dean of Continuing Education at Post University
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“The School of Continuing Education is an important component of Post University as it complements the University’s goal of serving as an institution that prepares individuals to be ‘workforce ready,’” says Post University’s Dean of Continuing Education Dawn Sherman.
The School of Continuing Education will offer a variety of online, self-paced, and faculty-led short courses that do not require pre-requisites and will also be home to the University’s High School Academy. These courses can add substantial benefits to individuals seeking to advance within their career, others looking to shift their career in a new direction, or individuals pursuing personal growth and development. The courses are robust and interactive. Many of the courses will serve as micro-credentials and can be shared on resumes and LinkedIn pages to showcase additional skills to employers.
Sherman joined Post this past April and has been diligently working with the Provost, deans, and others across the university to develop continuing education programs. Police Recertification for Connecticut officers will be the first program in the school to launch this summer; beginning with the first set of the 27 courses in the series.
“All students who engage in the offerings in the School of Continuing Education will gain professional skills, will receive support in learning to articulate these skills to employers, and will be able to use their new skills to enhance their opportunities,” said Sherman.
Sherman has an extensive history working in higher education. Her first job working at a college began in 1980 at Bryant College in Student Affairs. She changed career paths temporarily, working with individuals in a homeless shelter in Hartford while working as the Director of Residence Programs at the Young Women’s Christian Association.
Sherman then spent a few years as the Executive Director at Rainbow Child Development Center in Worcester, MA, serving 150 children from families with substantiated abuse.
“When I was working with students, I became passionate about supporting them – to instill confidence and help them believe in themselves,” said Sherman.
In 1999, Sherman returned to higher education, assuming a copious number of roles. She was an adjunct professor, teaching both graduate and undergraduate courses. At the graduate level, Sherman has taught many leadership courses, and at the undergraduate level, she has taught various business, sociology, psychology, and professional development courses.
Sherman has a great deal of experience developing new programs and putting efforts into building something from the ground up. From 1999-2011, she was the Director of the Professional Development Seminar (PDS) Program in Academic Affairs at Nichols College. In this role, Sherman co-created and led all aspects of the multi-faceted PDS, a series of required professional development courses that was required of all students and prepared them for the workforce. She was awarded the “Showcase 2007 Program Award” from the Center on Education and Work at the University of Wisconsin for her exceptional and creative career programming talents.
More recently, Dawn led the creation of a new International Student Pathway program for Shorelight Education at Auburn University in Alabama. This program, upon launch, became the second-largest Pathway program in the country, with more than 800 students after the first year.
Amidst each of these remarkable contributions to higher education, Sherman held other roles, many of which enhanced students’ education and overall college experience.
“I love creating something new and developing programs to benefit students,” said Sherman. “With the support from the Provost, other deans, and with campus-wide collaboration, I’m excited to see this endeavor underway.”
By the end of 2021, The School of Continuing Education will launch a more extensive list of soft-skill courses and micro-credentials. Keep an eye out for more information in the coming months.
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HR Corner: While "Employment is "At-Will," Employers Must Have a Valid, Lawful Reason for Taking Action
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This HR Corner is Brought to you by Carmody Torrance Sandak & Hennessey LLP. Written by: Jeff Beck and Attorney Nick Zaino
In 49 out of 50 states (Montana being the exception) the default status of employment arrangements between employers and employees is “at will.” This ostensibly means what it sounds like it means—i.e., employees can quit whenever and for whatever reason they choose, and employers can fire an employee for any reason so long as it’s not illegal. For employees, this is generally true. There is not much that an employer can do to prevent someone from quitting (although, depending on the jurisdiction, they can implement policies requiring proper notice be given or accrued paid time off will be forfeited). However, for employers, the situation is more complicated. There are a host of reasons why terminating an employee could be deemed improper, and an employer who is not aware of them opens themselves up to potential legal liability.
An employer cannot fire someone based on that employee’s status as a member of a protected class. Some examples of protected classes include race, religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, disability status, pregnancy, marital status, age, and veteran status. Employers sometime underestimate the scope of these protected classes. For example, let’s say that you want to fire your long-time employee John, who is 60 years old. If you had no reason to fire John and you retained a younger female employee, Jane, who is 40 years old performing a similar function, John may be able to bring a claim against you for age or gender discrimination.
Similarly, an employer cannot fire an employee if it would violate public policy. For example, an employer cannot fire an employee for reporting illegal activity or refusing to violate workplace safety guidelines. Additionally, an employer cannot fire an employee for exercising various rights, such as the right to serve on a jury, perform military duty, or take reasonable time off work for a disability or a covered health condition.
Finally, an employer cannot fire an employee “at-will” if they have a specific contract in place stating their scope and term of employment. These types of contracts are generally in writing and most common among union employees and executives. In the absence of a written contract, an employer may still open themselves up to liability if they represented to an employee that the employee would not be fired for a certain amount of time and the employee reasonably relied on that promise. For example, let’s say you hired Sally to be a new project manager and during the hiring process you said “Don’t worry, this role takes a little getting used to. You won’t have to worry about being fired for the first year while you learn the ropes.” If you then terminate Sally’s employment after three months for poor performance, Sally could bring a lawsuit alleging breach of contract.
So, when can you terminate an employee’s employment? Again, while not strictly legally necessary, it is certainly a best practice to terminate an employee’s employment for cause. Acceptable causes would be poor work performance, misconduct, a downturn in business, or a consistent failure to improve based on past performance reviews. If you want to terminate an employee, having a process in place that creates a documented record showing why that employee was fired will be helpful in limiting potential legal exposure. Ideally, the disciplinary process would involve written warnings, performance reviews, and opportunities for improvement. If the employee fails to achieve the goals set forth through this process (and those goals are clear and fair), termination would then be appropriate. Of course, there are common sense exceptions to this general rule of thumb if an employee’s conduct is especially egregious.
Ultimately having a clear, fair disciplinary process in place which creates a record that the employer can retain will provide the best protection against employer liability, but potential liability can never be eliminated entirely.
*Jeffrey Beck is a Summer Associate at Carmody Torrance Sandak & Hennessey LLP, attending the University of Connecticut Law School.
This information is for educational purposes only to provide general information and a general understanding of the law. It does not constitute legal advice and does not establish any attorney-client relationship.
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Sept. 15 Next Gen Manufacturing Hiring Event
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Struggling businesses can find recovery
By Lynn Ward
Over the last year, there’s no question that businesses throughout the region and across the country have had to make some difficult decisions in order to weather the economic impact as a result of the pandemic. While there has certainly been an uptick in economic activity over the last several months, some businesses are still in need of a helping hand to get back on track. Thankfully, there are a variety of economic assistance programs available from the state and federal governments to help businesses either retain jobs or expand them, provide no-cost small business advising, and access to favorable lending options for a variety of needs. Some require prompt action if you want to take advantage of them.
If you are the owner of a small- or medium-sized business or a tax-exempt organization, you have until Dec. 31, 2021 to take advantage of the Employee Retention Credit (ERC), which Congress enacted under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act; the ERC has twice been extended and expanded. The credit was signed into law to provide reimbursement of wages for businesses affected by COVID-19 and to incentive employers to maintain a pre-pandemic level workforce. Under the Economic Aid Act of December 2020, employers who participated in the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) became eligible to take advantage of the ERC, though they cannot use the same payroll dollars for PPP forgiveness and to claim the credits, says Keith Sullivan a partner with Zackin Zimyeski Sullivan CPA LCC. The last filing dates for businesses to claim the ERC are Oct. 31 and Dec. 31.
Under revised Internal Revenue Service guidelines, employers can claim a refundable tax credit against the employer share of Social Security tax equal to 70 percent of the qualified wages ($10,000 per employee per quarter, including qualified health plan expenses) they paid to employees after Dec. 31, 2020 through June 30, 2021. The threshold for 2021 eligibility is a 20 percent reduction in gross revenue when comparing 2019 to 2021 by quarter. Additionally, employers can qualify if they experienced a full or partial suspension of operations in any part of the quarter. For the full details to determine whether or not your business qualifies for the ERC, visit irs.gov or contact an accounting professional.
“If you think your business qualifies for the Employee Retention Credit, we recommend that you contact your payroll service provider as soon as possible to discuss claiming the credit for previous quarters, as well as setting it up for future quarters,” says Sullivan. “We have found that it has been widely used and very beneficial to distressed small businesses.”
Before 2021 runs out, the ERC is worth exploring. If you need assistance connecting with a certified public accountant, visit waterburychamber.com and browse our member directory.
Another option to connect you with additional resources and assistance is the Connecticut Small Business Development Center (SBDC), which offers free business advising and consulting to small businesses in all stages of development. Upon contact with the SBDC, your business is assigned an advisor who works closely with you to deeply understand your business and help you drive it forward. The SBDC can also help facilitate putting you in touch with favorable lending options (available now through Sept. 30, 2021) from the Small Business Administration. Please contact the Chamber or visit the SBDC website at www.ctsbdc.uconn.edu to learn more.
This column originally ran in the Republican-American on August 2, 2021. Look for the next column on Monday, August 16.
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Incase You Missed It: Webinar on New CT Employment Laws presented by Carmody Torrance Sandak & Hennessey LLP
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On August 12, Attorneys Stephanie Cummings, Vincent Farisello, and Nick Zaino of the Carmody Torrance Sandak and Hennessey law firm gave a presentation on new Connecticut laws affecting the workplace. Click the video above to watch a replay of the webinar.
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Chamber Places 2nd in Statewide Walking Challenge
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The Waterbury Regional Chamber placed second in a three-monthlong walking challenge in which seven other chamber of commerce’s from across the state competed against each other to see who could average the most steps. Forty-two individuals from various businesses across the Greater Waterbury region joined in on the Waterbury Regional Chamber’s team, helping put the Chamber in second place, with an average of 713,207 steps taken by individuals.
As part of the employee wellness program, the Waterbury Regional Chamber has selected the United Way of Greater Waterbury to be the recipient of a $500 donation that will be made by the wellness challenge host company, Blue Back Health.
Companies that participated in the Waterbury Regional Chamber challenge included ALMA Therapy, Easterseals, Hubbard-Hall, the Middlebury Bee-Intelligencer, North East Transportation, Post University, and St. Mary’s Hospital/Trinity Health of New England. The Chamber’s sponsors were North East Transportation, Post University, and St. Mary’s Hospital/Trinity Health of New England.
To liven up the competition, the Waterbury Regional Chamber offered up prizes to participants. Walkers who reached 450,001 steps or more, were entered into a raffle for a $500 check; individuals who logged 225,001 to 450,000 steps, were entered into a raffle for a $250 check; and walkers who logged 100,000 to 225,001 steps were entered into a raffle for a $100 check.
Winning the $500 raffle prize was Luis Martinez of North East Transportation; the $250 raffle prize went to Nina LouBriel of Hubbard Hall; and the $100 raffle prize went to Marya DiPerna of Post University.
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A warm welcome to our newest members!* We encourage you to connect with them soon and see where your next partnership can be!
*Joined 7/19/21 to 8/11/21
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What is Leadership Greater Waterbury?
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A personal and career development program which creates lifelong partnerships and develops community awareness among future leaders in civic, professional and community organizations in the Greater Waterbury area. Its goal is to provide a creative, interactive environment for the participants to meet regional leaders and discuss the challenges that affect Greater Waterbury.
Open to business participants who are lifelong learners with five to 25+ years of work experience.
Program Timeline:
Orientation: November 17, 2021
Classes begin December 15, 2021
Graduation & Alumni Reception June 21, 2022
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Looking for a unique marketing opportunity?
The Chamber Perk program is a way for members to showcase their business or organization by offering up a discount or promotion for a specified week. Perks are promoted on the Chambers’ social media channels, through videos, and multiple spotlights in the Chamber’s newsletter, which is distributed to thousands of individuals. If you are a business who is interested in learning more about the Chamber Perk program contact Communications and Social Media Director David Huck at [email protected] or call 203-757-0701.
Some of the benefits include:
- Social media marketing to more than 5,000 followers
- Personalized eblasts to 1,000s of recipients
- Live video and highlights posted to social media
- Earned media in area press (front page placement on the business section in the Rep-Am)
- Marketing on the Chamber website & more!
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The Chamber Perk of the Week for August 9 is buy one, get one free half-hour drum instruction lesson from Waterbury’s Thrive Drumming.
Under the offer, individuals can purchase one, half-hour drum lesson ($35 plus tax) and receive a second, half-hour drum lesson for free. A complete beginner or someone who already plays the drums can use this offer. Lessons are by appointment only. The second lesson must be scheduled within a month of the first session. Lessons can be scheduled back-to-back for a full hour. The lessons will be held at Thrive Drumming’s studio, located at 1015 W. Main St., second floor, 2B, Waterbury. Recommended for ages five and up. For more information, visit thrivedrumming.com or call 860-471-9241. Offer expires Aug. 31, 2021.
William “Tom” Snyder is the owner of Thrive Drumming. A musician for more than 40 years and a drum and percussion instructor for 30 years, Snyder has performed in numerous musical settings, including CBGB’s in New York City and Carnegie Hall, and has played a variety of styles, including musical theater to symphony concerts. He currently performs in several bands, including “The Blameless Project” and “The Generators.”
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Opportunity to Participate in MyCTSavings Pilot Program
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MyCTSavings, is a new retirement savings program created by the state of Connecticut’s Retirement Security Authority. MyCTSavings gives small businesses an easy way to help employees save and plan for their future, and it helps businesses compete with businesses that do offer retirement savings plans.
Employers with more than 5 employees who do not provide a qualified retirement savings plan are eligible to participate in the program. Employees must be at least 19 years old, have earned income, are employed in Connecticut, and have been employed for at least 120 days. There is no cost to participate in the pilot or the program.
Before the full MyCTSavings program rolls out across the state in 2022, we’re looking for interested employers to participate in an exclusive pilot of the program. The pilot is your chance to be one of the first to offer this great new program to your employees and help influence the program for other business owners. We also will provide dedicated support to help guide you through enrollment.
To learn more about the program or to sign up for the pilot, reach out to Colin Danly at [email protected] or register via MyCTSavings.com.
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Hiring & Training Programs Available
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Do you need help finding qualified workers for your business? Could you use some financial assistance to offset the cost of hiring and training new workers, or training your existing workforce?
The Waterbury Regional Chamber is working with the Northwest Regional Workforce Investments Board to help businesses in Greater Waterbury learn more about the available hiring and training programs and whether they qualify for them. This includes providing information on posting jobs on the states CThires.com website, as well as information about Manufacturing Innovation Fund Incumbent Worker Training, the apprenticeship program, hiring veterans and on-the-job training programs.
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PLUS: Need a Job Now?
NeedAJobNow.usNLx.com contains over 400,000 job openings and continues to grow daily. While many employers are downsizing their staff, others are significantly increasing their hiring efforts due to current demands. Through this initiative, DirectEmployers and National Association of State Workforce Agencies offers a way to bridge the gap between job supply and demand by offering an easy way for job seekers to gain access to current open positions and for employers to fill positions quickly and efficiently during these difficult times.
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Connecticut Hospitality Awareness Training
Connecticut Hospitality Awareness Training, or CHAT for short, is an innovative, educational program developed by the Connecticut Tourism Coalition to train frontline personnel who work at attractions, hotels, restaurants, and other businesses that make up the Connecticut tourism industry.
The CHAT program features an introductory video and seven interactive, online modules. The program takes under 90 minutes to complete, although participants can learn the material at their own pace. Once a participant receives a score of 70% or better, they have successfully completed the CHAT program. A Certificate of Achievement will be awarded from the Connecticut Tourism Coalition at a future tourism event.
CHAT's core curriculum features training on guest service and insight on why tourism matters. With greater knowledge, employees will understand how to best serve our valued guests. It is essential that Connecticut personnel are educated in their field to best represent our tourism industry.
Companies can sign up their employees to take the CHAT program for a package price of $10 per participant. Contact Frank Burns at the Connecticut Tourism Coalition at [email protected]. You will then be assigned a promo code to enroll your team in CHAT at chatcertificate.com
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