A Message from our Chairman |
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Dear Chamber Member,
Please join us Thursday, May 11 at The Crystal Room, as the Chamber will be hosting a Mayoral Dinner with the Honorable N. Warren "Pete" Hess. This will be a great opportunity to connect with leadership in the community. Mayor Hess always presents a thorough update on progress in the Borough, future plans and priorities. To register, click here.
The 18th annual Duck Day is happening on Sunday, June 4 in downtown Naugatuck. The list of nonprofits who have signed up to participate in this year's fundraising component of the festival is increasing every day. If you know of an organization who would like to raise extra money for its programming, tell them to check out DuckDay.com.
The Chamber will begin distributing Duck Day tickets on Thursday, April 20 from noon to 2 p.m. and 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the Ion Bank Community Room (first floor), located at 270 Church Street. There are other ways to get involved as well: show your support for the Chamber and the community by sponsoring the event. This is a great way to bring unique visibility to your company by having your logo on marketing collateral like t-shirts, event banners, and posters, as well as through traditional and digital advertising, newspaper press releases and columns, website publicity, eblasts, and much more. Scroll down to learn more about the various sponsorship levels.
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Thank you for your continued membership, |
Kevin H. McSherry
McSherry Law Office
Naugatuck Chamber of Commerce, Chairman of the Board
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- Chairman's Note
- Member Benefit Spotlight
- New Member Spotlight
- Submit Your Content
- Duck Day 2023
- Upcoming Events
- Hiring & Training Programs Available
- HR Corner Corner by Carmody, Torrance Sandak & Hennessey LLP
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Member Benefit Highlight: Staples Chamber Program |
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New Member Spotlight: Independence Northwest |
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Independence Northwest is unlike any other service provider you may have tried before. Our organization is run by people with disabilities for people with disabilities. Most of the people on our staff, management and board have personally faced the same barriers you face everyday. We’ve learned how to surmount many of the obstacles that stood in the way of our leading more independent lives. We can show you how to do the same.
We know that people with disabilities, no matter how severe the disability, can lead productive, independent and happy lives. We know because we’ve done it ourselves. Whatever your age, whatever your disability, we can help you achieve what you once believed was only a dream. We will work with you every step of the way, lending a hand, providing support, as you make your way to a more independent life.
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Ph: 203-729-3299
1183 New Haven Road - Suite 200
Naugatuck, CT
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Submit Your News and Social Media Content |
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Do you have upcoming events, company news, specials, or other-related information you'd like the Chamber to promote in our January Chamber Member newsletter or on one of our many social media platforms? You can submit your content by emailing Communications Director David Huck. Leverage the Chamber and allow us to spread your message to thousands of individuals. |
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Regional Job Fair
Wednesday, May 3
3 p.m. to 6 p.m.
Courtyard by Marriott Waterbury Downtown
63 Grand Street, Waterbury
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Out for Business
Tuesday, May 9
5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
Waterbury Hospital
64 Robbins Street, Waterbury
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Naugatuck Mayoral Dinner
Thursday, May 11
5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
The Crystal Room
98 School Street, Naugatuck
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18th Annual Naugatuck Chamber Duck Day
Sunday, June 4
11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Downtown Naugatuck
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Travel to Greece Fall 2023
October 27 to November 4
Optional Santorini Island Extension: Nov. 4-6
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Hiring & Training Programs Available |
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The Northwest Regional Workforce Investment Board Announces Federal Job Training Dollars for Manufacturers in the Waterbury/Danbury/Torrington Region for On-the-Job-Training
In addition to Incumbent Worker Training (IWT), the Northwest Regional Workforce Investment Board (NRWIB) is offering funds to manufacturers in the 41 towns of the NW Connecticut workforce region (Waterbury/Torrington /Danbury) to provide on-the-job training (OJT) to job applicants referred to employers by the NRWIB.
(“Reverse referrals” from employers to the NRWIB prior to hiring,
are also welcomed. Send us your applicants.)
What’s the difference between IWT and OJT? They both involve training, but IWT is for workers you already employ who need advanced training. OJT is for job applicants that we send to you to be interviewed, hired and mentored. We welcome reverse referrals of job applicants.
Benefits of OJT to Employers:
• Receive a 50% wage reimbursement to offset on-the-job training costs for eligible new hires referred by the NRWIB to the employer
• Gain access to a pipeline of job-ready candidates
• the NRWIB will screen prospective job candidates for program eligibility
• Employer makes all hiring decisions
To Get Started:
The Connecticut Workforce High-tech Industries Skills Partnership H1-b Grant (CTWHISP) is funded by the U. S. Dept. of Labor Employment and Training Administration. Program ends November, 2024.
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HR Corner: ChatGPT and Other AI Services in the Workplace, Employers Should Be on Alert |
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ChatGPT is an artificial intelligence (AI) tool that launched in November 2022. Since then, ChatGPT and other AI tools have exploded in popularity.
Why is ChatGPT so popular? In short, it is free and accessible on the Internet. It interacts using natural language and, therefore, is extremely easy to use. It can process an enormous amount of text data and instantly produce written responses in a human-like manner. For example, by providing ChatGPT some basic information, the AI tool can solve coding problems, write essays, speeches or articles (this article was written by a human!), write a cover letter or CV, and summarize an article. Employees could, among other things, use ChatGPT to write job postings, job descriptions, interview questions, offer letters, employment policies, e-mails and conduct research.
It is important for employers to understand that ChatGPT is not perfect and has some significant limitations. For example, ChatGPT can produce plausible sounding but completely incorrect answers. In addition, the current version of ChatGPT only uses data through September 2021 and, therefore, is not capturing more recent, and perhaps more reliable, information. Also, ChatGPT cannot determine the reliability of, or make any qualitative assessment about, the information it accesses. Therefore, ChatGPT’s results could be biased, offensive or discriminatory. Other limitations include, the AI’s lack of common sense and emotional intelligence, the user’s inability to determine the source(s) used by ChatGPT, and the AI can produce inconsistent responses based on how a question is framed.
Employers should consider whether ChatGPT and/or other AI tools can be used by employees in performing their job duties. In doing so, employers must take into consideration the capabilities and limitations of the AI tool. Employers who allow employees to use AI should develop a policy that addresses potential legal issues. Some key policy pointers include:
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Permitted and Prohibited Uses: the policy should identify the prohibited and permitted uses of AI.
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Quality Control: as noted above, ChatGPT can produce inaccurate answers. Therefore, employees must be instructed to carefully proofread and edit all AI-generated product. Employees should understand that AI can be a good starting place, but it cannot be a substitute for the employee doing their own work and fact-checking.
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Bias and Discrimination: users should carefully review ChatGPT’s results to guard against any bias or discrimination.
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Intellectual Property: there may be questions about who owns the intellectual property rights to the work produced using ChatGPT.
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Privacy Issues: employees should not disclose confidential or proprietary information to the AI tool as the employer will not have any control over how that information may subsequently be used.
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Transparency: the circumstances in which AI is used should be transparent and disclosed to the employer.
The use of AI is here and growing quickly. Employers are well-advised to remain vigilant on the benefits and risks of using AI in the workplace.
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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