A Message from our Chairman |
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Dear Chamber Member,
Get your calendar out!! We have lots of events coming up this fall, so we hope you take advantage of all the offerings. From networking to business training programs and professional development initiatives, there is something for everyone.
The Chamber's next Out for Business will take place on Wednesday, September 20 from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at Brewbury in Middlebury. You can register here.
Looking for a free, early morning networking event? Head over to the Ion Bank Community Room at 270 Church Street on Friday, September 22 for the next edition of Naugatuck's Wake Up Your Business. Register now here.
For individuals who work in the health care industry, there's an opportunity on Tuesday, October 4 to network with other area health care professionals during an Out for Health event taking place at Complete Care at Glendale, located at 4 Hazel Avenue. Register here.
Do you know someone who might benefit from the Leadership Greater Waterbury program? Lifelong learners with five to 25 years of work experience who are interested in developing personally and their careers should consider this worthwhile program. Participants are exposed to the top business and civic leaders in the Greater Waterbury area. The program kicks off with a two-day orientation starting on October 19 and then meets once a month from November 2023 through June 2024. For more information, click here.
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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
- New Member Spotlight
- Renewing Members
- Upcoming Events
- Manufacturing Advertising Opportunities
- Submit Your Content
- Upcoming Events
- Hiring & Training Programs Available
- HR Corner Corner by Carmody, Torrance Sandak & Hennessey LLP
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Member Spotlight: Russell Speeders Carwash
1015 New Haven Road - Naugatuck, CT
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Russell Speeder’s started over 50 years ago in Norwalk, Connecticut, and currently operates 21 car washes in Connecticut, New York, Nebraska and Kansas City. In that time we have washed millions of cars and have evolved our process for providing customers with a fast, clean, shiny car. We are obsessed with offering an amazing customer experience delivered by our hundreds of hard working associates.
Over the last several years we have been laser focused on providing over 150,000 monthly members the best unlimited car wash program in the country.
Stop by today to experience all we have to offer, and enjoy the ride!
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Thank You to Our Members Who Renewed in August |
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High Rock Water and Mechanical Services
H.J. Bushka & Sons Lumber & Millwork Co.
Quiet Zone of Naugatuck
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September 22: Wake Up Your Business
8 a.m. to 9 a.m. at the Ion Bank Community Room
270 Church Street, Naugatuck
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Chamber Information Update: Response Requested |
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From time to time, the Chamber is made aware of opportunities for women-owned, veteran-owned, and diverse business enterprises, and we want to be sure we are getting that information to the relevant members.
Sharing this data is completely voluntary on your part and will be used for informational purposes only. If you so choose, there is a section on this form that will allow us to share your self-identified categories on our website. This will add your listing to a new page designed to encourage members and visitors to support your business.
Thank you for being a valued member of the Naugatuck Chamber and our affiliates. We appreciate those members who have already provided a response.
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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 next 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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Out for Business
Wednesday, September 20
5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
Brewbury
1383 Whittemore Road
Middlebury
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Wake Up Your Business
Friday, September 22
8 a.m. to 9 a.m.
Ion Bank Community Room
270 Church Street
Naugatuck
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Master Your Membership
Wednesday, September 26
8 a.m. to 9:15 a.m.
83 Bank Street, Waterbury
Zoom option available
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Out for Health
Tuesday, October 3
7:30 a.m. to 9:00 a.m.
Complete Care at Glendale Center
4 Hazel Avenue
Naugatuck
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Friday, October 6, 2023: Social Media Bootcamp featuring Courtney Ligi of The Social Circle, LLC |
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As a business owner, you're probably aware of the importance of having a solid social media presence. However, getting started can be overwhelming and time-consuming. That's where we come in. Dive in with our bootcamp session with facilitator Courtney Ligi, Owner of The Social Circle, LLC, will provide the tools you need to succeed.
During the workshop, you'll learn how to kick start your pages, create engagement, build brand awareness, connect with customers and more. Participants will also learn how to create a social media strategy, build a content calendar, and audit their current social media presence. Whether starting from scratch or creating a strategy to maximize your current pages, this interactive and hands-on workshop will give you the tools you need to consistently post engaging content and grow your page(s).
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October: Manufacturing Month |
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The Waterbury Regional Chamber is partnering with the Republican American newspaper to once again to publish our Manufacturing Today resource guide, which will be distributed on Thursday, October 19 to over 30,000 consumers, business owners, and executives. As part of this publication, you have the opportunity to showcase your company in one of the most viewed supplements of the year. We encourage you to take advantage of this unique marketing opportunity; ad prices and specifications are listed below. There are discounts available to Chamber members.
This directory will feature a list of Chamber Member manufacturers, profiles on area businesses and manufacturers, showcases on products made in the region, highlights on career opportunities, and more.
Purchasing an ad to run in the Manufacturing Resource Guide is a great way to reach audiences across Greater Waterbury, the Naugatuck River Valley, and Litchfield County.
If you are interested in learning purchasing an ad, contact David Huck at dhuck@waterburychamber.com or (203)-757-0701 Ext. 309. Ads are due by September 29, 2023. Prominent inside cover and back cover ads must be reserved by Wednesday, September 20.
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Leadership Greater Waterbury
Application Deadline: October 13, 2023
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Area professionals who are interested in developing their careers and becoming better leaders within their organization should consider applying for the Chamber's Leadership Greater Waterbury program, which kicks off its 2023-24 class with the first of a day-two orientation on Wednesday, Oct. 18.
The program got its start in 1985 and over the last few decades, more than 500 area workers have participated in Leadership Greater Waterbury, gaining new insights, skills, and lifelong connections that have repeated benefits not only to their personal growth, but also for their company or organization.
During the interactive program, participants have the opportunity to hear from regional leaders and facilitators from public, private, and nonprofit businesses, as well as more than 500 alumni, to learn about the resources and challenges that affect Greater Waterbury. Through in-person visits, training opportunities, and hearing firsthand from speakers, the participants learn about local and state government, arts and entertainment, history, the local business community, health and human services, education, and communication.
Employers interested in joining the large list of local companies committed to developing leaders within their organizations and the community should consider this rewarding training program. Business owners and CEOs say that employees who graduate from Leadership Greater Waterbury stand out among their colleagues and excel in their work and abilities, bringing a greater return on investment for the company. Classes start November 15 and run once a month until June 12, 2024. A graduation will be held on June 18, 2024. The deadline to apply is Oct. 13, 2023. For more information, contact LGW Program Director Chris Caulfield at ccaulfield@waterburychamber.com or call 203-757-0701. |
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Hiring & Training Programs Available |
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Northwest Regional Workforce Investment Board: Connecticut Workforce High tech Industries Partnership Grant (CTWHISP)/Incumbent Worker Training Program
Incumbent Worker Training (IWT) is a type of work-based, employer-driven training for employees who need training to upgrade their skills to
- secure full-time employment,
- advance in their careers, or
- retain their current employment in H-1B occupations and industries.
IWT is developed in collaboration with the employer. It requires long term planning and commitment on the part of the employer's CEO, CFO, HR, supervisors and employees.
The Northwest Regional Workforce Investment Board (NRWIB) reimburses contracted training costs up to $2,000 per employee for IT training, and up to $3,000 per employee for manufacturing training. To get the proposal and contract process started please contact Jeffrey Chorches - chorches@careerresources.org.
The workforce board contracts with the employer to arrange the training. The employer chooses the job training course, the training provider, training schedule, and the employees who will participate. Employers are encouraged to backfill open positions that result from incumbent worker training with unemployed and underemployed individuals. One of the goals of U. S. Dept. of Labor Hl-b grants is to make U.S. employers less dependent upon non-citizens.
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HR Corner: US DOL Proposes Increasing Salary Level Required for Classifying Employees as Exempt from Overtime Pay
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The United States Department of Labor (US DOL) announced on August 30, 2023, that it will be issuing a proposed rule that would increase the salary level required for employees to be exempt from overtime pay under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). According to the US DOL, the proposed rule would extend overtime protections to approximately 3.6 million more workers.
The general rule is that employees are entitled to overtime pay at the rate of 1.5 times their regular rate of pay for any hours worked in excess of 40 in a workweek. Some employees can be exempt from receiving overtime pay if certain requirements are met. The most common exemptions are the executive, administrative and professional exemptions, which often are referred to as the “white collar exemptions.”
To be exempt under the white-collar exemptions an employee generally must:
- be paid a fixed salary that is not subject to reduction because of variations in the quality or quantity of work performed (known as the “salary basis test”);
- be paid at least a specified weekly salary level (currently $684 per week), although certain employees, such as doctors, teachers, and lawyers, are not subject to this requirement (known as the “salary level test”); and
- primarily perform certain executive, administrative, or professional duties (known as the “duties test”).
There also is a relaxed exemption standard under the FLSA for certain “highly compensated” employees who are paid total annual compensation of at least $107,432.
The US DOL proposed rule seeks to modify the salary level test as follows:
- Increase the minimum standard salary level for an employee to be exempt from $684 per week ($35,568 per year) to $1,059 per week ($55,068 per year). This would increase the salary level to the 35th percentile of weekly earnings of full-time salary workers in the lowest-wage Census Region (currently the South);
- Increase the total annual compensation requirement for highly compensated employees from $107,432 per year to $143,988 per year. This would increase the salary level to the 85th percentile of full-time salaried workers nationally;
- Automatically update the salary thresholds every three years so they keep pace with proposed 35th and 85th percentile salary levels; and
- Apply the salary levels to employees in Puerto Rico, Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and increase the special salary levels for American Samoa and the motion picture industry.
The US DOL stated that it is not proposing any changes to the salary basis or duties tests.
Although this is a proposed rule at this time, employers should determine whether it has classified as exempt any employees who earn less than $1,059 per week. If the rule is finalized, employers will then need to decide whether to increase the employee’s salary level to meet the threshold or convert the employee to non-exempt status and, in doing so, determine the hourly rate. These decisions can impact an employer’s overall compensation structure and could result in morale issues if employees perceive their conversion to non-exempt status as a demotion.
Our Labor & Employment team will continue to monitor this development and is available to answer your questions.
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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