A Message from our Chairman

Dear Chamber Member,


Thank you to all the volunteers and businesses who helped to make this year's 19th annual Duck Race and Festival a great success! A very special thank you also to Mayor Hess and his team for all their support planning the event and providing assistance during the day to help make things run smoothly. This is a true community partnership event. Keep scrolling down to see photos from the event and all of the winners!


Are you registered for the 30th Annual Naugatuck Chamber & YMCA Golf Outing on Monday, June 24 at the Watertown Golf Club? This is always a great day of fun, good food, and networking. Register here. We have a limited number of spaces remaining for this year's event.


If your company is hiring, the Chamber is holding a regional job fair on Thursday, June 20 from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. at the Brass Mill Center. This is a great opportunity connect with hundreds of area job seekers. For more information, click here. Chamber member businesses who register will receive two complimentary, 30-day job postings on the Chamber's new, online job board.


One of the Chamber's free membership benefits is the Human Resources Council, which gives business owners and human resource specialists an opportunity to learn from other experts in the field. The HR Council, in partnership with Attorney's Nick Zaino and Vincent Farisello from Carmody Torrance Sandak & Hennessey LLP will lead a discussion on "Best Practices for Disciplining Employees" in-person or on Zoom July 11 at 10 a.m. For more information, click here.

Thank you for your continued membership,

Chet Doheny

We Do Life Together, a Division of ICES, Inc.

Naugatuck Chamber, Chairman of the Board

In This Issue
  • Chairman's Note
  • Naugatuck Golf Tournament
  • Post University Tuition Reduction Partnership
  • Duck Day 2024
  • Upcoming Events
  • Submit Your Content
  • Upcoming Events
  • Hiring & Training Programs Available
  • HR Corner Corner by Carmody Torrance Sandak & Hennessey LLP

Naugatuck Economic Development News

From the Desk of Ron Pugliese

President & CEO - Naugatuck Economic Development Corporation

There are many things happening in Naugatuck. I will give some of the things that will be coming through 2024 into 2025. 

 

A brand-new Brewery, in the former Bank of America, on Church Street across from the YMCA and the NEDC office. We think it be ready of the Summer of 2025.

 

We have been working with a Waterbury company who wanted to move to Naugatuck on New Haven Road on the Hershey property. They decided to go to Watertown. We now have another group that want to go to the Hershey property. This will be our fourth company and hopefully we will get that property sold at some time.

 

Pennrose will begin to start late in 2024. They will be constructing behind Nardelli’s. Pennrose will include new apartments. Also, the State will build a new rail station that we hope will finish in late 2025.

 

Amazon at the Industrial Park is also being built around mid-2025.

 

Kind Care is already being built on North Main Street and it is coming much quicker. They finished on their Bristol property and we think it should be done before late 2024.

 

Another company has moved from Litchfield. They are at 259 Great Hill Road. The company is Twenty2. They changed that building to a beautiful building

 

We will be building another Industrial Park and hopefully to be done by 2025

   

June 24th is the Naugatuck YMCA/Naugatuck Chamber Golf Tournament at Watertown Golf Club.  

 

The several new businesses in Naugatuck, from February to May, some new 15 businesses and in April had at least 20 new businesses. 

Monday, June 24: Naugatuck Chamber/YMCA Golf Outing @ Watertown Golf Club

More Information

Post University Tuition Discount for Chamber Members

Learn more
Downloadable PDF

Duck Day 2024: A Look Back

Upcoming Chamber Events

Register Now
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Submit Your News and Social Media Content
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.
Hiring & Training Programs Available

The Northwest Construction Careers Initiative

NCCI — The Northwest Construction Careers Initiative — offers Northwest Connecticut residents the opportunity to pursue a career in the construction and building trades. Job training and employment possibilities include: 

  • OSHA 10, OSHA 30, and Hazwoper certifications
  • CORE Curriculum, which includes HVAC, Plumbing and Electrical

Orientation sessions are held each Thursday at 249 Thomaston Avenue in Waterbury, CT beginning at 10AM. You do not need to RSVP to attend, but you will need to be on time to participate. 

Healthcare training program

The NRWIB is currently offering training opportunities in the following fields:

  • Patient Care Technician
  • Central Sterile Processing
  • Emergency Medical Technician
  • Certified Nurse’s Aide
  • Community Health Worker

CT WHISP Program

Connecticut Workforce & High-Tech Industry Skills Partnership (CTWhisp) Program offers a variety of IT career training at schools such as Naugatuck Valley Community College and Patrick’s Academy.


Naugatuck Valley Community College in partnership with the Northwest Regional Workforce Investment Board is offering grant-funded, short-term (15 weeks), IT course clusters aligned with industry certifications and supportive services. Clusters include Networking, Programming, Systems, Software and Project Management. Each IT cluster has been mapped to Microsoft and/or CompTIA certifications. The course clusters are offered free of charge to eligible CTWHISP participants. Additional services include enrollment assistance, academic advising, and employment services. In addition to gaining skills and stackable credentials, participants at NVCC will earn between 9-12 college credits that may be used towards a degree.

More Information

HR Corner: Connecticut Expands Paid Sick Leave Mandate to Cover Nearly All Employers and Employees

This HR Corner is brought to you by Carmody Torrance Sandak & Hennessey LLP. Written by Attorneys Vincent Farisello and Maria Laurato.

On May 28, 2024, Governor Lamont signed Public Act 24-8, which will significantly expand Connecticut’s paid sick leave law.

 

The current law applies to employers with at least 50 employees (excluding manufacturers), and requires that they provide up to 40 hours of paid sick leave to employees who are considered “service workers.”

 

Public Act 24-8 will gradually expand the law’s coverage to nearly every employer, regardless of size and industry, and nearly employee, except for seasonal employees (defined as an employee who works 120 days or less in any year). The law will extend coverage to employers with at least 25 employees on January 1, 2025; then to employers with at least 11 employees on January 1, 2026; and finally, to all employers on January 1, 2027.

 

The new law also increases the rate at which covered employees accrue paid sick leave benefits, expands the reasons for which paid sick leave may be used, and expands the list of family members for whom a covered employee may take paid sick leave. 

Reasons for Leave and Covered Family Members

Under the current law, paid sick leave may be used by covered employees for their own or their spouse’s or child’s illness, injury,

health condition or medical care.


The new law permits the use of paid sick leave for “family members,” applying the same definition of “family member” as Connecticut’s Family and Medical Leave Act. “Family members” include spouses, siblings, children, grandparents, grandchildren, and parents, as well as individuals who are “related to the employee by blood or affinity whose close association the employee shows to be equivalent of those family relationships.”


Employees will be permitted to take leave for the following reasons:

  • An employee’s or employee’s family member’s: (1) illness, injury, or health condition; (2) medical diagnosis, care, or treatment of the employee or employee’s family member; and (3) preventive medical care for mental or physical health.
  • One mental health wellness day per year.
  • Closures of the employee’s workplace or family member’s school or place of care by order of a public official due to a public health emergency.
  • In certain cases where an employee or employee’s family member has been exposed to a communicable illness.
  • For certain reasons where an employee or employee’s family member is a victim of family violence or sexual assault.


Leave Accrual and Carryover

 

The rate at which covered employees accrue leave will increase from one hour for every 40 hours worked to one hour for every 30 hours worked. Employees who accrue paid sick leave must be permitted to carryover up to 40 hours of unpaid sick leave from one year to the next.

 

In lieu of accrual, employers are permitted to “frontload” paid sick leave to covered employees. In such cases, employers are not required to allow carryover of unused time. 

 

For newly covered employers and employees, leave will begin to accrue (or be frontloaded) on January 1 of the year they become covered (i.e., 2025 for employers with at least 25 employees, 2026 for employers with at least 11 employes, and 2027 for employers with at least one employee).

 

Leave Availability


Under the current law, a covered employee must work 680 hours before they are eligible to use paid sick leave and work an average of at least 10 hours per week in the most recently completed calendar quarter. The new law will allow employees to use paid sick leave beginning on the 120th calendar day of their employment. 

 

Documentation



Under the current law, employers could request documentation confirming that paid sick leave is being taken for a permitted purpose when utilized in three consecutive days. The new law will prohibit employers from requiring an employee to provide any documentation confirming that paid sick leave is being taken for a permitted purpose.

 

Takeaways

 

There are a number of other provisions of the new law, including expanded employee protections and significant changes to employer and employee notice requirements.

 

It is critical for employers to review their policies and handbooks for compliance and ensure that they are updated as needed. Even employers that already offer 40 hours of paid time off to their employees or those whose policies comply with the current law must review and update their policies to ensure compliance with the many changes under the new law. 

Vincent Farisello is Co-Chair of the Labor & Employment group and Maria Laurato is an associate in Carmody's Litigation practice group.


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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