Before the pandemic hit, Joe Hochberg worked out of the offices of a small Chicago trading company, where he’s employed as an options trader, but when COVID-19 forced many people to abandon their cubicles it also introduced unprecedented flexibility.
Hochberg, a New Jersey native, has been working remotely from his home state for the past year, but he’s moving to Hartford, where his girlfriend lives as she finishes medical school at UConn. When he arrives, he’ll work out of his apartment and downtown Hartford coworking space ThinkSynergy. He said he’s enjoyed working remotely, and could see doing it permanently if his employer is amenable to it.
Final passage in Senate of labor, early voting measures
A voter casts an absentee ballot in a drop box in West Hartford last year.
The Senate voted Thursday night for final passage of a bill intended to curb pay disparities and a referendum question asking voters if the Connecticut Constitution should be amended to allow in-person early voting.
House Bill 6380 requires the disclosure of pay ranges to employees and applicants for those positions, an intended corrective to pay inequities that disadvantage women.
The sponsor, Sen. Julie Kushner, D-Danbury, said it helps to level the playing field. Rep. Rob Sampson, R-Wolcott, called it an unwarranted intrusion into employer-employee relations.
Sen. Norm Needleman debates the bill with Sen. Tony Hwang (foreground)
The state Senate late Thursday voted to send contentious legislation to the governor’s desk that nudges towns to loosen restrictive zoning policies that proponents say drive up housing prices, keep many affluent suburbs exclusive and Connecticut one of the most segregated states.
The legislation would require towns to allow single-family homeowners to convert parts of their dwellings or detached garages into so-called accessory dwelling units, nicknamed “granny pods,” without needing special permission from local officials but it allows towns to vote to opt out. The bill places limits on how many parking spaces a new home or apartment must have but also allows towns to vote to opt out.