Hartford Business Journal

18 HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM | SEPTEMBER 22, 2025 FOCUS | Law Cindy Cieslak, a partner with Hartford-based employment law firm Rose Kallor, said employers should consider the importance of efficiency and retention when it comes to return-to-work policies. HBJ Photo | Steve Laschever Back to Business CT court ruling backs employers in remote work legal battle, amid new wave of return-to-office mandates employers don't have to accommodate requests for full-time remote work, if those arrangements would eliminate essential job functions. The decision — in Castelino v. Whitman, Breed, Abbott & Morgan — provides the first appel- late-level guidance in Connecticut on post-pandemic remote work accommo- dation requests, legal experts said. "The theme, throughout, is that the employer has no obligation to change the nature of the job, and especially attendance at the workplace, simply because an employee makes the request" for an accommodation, said Cindy Cieslak, a partner with Rose Kallor in Hartford who represents employers in employment issues. Essential function The case centered on Marita Castelino, an administrative assistant at Greenwich law firm Whitman, Breed, Abbott & Morgan, who requested to work exclusively from home in June 2020 after discovering COVID-19 testing was being conducted in her office building. Castelino, who has diabetes and asthma, had been hired for a position described as "mostly remote" with expectations to come into the office "as needed." The law firm denied her accommo- dation request, explaining that her role required in-person tasks including maintaining physical files, scanning client documents and meeting with clients to obtain signatures and nota- rize real estate closing documents. By Andrew Larson alarson@hartfordbusiness.com A t Lincoln Financial, hybrid work has been the norm since the pandemic, with many employees splitting time between home and office. Starting this month, the company — which has a large presence in down- town Hartford's Metro Center office building — is tightening that policy: hybrid employees must now work three days a week in the office, up from two. Unlike some companies using return-to-office mandates to trim staff, Lincoln says the change reflects its "ongoing commitment to an employee experience that promotes balance and flexibility." The move, a spokesperson added, is designed to "support our ability to best serve our customers, drive innovation and maintain our competitive industry edge." The insurance giant's policy change coincides with a broader corporate shift away from pandemic-era remote work flexibility. Data from location analytics firm Placer.ai's Nationwide Office Building Index shows that employee office visits in July rose 10.7% from a year earlier, reaching their highest point since early 2020, though still 21.8% below July 2019 levels. Meantime, according to research from national staffing firm Robert Half, 53% of companies now require employees to work in the office at least three days a week, up from 37% the year prior. With office attendance climbing to its highest levels since the pandemic, Connecticut employers also have greater legal cover to enforce in-person policies. A recent Connecticut Appel- late Court ruling reaffirmed companies' authority to require workers back at their desks, underscoring how return- to-office mandates are becoming both more common and more enforceable. The court ruled in July that WHAT SHOULD BUSINESSES DO? For employers, the Castelino decision may mean tightening employment policies and practices, legal experts said. Here's how to respond: • Document the hiring process and clearly define in-office requirements upfront; • Train managers on the interactive process under the Americans with Disabilities Act and Connecticut's Fair Employment Practices Act; • Update job descriptions regularly to reflect current duties; • Document performance issues consistently, regardless of accommodation requests.

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