Stephen R. Polauf

Stephen R. Polauf is a solo employment attorney based in New Haven, Connecticut. Through Polauf Law LLC, Stephen represents both employers and employees in CHRO and EEOC proceedings, litigation, and employment advisory matters. He is a published expert on Connecticut employment law, and his analysis has appeared in the Hartford Business Journal on issues including paid sick leave and statutory wage deductions.

Stephen is an experienced litigator and has won judgment or dismissal before trial on behalf of employers when practicing at management-side firms. He secured summary judgment, dismissal, or denial of appeal certifications for employers on suits involving wage-and-hour regulations, breach of contract, ERISA, employment discrimination and public accommodations, state administrative appeals, and federal appeals in the Second Circuit.

Since striking out on his own, Stephen has expanded his practice to include both employee and employer representations. For employees, he has secured over six figures in settlements representing victims of wrongful job losses and unlawful discrimination and retaliation. He takes a principled, aggressive, results-oriented approach to each negotiation, drawing on his experience representing clients on both sides of the table. For employers, he drafts employee handbooks, employment contracts, and effective waivers and releases of claims using the same diligent, tested approach he applies to litigation. That advisory work also includes custom wage-deduction consent forms for front-loaded paid sick leave recoupment at separation, for which he has obtained formal approval and certification from the Connecticut Labor Commissioner on behalf of clients on four occasions.

Polauf Law is a tech-driven firm utilizing self-built and securely deployed tools for research, drafting, and analysis, matching or exceeding large-firm resources. Stephen currently represents clients from a broad swath of backgrounds, and his approach is informed by the lessons he brings from his prior government service and growing up in Brooklyn, New York.

Before law school, I spent four years in public service and government in New York and worked on political campaigns. That background informs my approach to agency process, administrative proceedings, and the institutional realities that often shape employment disputes.

Prior to opening my own firm, I practiced at three labor and employment law Connecticut firms—in Hartford, New Haven, and Stamford—defending employers in NLRB proceedings and state and federal court, securing dispositive motions and successfully opposing a petition for permission to appeal to the Second Circuit. I also drafted handbooks for regional and national employers. It was through this work that I uncovered an anomaly in the 2025 paid sick leave bill that I wrote about for the Hartford Business Journal in March 2025 and helped my management-side clients implement just as the new law went into effect. My decision to launch Polauf Law was driven by a desire to apply my own judgment, litigate independently, and build a practice aligned with the work I value most.

I also occasionally take on commercial litigation and administrative law cases. I have experience litigating and winning tax appeals in Superior Court, and immigration law experience from my time as a congressional district staffer working with an immigrant population.