Latest Developments from the Connecticut General Assembly: The Labor and Public Employees Committee Has Spoken (Part Three-Even More Bills) | Pullman ...
Our two previous blog posts, which can be found here and here, were about those of the General Assembly The last unrest of the Committee on Labor and Public Employees of Activity to approve and forward invoices from the committee. In addition to the bills that we have already summarized, here is a brief summary of other bills that have been approved by the committee (and which will now have to wait for the General Assembly).
OSHA
VOLUNTARY FIRE DEPARTMENTS / AMBULANCE COMPANIES AND CT OSHA: HB No. 6477 (("A Voluntary Fire Brigade and Ambulance Company Act, as well as the definition of employer under the State Occupational Safety and Health Act”) would clarify the definition of “employer” under the State Occupational Health and Safety Act to include volunteer fire brigades and ambulance companies to the extent that they are regulated by the Federal Occupational Health and Safety Act. However, the bill stipulates that for an initial violation that is not classified as serious, the volunteer fire brigade or ambulance company would only receive a written warning.
CONSTRUCTION SAFETY TRAINING: SB No. 662 (“A law to extend the validity of certain OSH training courses for public works projects”) Would extend the validity of certain occupational health and safety training courses from five to ten years for construction workers involved in public construction projects that fall under applicable wage laws.
OPERATION OF THE LABOR DEPARTMENT
UNEMPLOYMENT ASSISTANCE: HB No. 6344 (“A law establishing the office of the unemployment attorney”) would require the Labor Officer (within available resources) to set up the Unemployment Attorney's Office in the Ministry of Labor to provide assistance to unemployed people. Among other things, the lawyer would have the power to assist and appeal to unemployed people seeking benefits (including assistance in understanding their rights and obligations in relation to benefits). SB No. 904 (“A law on the Executive Director of the Ministry of Labor”) would specify that the Executive Director of the Department of Employment Security of the Ministry should be on the classified service and be fully dedicated to his duties.
REGULATIONS: SB No. 902 (“A law on working conditions”) The labor officer would have to enact regulations on safe and fair working conditions for all employees in the state. HB No. 6479 (“A law on the Efficient operation of the Labor department”) would require the Labor Officer to put in place rules on the efficient operation of the Department of Labor.
MISCELLANEOUS
PERSONAL CARE VISITORS AND PAYMENT OF WAGES: SB No. 942 (“A law on the timely payment of wages") Would require financial intermediaries who provide payroll services to pay government-funded personal care workers to pay these individuals weekly or biweekly on a regular payday determined in advance by the financial intermediary. Under the payroll laws applicable to other employers and employees, they would have to pay by cash, check, direct deposit (at the request of the employee), or payroll card.
HOUSEHOLD WORKERS: SB No. 943 (“A law on wage formation and enforcement in relation to domestic workers”) would require any employer employing a domestic worker to notify the worker in writing at the time of recruitment of: 1) the wage rate, hours worked and payment schedules; 2) professional duties and responsibilities; 3) the availability of sick leave, rest days, vacation, personal days, and public holidays (including whether those days are paid or unpaid and the rate at which those days are incurred); and 4) whether the individual or employer may impose fees or costs for room and board and, if so, the amount of those fees or costs. The draft law stipulates that the labor officer must establish a scholarship program for the education and training of domestic workers in order to grant grants to qualified organizations for the following purposes: 1) Providing education and training measures for domestic workers and employers who deal with minimum wages, overtime , Sick leave deal, records, wage decisions, retaliation and the demands of employers to inform workers of their terms of employment / working conditions (i.e. wages, hours, vacation); 2) providing one or more online resources to domestic workers and employers on government laws and regulations relating to domestic workers; and 3) providing technical and legal support to domestic workers and employers through legal service providers.
BEHAVIOR OF PROFITABLE AND RENEWABLE ENERGY PROJECTS: SB No. 999 (“A law on a just transition to climate-friendly energy production and community investment”) This would, among other things, require developers of covered renewable energy projects to meet applicable wage standards and enter into community admission agreements if their project has a total construction cost of at least $ 2.5 million.
TECHNICAL AND LESS CHANGES: SB No. 903 ("A law on technical and other changes to the statutes of the Ministry of Labor"). The title speaks largely for itself. SB No. 907 ("Law on Minor and Technical Changes to the Employee Compensation Act"). Here, too, the title speaks largely for itself. However, the draft law would change the title "Employee Compensation Officer" to "Administrative Judge".
AND FINALLY MORE RESPONSIBILITIES AND STUDIES
The committee continued its well-established affinity with task forces and studies and agreed HB No. 6343 (“A bill about a study on gig workers"), Whereby the labor officer (in consultation with the Worker and Immigrant Rights Advocacy Clinic at Yale Law School) would have to conduct a study of gig workers in that state (including, but not limited to, Internet-based grocery delivery drivers and ridesharing providers) and submit to the The General Assembly's Labor and Public Employees Committee shall submit a report by January 1, 2022 with findings and recommendations for legislation to prevent companies from wrongly classifying such workers as independent contractors instead of employees.
HB No. 6476 (“A law on a disparity study”) would require the Human Rights and Opportunities Commission to launch a call for proposals to conduct a "disparity study" in consultation with the Department of Administrative Services. The study includes an analysis of the existing statistical data on the state's decommissioning program to determine whether its current form achieves the goal of facilitating the participation of small and minority businesses in state contracts.
SB No. 141 (“A bill to set up a task force to investigate the benefits of cancer relief for firefighters”) would establish atask force to investigate the benefits of cancer relief for firefighters. This study includes, among other things, an examination of 1) the adequacy of the current program to fight cancer among firefighters and 2) the feasibility and impact of providing employee compensation and other benefits, including death benefits, to firefighters diagnosed with cancer, acquired through occupational exposure to noxious fumes or toxic gases. The task force is to submit its report with its results and recommendations to the Committee on Labor and Public Employees of the General Assembly by January 1, 2022.
SB No. 1001 (“An employment regulation law”) The Ministry of Labor would have to carry out a study on the need for employment regulation by January 1, 2022 and submit its report with its results and recommendations to the Committee on Labor and Public Employees of the General Assembly. HB No. 6379 (“Concerning an act a study by the employee right”) The labor commissioner would have to conduct a study on workers' rights in that state by January 1, 2022 and submit a report with findings and recommendations to the General Assembly's Labor and Public Employees Committee. This could be a wildcard law.
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Bills relating to labor and employment issues can also be drawn up by other committees (such as the Judiciary, Planning and Development Committees). The meeting of the General Assembly in 2021 is to be suspended on June 9, 2021. So stay tuned to see if any of these laws come into effect at some point.
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