Hartford Business Journal

HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM | APRIL 1, 2024 5 Politics & Policy Labor committee sends dozens of bills to House and Senate; these proposals would impact businesses By Skyler Frazer sfrazer@hartfordbusiness.com T he General Assembly's Labor and Public Employees Committee recently approved several dozen bills, including numerous measures that would significantly impact Connecticut businesses. The bills were sent to the full House and Senate for further consideration. Lawmakers have until May 8, the end of this year's legislative session, to act on the proposals. Several of the bills faced opposition from the business community, including one that would phase out the state's tipped minimum wage, and another that would expand Connecticut's paid sick and family medical leave program. Many of the bills were approved along party- line votes, with eight Democrats in favor and four Republicans in opposition. The Democratic co-chairs of the committee are Sen. Julie Kushner (Danbury) and Rep. Manny Sanchez (New Britain). The ranking member Republicans on the committee are Sen. Rob Sampson (Wolcott) and Rep. Steve Weir (Hebron). Bills voted out of the labor committee along party-line votes included: PAID SICK DAYS EXPANSION Senate bills 7 and 12 and House bill 5005 all expand the state's paid sick days laws. They require all employers to provide employees with paid sick days, regardless of company size. Under current statutes, only employers with more than 50 employees are required to provide paid sick days. The bills would also expand the permitted purposes for which an employee may use a paid sick day, such as counseling for a physical or psycho- logical injury or disability. They also expand the definition of who qualifies as a family member when a worker wants to use a paid sick day to include an individual's parents and domestic partners. STRIKING WORKERS' BENEFITS House bill 5164 allows striking employees to access unemployment benefits after two consec- utive weeks on the picket lines. It's similar to a Democratic proposal that passed in the state Senate last year, but didn't get through the House. According to the Office of Fiscal Analysis, a nonpartisan fiscal research office for the legisla- ture, the bill results in a one-time cost of $396,000 to the state's General Fund. If striking workers become eligible for unem- ployment benefits, it would also result in a cost to Connecticut's Unemployment Trust Fund, which is funded by employers. TIPPED WAGES Senate bill 221 phases out the lower minimum wage for hourly employees who earn tips, which would force many restaurants to increase wages. Connecticut's hourly minimum wages for waitstaff and bartenders are $6.38 and $8.23, respectively. The state's regular minimum wage is $15.69 per hour. Waitstaff and bartenders are still required to earn at least $15.69, but tips count toward that total. If tips don't get workers to the $15.69 threshold, employers are required by law to make up the difference. NONCOMPETE AGREEMENTS House bill 5269 bans new noncompete agree- ments for employees who are paid below three times the minimum wage, and independent contractors who are paid below five times the minimum wage. It also bans noncompete agreements when a worker leaves for "good cause," and does not allow such agreements to last longer than one year. PRESCRIPTION DRUG BENEFITS House bill 5386 requires employers or insurers acting on behalf of employees to provide notice of a proposed discontinuance or reduction of coverage of an employee's prescription medica- tion, and get approval from an administrative law judge before it takes effect. UNPAID SUBCONTRACTOR WAGES Senate bill 409 makes a contractor liable for unpaid wages owed to an employee of a subcon- tractor who performs work on any portion of a construction contract. WAREHOUSE QUOTAS Senate bill 412 creates protections for ware- house workers against unreasonable quotas imposed by employers. For example, it would restrict the use of quotas based solely on ranking the performance of one employee in relation to the performance of other employees. It also requires employers to provide a written description to new hires of each quota the employee is or will be subject to, and any potential adverse employment action that may result from failing to meet each quota. WORK SCHEDULE CHANGES Senate bill 413 requires retail, food services, hospitality and long-term healthcare providers with 500 or more employees to provide workers 14 days advance notice of their work schedules, with limited ability to make schedule changes. It also requires employers to pay workers extra if they don't provide enough advance notice of a schedule change. Bills that passed out of the labor committee with bipartisan support included: WAGE AND HOUR INSPECTORS House bill 5384 increases the number of wage and hour inspectors at the Labor Department in order to monitor the increasing number of wage theft complaints in the state. PAID TIME OFF House bill 5468 didn't have full consensus — state Sen. Sampson voted against it, while his three Republican peers voted in favor of it — but would require employers to provide 12 months' notice prior to making changes to their paid time off policy. Lawmakers consider tax credit for office-to-apartment conversions Amid a struggling office market and lawmakers' push to increase affordable housing in the state, the General Assembly is considering a proposal that would incentivize the conversion of commer- cial buildings into residential developments. The proposal has already passed out of the Housing Committee and is part of a broader affordable housing bill. Senate Bill 6 would offer developers a tax credit voucher for converting a commercial building — including hotel, retail or office space, but not industrial properties — into residential developments. The tax credit voucher would equal 10% of the qualified conversion expendi- tures, according to the bill. The state Department of Housing would be charged with administering the tax credit program. Eligibility requirements would take into account "whether such conversion will create or preserve units for affordable housing," according to the bill. The tax credit would be applied to the income tax. It's not clear how much it would potentially cost in terms of lost tax revenue. Conversion of office space into apartments has been a hot topic nationally since the pandemic led to significant increases in office vacancy rates as employers embrace more flexible work arrange- ments, including remote work. — Greg Bordonaro | HBJ Lawmakers consider bill to establish new apprenticeship, robotics hub in CT A proposal to establish an advanced manufac- turing apprenticeship and robotics training center at Tunxis Community College in Farmington is getting support from business advocates who say it will help ramp-up Connecticut's future workforce. Senate bill 430, which was introduced by the Commerce Committee, would give the state Bond Commission power to authorize up to $4 million for the Connecticut State Colleges and Universities system to establish an advanced manufacturing apprenticeship and community robotics center. The facility would be created in conjunction with local manufacturers and located at Tunxis Community College in Farmington. The state previously spent $8.4 million to purchase and renovate a 44,000-square-foot former manufacturing facility adjacent to Tunxis' campus to be used as a new training hub. However, as renovations to the facility were nearing completion, the school said it didn't have enough money to fund actual programming, estimating it would cost more than $550,000 annually to hire faculty and run the programs. The school said it needed as much as $4 million in additional capital funds to get the training center up and running. The Connecticut Business & Industry Association (CBIA) and Connecticut Roundtable on Climate and Jobs both testified in favor of the proposal, saying that it addresses the largest need for manu- facturers in the state: more skilled workers. "The manufacturing sector is growing at rapid rates and as a result, the need to produce a highly skilled workforce is more important than ever," said Ashley Zane, a CBIA lobbyist. Following a public hearing, the Commerce Committee recently voted to send the bill to the Finance, Revenue and Bonding Committee for further consideration. — Skyler Frazer | HBJ

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