Working Together

For about 20 years, I have been the Connecticut Bar Association’s Labor and Employment Law Section Legislative Liaison, and since I have been at Pullman & Comley, I have written in this blog about developments at the Connecticut General Assembly and its consideration of labor and employment-related legislation.  At around 1:00 PM on March 11, 2020, I was finishing a blog post concerning the March 10 meeting of the General Assembly’s Labor and Public Employees Committee, and its approval (and advancing out of committee) of a plethora of bills.  Later that day, as the novel Coronavirus was beginning to wreak havoc on the health and spirit of the nation, the National Basketball Association announced it was suspending its season; in some ways, that move proved to be a crossing of the Rubicon. On the next day, schools across our state began the process of closing.  With the ensuing economic calamity (including the closure of non-essential businesses and limitations on the operation of essential businesses), but more importantly a health crisis leading to the tragic deaths of at least 68,000 persons in our country (at the time of writing), our lives have not quite been the same since.  

After the Governor declared a state of emergency and began issuing numerous Executive Orders, the General Assembly essentially ceased to function (at least in an official manner), with its last session taking place on March 11, 2020.  The General Assembly formally adjourned on the constitutionally set deadline of May 6^th, 2020.  It has been reported that the General Assembly may convene for a “special session” in the summer to address the state’s dire budgetary situation, and perhaps some COVID-19-related health and economic stimulus legislation. Invariably, there may be employment law-related aspects to such broad legislation, but it is unlikely that any other labor or employment bills will be passed. 

Please stay tuned and stay safe. 

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FYI-The following is a list of the bills that were approved by the Labor and Public Employees Committee on March 10, 2020:                   

H.B. No. 5270 AN ACT CONCERNING THE RIGHT OF A PUBLIC EMPLOYEE TO JOIN OR SUPPORT A UNION.

H.B. No. 5271 AN ACT CONCERNING BREASTFEEDING IN THE WORKPLACE.

H.B. No. 5273 AN ACT CONCERNING CALL CENTERS AND NOTICE OF CLOSURES.

H.B. No. 5274 AN ACT STRENGTHENING THE PROBATE COURT SYSTEM

H.B. No. 5276 AN ACT CONCERNING DOMESTIC WORKERS. 

H.B. No. 5383 AN ACT CONCERNING THE DISCLOSURE OF SALARY RANGE FOR A VACANT POSITION.  

H.B. No. 5386 AN ACT INCREASING THE PENALTIES ASSOCIATED WITH THE ISSUANCE OF A STOP WORK ORDER.

H.B. No. 5388 AN ACT CREATING A RESPECTFUL AND OPEN WORLD FOR NATURAL HAIR.

S.B. No. 225 AN ACT CONCERNING PER DIEM EQUITY FOR STATE BOARD OF MEDIATION AND ARBITRATION ARBITRATORS. 

S.B. No. 227 AN ACT CONCERNING A FAIR WORK WEEK SCHEDULE. 

S.B. No. 231 AN ACT CONCERNING WORKERS' COMPENSATION BENEFITS FOR CERTAIN MENTAL OR EMOTIONAL IMPAIRMENTS SUFFERED BY EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES PERSONNEL, DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTION EMPLOYEES AND DISPATCHERS.

S.B. No. 348 AN ACT ESTABLISHING A TASK FORCE REGARDING THE STATE WORKFORCE AND RETIRING EMPLOYEES.  

S.B. No. 350 AN ACT CODIFYING PREVAILING WAGE CONTRACT RATES.

S.B. No. 351 AN ACT CONCERNING MINOR AND TECHNICAL CHANGES TO THE WORKERS' COMPENSATION ACT.

S.B. No. 352 AN ACT CONCERNING PERMANENT PARTIAL DISABILITY AND PENSION OFFSETS.

Please feel free to contact me if you have any interest in the substance of these bills, understanding that these bills will not be enacted this year.