Connecticut 2023 Regular Session Status: In Committee 1 D cosponsors

HB 6792 — AN ACT CONCERNING WAGE THEFT RESPONSIBILITY.

Last action — FILE NO. 475

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  1. ✓
    Introduced
  2. 2
    In Committee
  3. 3
    Passed House
  4. 4
    Passed Senate
  5. 5
    To Executive
  6. 6
    Enacted

This bill died with 2023 Regular Session. It reached “In Committee” and never advanced before the session ended, so it can no longer move — a new version would have to be reintroduced in the current session.

This bill is no longer active — its legislative session has ended, so there is no live prognosis. It would have to be reintroduced in the current session to move again.

Bill Text

What changed in the latest version

238 added · 73 removed

238 line(s) added, 73 removed.

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General Assembly Raised Bill No.
House of Representatives General Assembly File No.
6792 January Session, 2023 LCO No.
475 January Session, 2023 Substitute House Bill No.
4718 Referred to Committee on LABOR AND PUBLIC EMPLOYEES Introduced by:
6792 House of Representatives, April 6, 2023 The Committee on Labor and Public Employees reported through REP.
(LAB) AN ACT CONCERNING WAGE THEFT RESPONSIBILITY.
SANCHEZ, E.
of the 24th Dist., Chairperson of the Committee on the part of the House, that the substitute bill ought to pass.
AN ACT CONCERNING WAGE THEFT RESPONSIBILITY.
(3) "Owner" means any person, firm, partnership, corporation, association, company, organization or other entity, or combination of LCO No.
sHB6792 / File No.
4718 1 of 4 Raised Bill No.6792 any thereof, that causes (A) a new building or structure to be constructed or an existing building or structure or improvement to be constructed, altered, repaired, maintained, moved or demolished, or (B) land to be excavated or otherwise developed or improved;
475 1 sHB6792 File No.
475 (3) "Owner" means any person, firm, partnership, corporation, association, company, organization or other entity, or combination of any thereof, that causes (A) a new building or structure to be constructed or an existing building or structure or improvement to be constructed, altered, repaired, maintained, moved or demolished, or (B) land to be excavated or otherwise developed or improved;
(NEW) (Effective October 1, 2023) (a) On and after October 1, 2023, any contractor that makes or enters into a construction contract with an owner shall be liable for any debt resulting from an action brought under section 31-72 of the general statutes, owed to an employee or labor organization representing an employee, incurred by a subcontractor at any tier acting under, by or for such contractor or its subcontractors, for the employee's performance of labor.
(NEW) (Effective October 1, 2023) (a) On and after October 1, 2023, any contractor that makes or enters into a construction contract with an owner shall be liable for any debt that is owed to an employee resulting from an action brought under section 31-72 of the general statutes by a subcontractor, at any tier, acting under, by or for such contractor or its subcontractors, for such employee's performance of labor under such construction contract.
(b) On and after October 1, 2023, no agreement, either in the existing construction contract with an owner or in another contract, to waive or release liability assigned to a contractor under this section shall be valid, except as provided in this section.
(b) (1) On and after October 1, 2023, no agreement, either in the construction contract with an owner or in another contract, to waive or release liability assigned to a contractor under this section, shall be valid, except as provided in this section.
No provision of this section shall be deemed to impair therights of a contractor to maintain an action against a subcontractor for the amount of owed wages that are paid by a contractor pursuant to this section.
(2) No provision of this section shall be deemed to impair the rights of a contractor to bring an action against a subcontractor for the amount of owed wages that are paid by a contractor under this section.
(c) No contractor or any other person shall evade or commit any act that negates the requirements of this section, provided this section shall not be deemed to prohibit a contractor or subcontractor from establishing, by contract,or enforcing any other lawful remediesagainst a subcontractor, that such contractor or subcontractor hires, for liability created by violation of this section, provided such contract or LCO No.
(c) No contractor or any other person shall evade or commit any act that negates the requirements of this section.
4718 2 of 4 Raised Bill No.6792 arrangement does not diminish the right of an employee to bring an action under section 31-72 of the general statutes.
Nothing in this section shall be deemed to prohibit a contractor or subcontractor from establishing, by contract,or enforcing any other lawful remediesagainst sHB6792 / File No.
(d) In the case of a civil action brought against a subcontractor under section 31-72 of the general statutes, the contractor shall be considered jointly and severally liable for any unpaid wages, benefits, wage supplements and any other remedies available under section 31-72 of the general statutes.
475 2 sHB6792 File No.
(e) In the case of a civil action brought by an employee under section 31-72 of the general statutes, such employee may designate any person, organization or collective bargaining agent to file a civil action or a complaint with the Labor Commissioner on such employee's behalf.
475 a subcontractor, that such contractor or subcontractor hires, for liability created by violation of this section, provided such contract or arrangement does not diminish the right of an employee to bring an action under section 31-72 of the general statutes.
(f) Any liability assigned to a contractor pursuant to the provisions of this section shall be limited to claims that occurred not earlier than three years prior to the initiation of such claim in Superior Court or the commencement of a civil action brought by the Labor Commissioner under section 31-72 of the general statutes.
(d) In the case of a civil action brought against a subcontractor under section 31-72 of the general statutes, the contractor shall be considered jointly and severally liable for any unpaid wages, wage supplements and any other remedies available under section 31-72 of the general statutes.
(g) Nothing in this section shall prevent the Labor Commissioner from bringing a civil action under section 31-72 of the general statutes to collect unpaid wages and penalties on behalf of an employee pursuant to this section.
(e) (1) In the case of a civil action brought by an employee under section 31-72 of the general statutes, such employee may designate any person, organization or collective bargaining agent to file a civil action or a complaint withtheLabor Commissioner onsuchemployee'sbehalf.
Not less than ten days prior to bringing a civil action under section 31- 72 of the general statutes, an employee, or an employee's designee, shall provide notice of the alleged violation to a contractor.
Such notice shall describethegeneralnatureoftheallegedviolation.Anynoticeprovided to a contractor shall not limit the liability of the contractor or preclude subsequent amendments of an action to encompass additional employees employed by the subcontractor.
(2) No employee, or employee's designee, shall be required to provide notice to a contractor pursuant to this subsection if such employee, or employee's designee, has previously given notice to such contractor of the same violation or a prior violation by the same subcontractor.
(f) Any liability assigned to a contractor pursuant to the provisions of this section shall be limited to claims that occurred not earlier than two years prior to the initiation of such claim in Superior Court or the commencement of a civil action brought by the Labor Commissioner under section 31-72 of the general statutes.
(g) Nothing in this section shall prevent the Labor Commissioner from bringing a civil action under section 31-72 of the general statutes sHB6792 / File No.
475 3 sHB6792 File No.
475 to collect unpaid wages and penalties on behalf of an employee pursuant to this section.
(NEW) (Effective October 1, 2023) (a) Upon request of a contractor or a contractor's subcontractor, a subcontractor shall provide such contractor or subcontractor with certified payroll records.
(NEW) (Effective October 1, 2023) (a) Upon request of a contractor or a contractor's subcontractor, a subcontractor shall provide such contractor or contractor's subcontractor with payroll records attested to and certified to be accurate and complete.
Such payrollrecordsshallindicateasubcontractor'spaymentstatusinpaying wages and making any applicable fringe or other benefit payments or contributions to a third party on each employee's behalf.
Such payroll records shall indicate a subcontractor's payment status in paying wages and making any applicable fringe or other benefit payments or contributions to a third party on each employee's behalf.
(b) Upon request of a contractor or a contractor's subcontractor, a LCO No.
(b) Upon request of a contractor or a contractor's subcontractor, a subcontractor shall provide such contractor or contractor's subcontractor:
4718 3 of 4 Raised Bill No.
(1) The names of all employees the subcontractor employs on the project, including the names of all those designated as independent contractors;
6792 subcontractor shall provide such contractor or subcontractor:
(1) The names of all employees the subcontractor employs on the project, including the names of all those designated as "independent contractors";
(c) Failure to comply with a request for information in accordance with subsections (a) and (b) of this section shall be cause for a contractor to withhold payments owed to a subcontractor.
(c) Failure to comply with a request for information under subsections (a) and (b) of this section shall be cause for a contractor to withhold payments owed to a subcontractor.
2 October 1, 2023 New section Sec.
2 October 1, 2023 New section sHB6792 / File No.
3 October 1, 2023 New section Statement of Purpose:
475 4 sHB6792 File No.
To require a contractor to be liable for the unpaid wages of a subcontractor, at any tier, that performs any portion of work within the scope of the contractor's construction contract.
475 Sec.
[Proposed deletions are enclosed in brackets.
3 October 1, 2023 New section Statement of Legislative Commissioners:
Proposed additions are indicated by underline, except that when the entire text of a bill or resolution or a section of a bill or resolution is new, it is not underlined.] LCO No.
Section 2(a) was rewritten for clarity, Section 2(b) was divided into Subdivs.
4718 4 of 4
and rewritten for clarity, in Section 2(c) ", provided this section shallnot" was changed to ".Nothing inthis sectionshall" for consistency with standard drafting conventions, in Section 2(e) "give" was changed to "provide" and "A" was changed to "Any" for consistency with standard drafting conventions, in Section 3(a) and (b) "contractor's" was added before "subcontractor" for clarity, and in Section 3(c) "in accordance with" was changed to "under" for consistency with standard drafting conventions.
LAB Joint Favorable Subst.
sHB6792 / File No.
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475 5 sHB6792 File No.
475 The following Fiscal Impact Statement and Bill Analysis are prepared for the benefit of the members of the General Assembly, solely for purposes of information, summarization and explanation and do not represent the intent of the General Assembly or either chamber thereof for any purpose.
In general, fiscal impacts are based upon a variety of informational sources, including the analyst’s professional knowledge.
Whenever applicable, agency data is consulted as part of the analysis, however final products do not necessarily reflect an assessment from any specific department.
OFA Fiscal Note State Impact:
None Municipal Impact:
None Explanation The bill, which makes a construction contractor liable for any wage debt resulting from a delinquent wage claim brought against one of their subcontractors and enhances associated enforcement mechanisms, does not result in any fiscal impact to the state or municipalities.1 Section 2 allows an employee, the Department of Labor, and other designated parties to bring action against a contractor for unpaid wages and does not result in any fiscal impact to the state or municipalities.
The court system disposes of over 250,000 cases annually and the number of cases is not anticipated to be great enough to need additional resources.
The Out Years State Impact:
None Municipal Impact:
None 1Current law, unchanged by the bill, allows relief to be awarded in the form of up to twice the wages owed, related costs, and attorney's fees.
sHB6792 / File No.
475 6 sHB6792 File No.
475 OLR Bill Analysis HB 6792 AN ACT CONCERNING WAGE THEFT RESPONSIBILITY.
SUMMARY Under theexisting wage claimlaw, anemployee cansueanemployer for failure to pay wages or fringe benefits (unpaid wages) and may be awarded up to twice their unpaid wages, related costs, and attorney’s fees (CGS § 31-72).
For contracts executed on or after October 1, 2023, this bill makes a construction contractor liable for the unpaid wages owed by one of the contractor’s subcontractors in these lawsuits.
The bill does not apply to prevailing wage contracts (i.e., most public works projects) (CGS § 31-53).
The bill also (1) prohibits a contractor from evading the bill’s requirements, (2) allows a two-year lookback period from the start of a claim, (3) establishes procedures for a contractor to request payroll records and other project information from the subcontractor, and (4) allows the Department of Labor (DOL) to bring a civil action to collect unpaid wages and penalties on behalf of an employee under the bill.
Lastly, the bill expands who can file a civil action or a complaint with DOL on the employee’s behalf under the wage claim law.
It allows the employee to designate any person, organization, or union to do so.
EFFECTIVE DATE:
October 1, 2023 §§ 1 & 2 — CONTRACTOR LIABLE FOR SUBCONTRACTOR’S WAGE DEBT The bill applies to a contractor making or taking a construction contract executed on or after October 1, 2023.
It requires the contractor to assume liability for any debts owed to a subcontractor’s employee sHB6792 / File No.
475 7 sHB6792 File No.
475 due to an action brought under the wage claim law.
The bill applies to debt incurred by a subcontractor at any tier acting under, by, or for the contractor or the contractor’s subcontractors.
Under the bill, a “construction contract” is a written or oral agreement to (1) construct, reconstruct, alter, maintain, move, or demolish any building, structure, or improvement or (2) develop or improve land, including excavations.
A “contractor” is any person, partnership, company, or other entity, including a construction manager, general or prime contractor, joint venture, or any combination of these that enters into a construction contract with an owner.
A “subcontractor” is any person, partnership, company, or other entitythatisapartytoacontractwith (1)acontractoror(2)withanother party who has a separate contract with a contractor that performs work, at any tier, for the contractor’s construction contract with an owner, whether or not the subcontractor has a direct contract with the contractor.
Evading Liability Prohibited (§ 2(b)-(c)) The bill generally prohibits any agreement executed after October 1, 2022, fromwaiving or releasing a contractor fromliability under the bill, except as the bill allows.
The bill prohibits a contractor from evading or negating the bill’s requirements, but it allows a contractor or subcontractor to establish by contract, or enforcement of other legal remedies, a hired subcontractor’s liability for violating the bill.
These contracts or remedies cannot diminish an employee’s right to bring an action under the bill.
The bill cannot be deemed to impair a contractor’s right to take legal action against a subcontractor to recover the unpaid wages that the contractor must pay under the bill’s provisions.
Enforcement and Notification Requirements (§ 2(d) & (e)) In a civil action against a subcontractor, the bill makes the contractor sHB6792 / File No.
475 8 sHB6792 File No.
475 jointly and severally liable for any unpaid wages, wage supplements, and any other remedies available under the wage claim law.
The bill allows an employee to designate any person, organization,or union to file on the employee’s behalf a civil action or a complaint with the labor commissioner under the existing wage claim law.
It also requires the employee or designee give notice of the alleged violation to the contractor at least 10 days before filing a civil action under the wage claim law.
The notice must describe the nature of the alleged violation.
It does not limit the contractor’s liability or prevent any later amendments to the action to encompass additional employees of the subcontractor.
(The bill does not indicate how the notice must be made, such as certified mail, in order to document when it is delivered and whether it sufficiently describes the alleged violation.) Furthermore, the notice is not required under the bill if the employee or the employee’s designee has previously given notice to the contractor for the same violation or a prior violation of the same contractor.
(The bill does not specify how this notice must be made.) Lookback Period (§ 2(f)) Under the bill, any liability assigned to a contractor applies to any claims occurring within two years before the start of the court claim or labor commissioner’s civil action.
(Presumably, this means the assigned liability is limited to claims that occur within the two years before the claim or action’s initiation.) § 3 — CERTIFIED PAYROLL RECORDS AND OTHER PROJECT INFORMATION The bill requires subcontractors to provide the following information upon a contractor’s or a contractor’s subcontractor’s request:
1.
the names of all the subcontractor’s project workers, including independent contractors;
2.
attested and certified payroll records for all project employees;
3.
the project’s scheduled duration and start date;
sHB6792 / File No.
475 9 sHB6792 File No.
475 4.
the name of any contractor’s subcontractor with whom the responding subcontractor is under contract (i.e., the subcontractor’s own subcontractor);
5.
the local unions with whom the subcontractor is a signatory contractor, when applicable;
and 6.
the name, address, and phone number of the contractor for the subcontractor.
Thepayrollrecordsmustcontainsufficientinformationtoapprisethe contractor or subcontractor about the responding subcontractor’s paymentstatusinpayingwagesandanyfringeorotherbenefits.Payroll records must be redacted to prevent disclosing an employee’s full Social Security number.
Theinformationrequestmustbesenttothesubcontractorbycertified mail and notify the subcontractor that they have 30 days to respond.
Under the bill, a failure to comply with the request for information is cause for a contractor to withhold payments owed to a subcontractor.
COMMITTEE ACTION Labor and Public Employees Committee Joint Favorable Substitute Yea 8 Nay 4 (03/21/2023) sHB6792 / File No.
475 10
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Action History

  1. FILE NO. 475

  2. HOUSE CALENDAR NUMBER 301

  3. FAV. RPT., TABLED FOR HOUSE CALENDAR

  4. RPTD. OUT OF LCO

  5. REFERRED TO Office of Legislative Research AND Office of Fiscal Analysis 04/05/23

  6. FILED WITH LCO

  7. Joint Favorable Substitute

  8. PUBLIC HEARING 0302

  9. REF. TO JOINT COMM. ON Labor and Public Employees

Sponsors

Sponsorship breakdown

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1 sponsors · 0 co-sponsors · 186 not signed on

Sponsors (1)

Co-sponsors (0)

None.

Not signed on (186)

186 members have not signed on to this bill.

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"Not signed on" means a member has not sponsored or co-sponsored this bill — it does not imply opposition. Members flagged Voted No have a recorded No vote on this bill.

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Frequently asked questions

Who sponsors HB 6792?
HB 6792 is sponsored by Julie Kushner (Democratic).
What is the current status of HB 6792?
This bill died with 2023 Regular Session. It reached “In Committee” and never advanced before the session ended, so it can no longer move — a new version would have to be reintroduced in the current session.
Where can I track HB 6792?
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