SB 1178 — AN ACT EXPANDING CONNECTICUT PAID SICK DAYS.

If [a service worker's] an employee's need for such leave is not foreseeable, an employer may require [a service worker] an employeetogivenoticeofsuchintentionasemployeetogivenoticeofsuchintentionassoonaspracticable.For soonaspracticable.For paid sick leave of three or more consecutive days, an employer may require reasonable documentation that such leave is being taken for one of the purposes permitted under subsection (a) of this section.

If such leave is permitted under subdivision [(3)] (4) of subsection (a) of this section, a court record or documentation signed by [a service worker] an employee or volunteer working for a victim services organization, an attorney, a police officer or other counselor involved with the [service worker] employee shall be sSB1178considered /reasonable Filedocumentation. No.

449 9 sSB1178 File No.

449 considered reasonable documentation.

If an employer requires an employee to provide documentation for paid sick leave under this section and (1) such employer does not offer health insurance to the employee, such employer shall pay all out-of-pocket expensesLCO the{\\PRDFS1\SCOUSERS\FORZANOF\WS\2023SB-0119 employeeof incurs16 inR02-SB.docx obtaining} theSubstitute documentation,Bill orNo. (2) if an employee has health insurance, the employer shall pay any costs charged to such employee by the employee's health care provider for providing the specific documentation required by the employer.

1178 expenses the employee incurs in obtaining the documentation, or (2) if an employee has health insurance, the employer shall pay any costs charged to such employee by the employee's health care provider for providing the specific documentation required by the employer.

(a) Nothing in sections 31-57s to 31-57w, inclusive, as amended by this act, shall be construed to (1) prevent employers from providing more paid sick leave than is required under said sections, [31-57s to 31- sSB117857w, /inclusive,] File(2) No.diminish any rights provided to any employee [or service worker] under a collective bargaining agreement, or (3) preempt or override the terms of any collective bargaining agreement effective prior to January 1, 2012.

449(b) 10Nothing sSB1178in Filesections 31-57s to 31-57w, inclusive, as amended by LCO {\\PRDFS1\SCOUSERS\FORZANOF\WS\2023SB-0110 of 16 R02-SB.docx } Substitute Bill No.

4491178 57w,this inclusive,]act, (2)shall diminishbe anyconstrued rightsto providedprohibit toan anyemployer employee(1) [orfrom establishing a policy whereby [a service worker] an employee may donate unused accrued paid sick leave to another [service worker] employee, and (2) who provides more paid sick leave than is required under asections collective31- bargaining57s agreement,to or31-57w, (3)inclusive, preemptas oramended overrideby this act, for the termspurposes described in subdivision (1) of anysubsection collective(a) bargainingof agreementsection effective31-57t, prioras toamended Januaryby 1,this 2012.act, from limiting the amount of such sick leave [a service worker] an employee may use for other purposes.

(b) Nothing in sections 31-57s to 31-57w, inclusive, as amended by this act, shall be construed to prohibit an employer (1) from establishing a policy whereby [a service worker] an employee may donate unused accrued paid sick leave to another [service worker] employee, and (2) who provides more paid sick leave than is required under sections 31- 57s to 31-57w, inclusive, as amended by this act, for the purposes described in subdivision (1) of subsection (a) of section 31-57t, as amended by this act, from limiting the amount of such sick leave [a service worker] an employee may use for other purposes.

sSB1178(b) /The FileLabor No.Commissioner shall advise any employee who (1) is covered by a collective bargaining agreement that provides for paid sick days, and (2) files a complaint pursuant to subsection (a) of this section of [his or her] the employee's right to pursue a grievance with [his or her] the employee's collective bargaining agent.

449LCO 11{\\PRDFS1\SCOUSERS\FORZANOF\WS\2023SB-0111 sSB1178of File16 R02-SB.docx } Substitute Bill No.

4491178 (b)(c) TheAny Labor Commissioner shall advise any employee whoaggrieved (1) is covered by a collectiveviolation bargainingof agreementthe thatprovisions providesof forsections paid31-57s sickto days,31-57w, andinclusive, (2)as filesamended aby complaint pursuant to subsection (a) of this sectionact, ofmay [hisfile or her] the employee's right to pursue a grievancecomplaint with [his or her] the employee'sLabor collectiveCommissioner. bargaining agent.

(c) Any employee aggrieved by a violation of the provisions of sections 31-57s to 31-57w, inclusive, as amended by this act, may file a complaint with the Labor Commissioner.

sSB1178[(d)] /(e) FileThe No.Labor Commissioner shall administer this section within available appropriations.

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449 [(d)] (e) The Labor Commissioner shall administer this section within available appropriations.

(a)LCO Each{\\PRDFS1\SCOUSERS\FORZANOF\WS\2023SB-0112 employer subject to the provisions of section16 31-57s,R02-SB.docx as} amendedSubstitute byBill thisNo. act, shall, at the time of hiring, provide notice to each [service worker] employee (1) of the entitlement to paid sick leave for [service workers] employees, the amount of paid sick leave provided to [service workers] employees and the terms under which paid sick leave may be used, (2) that retaliation by the employer against the [service worker] employee for requesting or using paid sick leave for which the [service worker] employee is eligible is prohibited, and (3) that the [service worker] employee has a right to file a complaint with the Labor Commissioner or bring a civil action in the Superior Court for any violation of this section and of sections 31-57s to 31-57v, inclusive, as amendedbythisact.[Employersmay]Eachemployershallcomplywith theprovisionsofthissectionby (A)displaying aposter inaconspicuous place, accessible to [service workers] employees, at the employer's place ofbusinessthat containstheinformationrequiredby thissectionin both English and Spanish, [.

1178 (a) Each employer subject to the provisions of section 31-57s, as amended by this act, shall, at the time of hiring, provide notice to each [service worker] employee (1) of the entitlement to paid sick leave for [service workers] employees, the amount of paid sick leave provided to [service workers] employees and the terms under which paid sick leave may be used, (2) that retaliation by the employer against the [service worker] employee for requesting or using paid sick leave for which the [service worker] employee is eligible is prohibited, and (3) that the [service worker] employee has a right to file a complaint with the Labor Commissioner or bring a civil action in the Superior Court for any violation of this section and of sections 31-57s to 31-57v, inclusive, as amendedbythisact.[Employersmay]Eachemployershallcomplywith theprovisionsofthissectionby (A)displaying aposter inaconspicuous place, accessible to [service workers] employees, at the employer's place ofbusinessthat containstheinformationrequiredby thissectionin both English and Spanish, [.

sSB1178(b) /Each Fileemployer No.shall include in the record required under section 31-13a, (1) the number of hours, if any, of paid sick leave accrued by or provided to the employee, and (2) the number of hours, if any, of paid sick leave used by the employee during the calendar year.

449Each 13LCO sSB1178{\\PRDFS1\SCOUSERS\FORZANOF\WS\2023SB-0113 Fileof 16 R02-SB.docx } Substitute Bill No.

4491178 (b) Each employer shall includeretain insuch therecords recordfor requireda underperiod section 31-13a, (1) the number of hours,three ifyears any,and ofshall paidallow sickthe leaveLabor accruedCommissioner, bywith orappropriate providednotice toand theat employee,a andmutually (2)agreeable thetime, numberaccess ofto hours,such ifrecord any,in oforder paidto sickmonitor leavecompliance usedwith by the employeerequirements duringof thethis calendarsection. year.

Each employer shall retain such records for a period of three years and shall allow the Labor Commissioner, with appropriate notice and at a mutually agreeable time, access to such record in order to monitor compliance with the requirements of this section.

sSB1178(a) /The FileLabor Commissioner, in consultation with the Commissioner of Public Health, shall encourage the development of occupational health clinics by making grants-in-aid to public and nonprofit LCO {\\PRDFS1\SCOUSERS\FORZANOF\WS\2023SB-0114 of 16 R02-SB.docx } Substitute Bill No.

4491178 14organizations. sSB1178 File No.

449 (a) The Labor Commissioner, in consultation with the Commissioner of Public Health, shall encourage the development of occupational health clinics by making grants-in-aid to public and nonprofit organizations.

5 October 1, 2023 31-57v sSB1178Sec. / File No.

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449 Sec.

7 October 1, 2023 31-397(a) StatementLCO {\\PRDFS1\SCOUSERS\FORZANOF\WS\2023SB-0117815 of Legislative16 Commissioners:R02-SB.docx } Substitute Bill No.

In1178 SectionLAB 1(2),Joint "employee"Favorable wasSubst. changed to "individual" for internal consistency;

inAPP SectionJoint 2(a)Favorable "atLCO a{\\PRDFS1\SCOUSERS\FORZANOF\WS\2023SB-01178- faster16 rateof than16 requiredR02-SB.docx by"} was replaced with "that is accrued in total at a rate greater than the rate described in" for clarity;

in Section 6(a), "and make such poster and written notice" was added after "written notice" for clarity;

and in Section 6(d) "first" was changed to "primary" for consistency with standard drafting conventions.

LAB Joint Favorable Subst.

sSB1178 / File No.

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449 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:

Agency Affected Fund-Effect FY 24 $ FY 25 $ Labor Dept.

GF - Cost 244,343 324,402 State Comptroller - Fringe GF - Cost 93,494 127,776 Benefits Labor Dept.

GF - Potential Minimal Minimal Revenue Gain Department of Developmental GF - Potential See Below See Below Services;

Social Services, Dept.

Cost Resources of the General Fund GF - Potential See Below See Below Revenue Loss Note:

GF=General Fund Municipal Impact:

None Explanation The bill, which expands the state's paid sick leave law to approximately 1.6 million workers, results in a cost to (1) the Department of Labor (DOL) of $244,343 in FY 24 (partial year cost) and $324,402 in FY 25 and (2) the State Comptroller- Fringe Benefits account of $93,494 in FY 24 (partial year cost) and $127,776 in FY 25, as well as a potential minimal revenue gain associated with civil penalties from violations.

2 Finally, the bill results in a potential cost and potential revenue loss associated with paid sick leave for personalcare attendants 1The fringe benefit costs for most state employees are budgeted centrally in accounts administered by the Comptroller.

The estimated active employee fringe benefit cost associated with most personnel changes is 42.82% of payroll in FY 24.

Civil penalties for violations of the state's paid sick leave provisions range from $100 to $500 per violation.

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449 (PCAs).

Administration Costs In order to administer the expanded sick leave provisions, DOL would require two Wage Enforcement Agents ($89,177 for salary and $38,186 for fringe benefits each) and one Staff Attorney ($112,769 for salary and $48,288 for fringe benefits) along with associated equipment/overhead costs of $26,000.

Personal Care Attendants The bill results in a cost to the Departments of Social Services (DSS) and Developmental Services (DDS) associated with paid sick leave for PCAs, to the extent the bill’s provisions exceed paid sick leave provided underthePCAagreement.Costcomponentswouldinclude(1)payment to PCAs for sick leave, (2) payment to PCAs to provide necessary services to Medicaid consumers while another PCA is taking sick leave, and (3) enhanced contract costs for the PCA Workforce Council to administer paid sick leave benefits.

For context, there are approximately 15,000 PCAs supporting DSS and DDS Medicaid consumers.

The bill requires the PCA Workforce Council to act on behalf of consumer employers of PCAs for purposes of the bill.

Most DSS and DDS consumers with funding for PCAs are enrolled in a Home and Community-Based Medicaid waiver and are self-directed consumer employers, as specified under the waiver.

To the extent the bill's provisions conflict with Medicaid waiver requirements, the bill results in a federal revenue loss.

Enforcement Sections 5 and 6 allows employees, the Labor Commissioner, or the Attorney General to bring civil action to the Superior Court for violations of the bill.

Additionally, appeals to complaints made to the Labor Commissioner may be appealed in Superior Court.

This does not resultinanyfiscalimpacttothestateormunicipalities.Thecourtsystem disposes of over 250,000 cases annually and the number of cases is not sSB1178 / File No.

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449 anticipated to be great enough to need additional resources.

The Out Years The annualizedongoing cost impact identifiedabove wouldcontinue into the future subject to inflation.

The ongoing revenue impact identified above would continue into the future.

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449 OLR Bill Analysis sSB 1178 AN ACT EXPANDING CONNECTICUT PAID SICK DAYS.

SUMMARY This bill expands the state’s paid sick leave law in numerous ways.

The current paid sick leave law generally requires certain employers with at least 50 employees to provide up to 40 hours of paid sick leave annually to their “service workers” in certain specified occupations.

The bill expands the law by, among other things:

1.

covering all private-sector employers and employees under it, except certain union construction workers and their employers;

2.

broadening the range of family members for whom an employee may use the leave;

3.

increasing the rate at which employees accrue leave and removing the waiting period before they may use it;

and 4.

broadening the reasons employees may use the leave to include events such as closures due to a public health emergency and quarantines.

The bill limits the extent to which employers may require employees to provide documentation to support their reasons for taking leave by (1) limiting the details that can be required and (2) requiring an employer to pay an employee’s out-of-pocket expenses for getting the required documentation.

It expands current law’s enforcement mechanisms by allowing anyone aggrieved by a violation to bring a lawsuit against an employer without first filing an administrative complaint with the Department of sSB1178 / File No.

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449 Labor (DOL) commissioner.

It also expands current employer notice requirements by requiring employers to give written notice to each employee about the paid sick leave law.

The bill also sets employer recordkeeping requirements that, among other things, require (1) employee “pay stubs” to include an employee’s accrued paid sick time and use for the calendar year and (2) employers to maintain their paid sick leave records for three years.

It also allows DOL to develop an outreach program and makes numerous minor, technical, and conforming changes.

EFFECTIVE DATE:

October 1, 2023 §§ 1-3 — COVERED EMPLOYERS, EMPLOYEES, & FAMILY MEMBERS Employers and Employees The current paid sick leave law covers private sector employers with at least 50employees,except manufacturersandcertainnon-profits.The bill expands the law’s coverage to nearly all private sector employers regardless of their size, industry, or non-profit status.

However, it exempts (1) employers that participate in a multi-employer health plan requiring contributions from multiple employers and maintained under a collective bargaining agreement between employers and a construction-relatedtradepersonemployeeorganization (e.g.,union)or organizations and (2) the employees who are members of an employee organization that is a party to one of these health plans.

For accruing and using paid sick leave, the bill also makes the state’s Personal Care Attendant Workforce Council the employer of personal care attendants (PCAs) who provide personal care assistance under a state-funded program, such as the Connecticut Home Care Program for Elders.

(The consumer for whom the PCA provides services is, generally, otherwise considered the PCA’s employer.) The bill also expands current law to cover all private sector employees (except for the union construction workers described above), rather than only the specified “service worker” occupations covered by sSB1178 / File No.

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449 current law.

It also includes the day or temporary workers excluded from the current law.

Family Members (§§ 1 & 3) Current law allows covered employees to use paid sick leave to care for their minor or disabled child (or for whom they stand in place of a parent) or spouse.

The bill broadens the range of “family members” for whom employees may use paid sick leave to include their adult children, siblings, parents, grandparents, grandchildren, and anyone related by blood or affinity whose close association is the equivalent of these family members.

Under the bill, siblings, parents, and grandchildren include those relations by blood, marriage, adoption, or foster care, as is the case for children under current law.

§§ 2 & 4 — LEAVE ACCRUAL AND AVAILABILITY Leave Accrual The bill increases the (1) rate at which employees accrue leave, from one hour per every 40 hours worked to one hour per every 30 hours worked, and (2) maximum amount of leave that an employee can accrue,from40 to 80 hoursper year.It also specifiesthat employers may give their employees more paid sick leave at a faster rate than required by the bill.

The bill specifies that employees exempt from federal law’s overtime pay requirements must be presumed to work 40 hours per week for leave accrual purposes unless their normal work week is less than 40 hours.

If it is, then their leave accrual must be based on their normal work week.

(Current law does not explicitly address this issue.) Under current law, an employee’s termination is a break in service and the employee’s previously accrued sick leave does not carry over if the employee is rehired by the same employer.

The bill (1) specifies that the employee’s sick leave begins accruing immediately upon rehire and (2)removesaprovisionthatexplicitlyallowedtheemployerand rehired employee to agree to allow the employee to recover any sick leave accrued before the break in service (§ 4).

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449 The bill requires that employees maintain their accrued paid sick leave when (1) they transfer to a separate division, entity, or location with the same employer or (2) a different employer succeeds or replaces an existing employer.

(Current law does not explicitly address either of these issues.) Leave Availability Under current law, employees must work 680 hours for their employer before they can use their leave.

The bill instead allows employees to use their leave as it is accrued.

It also allows employees to use the leave regardless of how much they work by eliminating a provision in current law that allows employees to use leave only if they average at least 10 work hours per week in the most recent complete quarter.

Replacements and Shift Swapping The bill prohibits employers from requiring employees taking paid sick leave to look for or find a replacement to cover their hours while on leave.

It also removes a provision in current law that prohibits an employee’s use of their accrued paid sick leave if they choose to work additional hours or shifts during the same or following pay period, in place of hours or shifts missed.

Leave Carryover Current lawentitlescoveredemployeesto carry over upto 40 unused accrued hours of paid sick leave from one year to the next.

Under the bill, an employer may alternatively give an employee an amount ofpaid sick leave that meets or exceeds the bill’s requirements and is available for the employee to use immediately at the beginning of the next year, instead of carrying over the unused paid sick leave.

Other Employer-Provided Leave The current paid sick leave law deems an employer in compliance with its requirements if the employer offers other paid leave that may be used for the same purposes as provided in the law.

The bill requires that employees also be able to use the other paid leave under the same sSB1178 / File No.

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449 conditions for the exception to apply.

§ 3 — LEAVE USES & DOCUMENTATION The bill expands the reasons why an employee may use sick leave to include when the employer’s place of business or a family member’s school or place of care is closed by order of a public official due to a public health emergency.

It also allows for leave if the employee or a family member is under quarantine (i.e., when it has been determined that the employee or family member poses a risk to others’ health due to their exposure to a communicable disease, regardless of whether they actually contracted it).

The determination for a quarantine must be made by a health authority with jurisdiction, a health care provider, or the employee’s or family member’s employer.

Under current law, an employee may use paid sick leave for preventative medical care for themselves or a covered family member.

The bill specifies that this includes preventative care for mental or physical health.

Current law also allows an employee to use paid sick leave if he or she was a victim of family violence or sexual assault and needs leave to do certain things (e.g., get counseling or participate in civil or criminal proceedings).

The bill allows employees to use the leave if their family member is a victim of family violence or sexual assault and needs to do these same things.

Documentation Under certain circumstances, current law allows employers to require employees to provide documentation to support their reasons for taking leave.

The bill limits this authority by prohibiting employers from requiring documentation that explains the nature of the illness or, if the employee is taking leave due to family violence or sexual assault, the details of the domestic violence or sexual assault.

If the employer requires documentation but does not offer health sSB1178 / File No.

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449 insurance, the bill requires the employer to pay all of the employee’s out-of-pocket expenses for getting the documentation.

If the employee has health insurance, the employer must pay any costs that the employee’s health care provider charges to the employee for the documentation.

The employer must pay any costs charged to the employee for getting documentation for leave related to family violence or sexual assault.

Underthebill,ifaleaveistakenduetoaclosureunderapublichealth emergency order or a quarantine, a written statement from the employee affirming that he or she is taking paid sick leave for one of these reasons must be considered reasonable documentation.

The statement may be written in the employee’s first language and does not have to be notarized or in any particular format.

§ 5 — LAWSUITS Under current law, someone aggrieved by a violation of the paid sick leave law may file a complaint with the labor commissioner and then appeal the commissioner’s decision to the Superior Court.

The bill expands current law’s enforcement provisions to also allow the labor commissioner, the attorney general, a person aggrieved by a violation of the paid sick leave law, or an entity in which the person is a member to bring a lawsuit against an employer.

The aggrieved person may bring the lawsuit without first filing an administrative complaint with the labor commissioner.

§ 6 — EMPLOYER NOTICE AND RECORDS Current law requires employers to notify employees about certain provisions of the paid sick leave law when they are hired (e.g., how leave accrues and how it may be used).

The bill requires this notice to also include the employee’s right to bring a civil action in Superior Court.

Current law allows employers to meet the notice requirement by displaying a poster in the workplace.

The bill instead requires employers to give written notice to each employee about these sSB1178 / File No.

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449 provisions and display a poster about them in the workplace.

Employers must give employees the written notice by January 1, 2024, or when an employee is hired, whichever is later.

If the employer does not maintain a physical workplace, or an employee teleworks or works through a web-based or app-based platform, the bill requires the employer to meet the notice requirement by sending the information through electronic communication or conspicuously posting it on a web-based or app-based platform.

It also requires the labor commissioner, within available appropriations, to create a model poster and written notice and make them available to employers on DOL’s website.

The bill requires that employee “pay stubs” include an employee’s accrued paid sick time and use for the calendar year.

It also requires employers to maintain these paid sick leave records for three years and give thelabor commissioner accessto them,withappropriate notice and at a mutually agreeable time, to monitor compliance with the bill’s record keeping requirements.

Under the bill, if an employer does not retain adequate records documenting an employee’s hours worked and paid sick leave used, or does not allow reasonable access to the records, it must be presumed that the employer violated the record keeping requirements unless there is clear and convincing evidence otherwise.

§ 6 — DOL OUTREACH PROGRAM AND REGULATIONS The bill allows the labor commissioner, within available appropriations, to develop and implement a multilingual outreach program to inform people about the availability of paid sick leave.

The program must include notices and other written material in English, Spanish, and any language that is the primary language spoken by at least 5% of the state’s population.

These must be distributed to all child care and elder care providers, domestic violence shelters, public and private schools, hospitals, community health centers, and other health care providers.

Lastly, the bill allows the labor commissioner to adopt regulations, sSB1178 / File No.

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449 within available appropriations, to implement the paid sick leave law.

Current law allows her to adopt regulations about the law’s notice requirements.

BACKGROUND Related Bill sHB 6668, reported favorably by the Labor and Public Employees Committee, also expands the paid sick leave law.

Among other differences with this bill, however, it (1) requires employers with 10 or fewer employeesto only give employeesunpaidsick leave, (2) broadens the law to include a smaller range of family members, (3) does not increase the maximum annual leave allowed, and (4) does not allow aggrieved employees to bring a lawsuit.

COMMITTEE ACTION Labor and Public Employees Committee Joint Favorable Substitute Yea 8 Nay 4 (03/21/2023) sSB1178 / File No.

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