Connecticut 2024 Regular Session Status: Passed Senate 6 D cosponsors

SB 409 — AN ACT CONCERNING WAGE THEFT RESPONSIBILITY.

Last action — HOUSE CALENDAR NUMBER 488

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

This bill died with 2024 Regular Session. It reached “Passed Senate” 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This bill is no longer active — its legislative session has ended, so there is no live prognosis.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

118 added · 126 removed

118 line(s) added, 126 removed.

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Senate General Assembly File No.
General Assembly Substitute Bill No.
296 February Session, 2024 Substitute Senate Bill No.
409 February Session, 2024 AN ACT CONCERNING WAGE THEFT RESPONSIBILITY.
409 Senate, April 8, 2024 The Committee on Labor and Public Employees reported through SEN.
KUSHNER of the 24th Dist., Chairperson of the Committee on the part of the Senate, that the substitute bill ought to pass.
AN ACT CONCERNING WAGE THEFT RESPONSIBILITY.
"Construction contract" does not include (A) any public works or other contract entered into with this state, any other state or the United States, or (B) a home improvement contract for (i) the construction, renovation or rehabilitation of an owner-occupied residence, or (ii) the construction, renovation or rehabilitation of a one-family or two-family dwelling unit, except when sSB409 / File No.
"Construction contract" does not include (A) any public works or other contract entered into with this state, any other state or the United States, or (B) a home improvement contract for (i) the construction, renovation or rehabilitation of an owner-occupied residence, or (ii) the construction, renovation or rehabilitation of a one-family or two-family dwelling unit, except when such contract is for the construction of more than fifteen one-family or two-family dwelling units at one project site;
296 1 sSB409 File No.
(2) "Contractor" means any individual, firm, partnership, corporation, association, company, organization or other business entity, including, but not limited to, a construction manager, general or prime contractor, joint venture or any combination thereof that has a LCO 1 of 5 Substitute Bill No.
296 such contract is for the construction of more than fifteen one-family or two-family dwelling units at one project site;
409 direct contractual relationship with an owner;
(2) "Contractor" means any individual, firm, partnership, corporation, association, company, organization or other business entity, including, but not limited to, a construction manager, general or prime contractor, joint venture or any combination thereof that has a direct contractual relationship with an owner;
(c) Nothing in this section shall prohibit a contractor from including in each of its subcontracts a provision establishing a remedy for any sSB409 / File No.
(c) Nothing in this section shall prohibit a contractor from including in each of its subcontracts a provision establishing a remedy for any liability created by the nonpayment of wages by a subcontractor, provided such provision does not diminish the right of an employee to bring an action under section 31-72 of the general statutes, as amended by this act, and does not waive or release any liability assigned to a contractor under this section.
296 2 sSB409 File No.
No such provision to waive or release liability assigned to the contractor under this section shall be LCO 2 of 5 Substitute Bill No.
296 liability created by the nonpayment of wages by a subcontractor, provided such provision does not diminish the right of an employee to bring an action under section 31-72 of the general statutes, as amended by this act, and does not waive or release any liability assigned to a contractor under this section.
409 enforceable.
No such provision to waive or release liability assigned to the contractor under this section shall be enforceable.
For purposes of this subdivision, "signatory contractor" means a subcontractor that is sSB409 / File No.
For purposes of this subdivision, "signatory contractor" means a subcontractor that is independently obligated to one or more collective bargaining agreements with any labor organization.
296 3 sSB409 File No.
(2) Upon request of a contractor pursuant to this section, a subcontractor and any lower tier subcontractor under contract to such subcontractor shall provide such contractor with such information not LCO 3 of 5 Substitute Bill No.
296 independently obligated to one or more collective bargaining agreements with any labor organization.
409 later than thirty days after such request is received.
(2) Upon request of a contractor pursuant to this section, a subcontractor and any lower tier subcontractor under contract to such subcontractor shall provide such contractor with such information not later than thirty days after such request is received.
In addition, the Labor Commissioner may bring any legalaction necessary to recover twice the full amount of unpaid wages, payments due to an employee welfare sSB409 / File No.
In addition, the Labor Commissioner may bring any legalaction necessary to recover twice the full amount of unpaid wages, payments due to an employee welfare fund or arbitrationaward, and theemployer shall be requiredto pay the costsandsuchreasonableattorney'sfeesasmaybeallowedbythecourt.
296 4 sSB409 File No.
296 fund or arbitrationaward, and theemployer shall be requiredto pay the costsandsuchreasonableattorney'sfeesasmaybeallowedbythecourt.
(b) When a subcontractor fails to pay an employee for labor performed within the scope of a construction contract, the employee, or a labor organization representing the employee, may bring a civil action under this section against either the subcontractor, the contractor or both the subcontractor and contractor.
LCO 4 of 5 Substitute Bill No.
409 (b) When a subcontractor fails to pay an employee for labor performed within the scope of a construction contract, the employee, or a labor organization representing the employee, may bring a civil action under this section against either the subcontractor, the contractor or both the subcontractor and contractor.
2 October 1, 2024 New section October 1, 2024 Sec.
2 October 1, 2024 New section Sec.
3 31-72 Statement of Legislative Commissioners:
3 October 1, 2024 31-72 LAB Joint Favorable Subst.
In Section 1(b) "entering" was changed to "who enters into" for conformity with standard drafting conventions, and Subsec.
JUD Joint Favorable LCO 5 of 5
(c) was rewritten for clarity;
in Section 2(a)(1) "on a construction contract" was changed to "under the construction contract" for conformity with standarddraftingconventions,andinSubsec.(b)(1)"ontheconstruction contract" was changed to "under the construction contract" for sSB409 / File No.
296 5 sSB409 File No.
296 conformity, andinSection3(b)"enteredinto onor afterOctober 1,2024," was deleted for conformity with standard drafting conventions.
LAB Joint Favorable Subst.
sSB409 / File No.
296 6 sSB409 File No.
296 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 contractors liable for unpaid wages owed to employees of subcontractors that perform work on any portion of a construction contract, does not result in any fiscal impact to the state or municipalities.
1 Section 3 allows an employee 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 263,000 cases annually and the number of cases is not anticipated to be great enough to need additional resources.
Show all 95 changed rows (55 more)
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The Out Years State Impact:
None Municipal Impact:
None Current law, unchanged by the bill, allows employees to sue an employer for failure to pay wages or fringe benefits, and may be awarded up to twice their unpaid wages, related costs, and attorney's fees (CGS § 31-72).
sSB409 / File No.
296 7 sSB409 File No.
296 OLR Bill Analysis sSB 409 AN ACT CONCERNING WAGE THEFT RESPONSIBILITY.
SUMMARY Under theexisting wage claimlaw, anemployee cansueanemployer for failing to pay wages or fringe benefits (unpaid wages) and may be awarded up to twice their unpaid wages as well as any related costs and attorney’s fees (CGS § 31-72).
For construction contracts executed on or after October 1, 2024, this bill makes a construction contractor liable for the unpaid wages owed by one of the contractor’s subcontractors in these lawsuits.
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, an employee who performed work under a construction contract or a labor organization may bring a civil action against the subcontractor, the contractor, or both if the subcontractor fails to pay the employee.
Under the bill, a construction contract, with some exceptions, is any (1) contract entered into for construction, renovation, or rehabilitation, including improvements to real property that are associated with any of this work, or (2) subcontract for construction, renovation, or rehabilitation between an owner and a contractor, a contractor and a subcontractor, or a subcontractor and another subcontractor.
EFFECTIVE DATE:
October 1, 2024 CONTRACTOR LIABLE FOR SUBCONTRACTOR’S WAGE DEBT (§§ 1 & 2) For contracts executed on or after October 1, 2024, the bill makes a sSB409 / File No.
296 8 sSB409 File No.
296 construction contractor liable for the unpaid wages owed by one of their subcontractors.
It applies to any employee whose labor is included in a construction contract of (1) any subcontractor in a direct contractual relationship with the contractor, or (2) any subcontractor of a subcontractor.
The bill covers wages that are compensation for labor or services rendered by an employee regardless of how they are determined (e.g., a time, commission, or other basis).
The bill does not apply to (1) public works (i.e., prevailing wage) contracts or any contract entered into with this state, any other state, or the United States (CGS § 31-53) or (2) a home improvement contract for the construction, renovation, or rehabilitation of (a) an owner-occupied residence or (b) a one-family or two-family dwelling unit, except when the contract is for the construction of more than 15 one-family or two- family dwelling units at one site.
Definitions (§ 1(a)) The bill also includes the following definitions:
1.
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.
2.
An “owner” is any person, partnership, company, or other business entity that is the owner of record or lessee of real property where the construction work under the construction contract will be performed.
3.
A “subcontractor” is any person, partnership, company, or other entity that is a party to a contract with (1) a contractor or (2) another party who has a separate contract with a contractor;
or 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.
sSB409 / File No.
296 9 sSB409 File No.
296 Permitted Contractor Protections and Prohibited Provisions (§ 1(c)) The bill (1) allows a contractor to include in each subcontract a remedy for any liability created by a subcontractor’s nonpayment of wages,provideditdoesnot (1)interferewithanemployee’srighttotake actiontocollectunpaidwagesor(2)waiveorreleasethecontractorfrom any liability assigned under the bill.
Also, the bill prohibits any provision that waives or releases the contractor’s liability from being enforceable.
§ 2 — PAYROLL 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, working under the contract;
2.
attested and certified payroll records for all project employees;
3.
the name, address, and phone number of any subcontractor with whom the responding subcontractor is under contract;
4.
for any projects the subcontractor is contracted for, thescheduled duration and start date;
and 5.
the collective bargaining agreements the subcontractor is party to, when applicable.
Payroll Records (§ 2(a)) In addition to being certified, the payroll records must indicate the subcontractor’s and any lower-tier subcontractor’s payment status in paying wages to employees.
Payroll records must be redacted to prevent disclosing an employee’s full Social Security number.
Notification and Deadline (§ 2(b) & (c)) Theinformationrequestmustbesenttothesubcontractorbycertified mailandnotify thesubcontractor that they have 30daysto respond.
The sSB409 / File No.
296 10 sSB409 File No.
296 bill requires the subcontractor, and any lower-tier subcontractor under contract, to provide the information within 30 days of receiving the request.
Under the bill, a failure to comply with the request for information is cause for a contractor to withhold payments owed to a subcontractor.
§ 3 — ENFORCEMENT Under the bill, an employee who performed work under a construction contract or a labor organization may bring a civil action for any unpaid wages against the subcontractor, the contractor, or both.
At least 10 days before bringing a civil action, the employee must provide notice to the contractor of an alleged violation by the subcontractor.
The notice must describe the general nature of the violation.
This notice requirement does not apply if the employee has previously given notice to a contractor of either the same violation or a prior violation by the same subcontractor.
The bill also states the notice provided to a contractor does not limit their liability or prevent amending an action to encompass additional employees of the subcontractor.
COMMITTEE ACTION Labor and Public Employees Committee Joint Favorable Substitute Yea 8 Nay 4 (03/19/2024) sSB409 / File No.
296 11
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How this bill changes current law

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AI-generated reading aid from the bill's amendatory text — verify against the official bill.

This bill creates joint liability for contractors for unpaid wages owed to employees of subcontractors in construction contracts and establishes new requirements for information sharing between contractors and subcontractors.

  • Section 31-72

    Section 31-72 of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2024): → 31-72 of the general statutes is amended by replacing it with a new section that includes provisions on wage recovery and joint liability for contractors.

    This change updates the wage recovery law to include provisions making contractors jointly liable for unpaid wage claims.

  • (b) When a subcontractor fails to pay an employee for labor performed within the scope of a construction contract entered into on or after October 1, 2024, an employee, or a labor organization representing an employee, may bring a civil action under this section against either the subcontractor, the contractor or both the subcontractor and contractor.

    This establishes that an employee can sue both a contractor and subcontractor for unpaid wages.

  • Any contractor entering a construction contract shall be jointly and severally liable for any unpaid wages due to any employee of (1) any subcontractor in a direct contractual relationship with the contractor, or (2) any subcontractor of a subcontractor in a direct contractual relationship with the contractor, for such employee's performance of labor included within the scope of the construction contract.

    This provision holds contractors liable for unpaid wages owed to subcontractor employees.

  • Failure by a subcontractor to comply with a request from a contractor under subsections (a) and (b) of this section shall be cause for a contractor to withhold payments owed to a subcontractor.

    This allows contractors to withhold payments to subcontractors who do not provide requested payroll information.

  • Payroll records shall be attested to and certified to be accurate and complete, indicate the subcontractor's and any lower tier subcontractor's payment status in paying wages to employees.

    This establishes requirements for payroll records to ensure transparency in wage payments.

Action History

  1. HOUSE CALENDAR NUMBER 488

  2. FAV. RPT., TABLED FOR HOUSE CALENDAR

  3. RULES SUSPENDED,TRANS.TO HOUSE

  4. SEN. PASSED, SEN. AMEND. SCH. A

  5. SEN. ADOPTED SEN. AMEND. SCH. A

  6. FAV. RPT., TAB. FOR CAL., SEN.

  7. NO NEW FILE BY COMM. ON Judiciary

  8. RPTD. OUT OF LCO

  9. FILED WITH LCO

  10. Joint Favorable

  11. REF. BY SEN. TO COMM. ON Judiciary

  12. FILE NO. 296

  13. SENATE CALENDAR NUMBER 221

  14. FAV. RPT., TAB. FOR CAL., SEN.

  15. RPTD. OUT OF LCO

  16. REFERRED TO Office of Legislative Research AND Office of Fiscal Analysis 04/08/24

  17. FILED WITH LCO

  18. Joint Favorable Substitute

  19. PUBLIC HEARING 0312

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

Sponsors

Sponsorship breakdown

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7 sponsors · 0 co-sponsors · 180 not signed on · 12 voted No

Sponsors (7)

Co-sponsors (0)

None.

Not signed on (180)

180 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.

Whip count is in markup. Polling the chamber and every recorded vote this session. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Calling the roll · Tallying · Engrossing

Votes

Senate Roll Call Vote

Passed 24 Yea · 12 Nay
Party YeaNayPresentNot Voting
Democratic 22100
Unaffiliated 2100
Republican 01000
Total 241200
% of votes cast 67%33%0%0%
How each member voted (36)
Member Party Vote
Kevin C. Kelly — Yea
Lisa Seminara — Nay
Marilyn Moore — Yea
Bob Duff Democratic Yea
Catherine A. Osten Democratic Yea
Ceci Maher Democratic Yea
Christine Cohen Democratic Yea
Derek Slap Democratic Yea
Douglas McCrory Democratic Yea
Gary A. Winfield Democratic Yea
Herron Gaston Democratic Yea
James J. Maroney Democratic Yea
Jan Hochadel Democratic Yea
Joan V. Hartley Democratic Nay
John W. Fonfara Democratic Yea
Jorge Cabrera Democratic Yea
Julie Kushner Democratic Yea
MD Rahman Democratic Yea
Mae Flexer Democratic Yea
Martha Marx Democratic Yea
Martin M. Looney Democratic Yea
Matthew L. Lesser Democratic Yea
Norman Needleman Democratic Yea
Patricia Billie Miller Democratic Yea
Rick Lopes Democratic Yea
Saud Anwar Democratic Yea
Eric C. Berthel Republican Nay
Heather S. Somers Republican Nay
Henri Martin Republican Nay
Jeff Gordon Republican Nay
John A. Kissel Republican Nay
Paul Cicarella Republican Nay
Rob Sampson Republican Nay
Ryan Fazio Republican Nay
Stephen G. Harding Republican Nay
Tony Hwang Republican Nay

Official roll call →

Subjects

labor
Cross-referencing the record. Reading this bill against every other bill in the corpus by meaning, not keywords. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Matching · Ranking · Engrossing

Frequently asked questions

Who sponsors SB 409?
SB 409 is sponsored by Robyn A. Porter, Herron Gaston (Democratic), Josh Elliott (Democratic), Douglas McCrory (Democratic), Aundre Bumgardner (Democratic), Kara Rochelle (Democratic), and Patricia Billie Miller (Democratic).
What is the current status of SB 409?
This bill died with 2024 Regular Session. It reached “Passed Senate” 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 SB 409?
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