SB 658 — AN ACT REQUIRING EMPLOYERS TO RECALL CERTAIN LAID-OFF WORKERS IN ORDER OF SENIORITY.

General Assembly Substitute Senate Bill No.

658 JanuaryPublic Session,Act 2021No. AN ACT REQUIRING EMPLOYERS TO RECALL CERTAIN LAID-OFF WORKERS IN ORDER OF SENIORITY.

21-189 AN ACT REQUIRING EMPLOYERS TO RECALL CERTAIN LAID-OFF WORKERS IN ORDER OF SENIORITY.

(1)(1)"Building "Compensation"servicesenterprise"meansapersonproviding meansjanitorial, anbuilding employee'smaintenance averageor weeklysecurity earningsservices forunder thecontract twelve-month period immediately preceding the date of the employee's last day of active employment with an employer, including wages or salary, payments to anoffice, employeeretail while on vacation or on leave, allocated or declared tip income, bonuses or commissions, contributions or premiums paid by the employer for fringe benefits, overtime or other premiumcommercial payments and allowances for expenses, uniforms, travel or education;state buildings;

(2) "Customary"Compensation" seasonalmeans work"an meansemployee's workaverage performedweekly byearnings for the twelve-month period immediately preceding the date of the employee's last day of active employment with an employer, including wages or salary, payments to an employee forwhile approximatelyon vacation or on leave, allocated or declared tip income, bonuses or commissions, contributions or premiums paid by the sameemployer portionfor offringe eachbenefits, calendarovertime year;or other premium payments and allowances for expenses, uniforms, travel or education;

(3) "Employer""Customary meansseasonal anywork" person,means includingwork aperformed corporateby officer or executive, who directly or indirectly or through an agentemployee orfor anyapproximately other person, including through the servicessame ofportion atemporary service or staffing agency or similar entity, conducts an enterprise and employs or exercises control over the wages, hours or working conditions of anyeach employee;calendar year;

LCO(4) \\PRDFS1\SCOUSERS\FORZANOF\WS\2021SB-00658-R01"Employer" ofmeans 6any SB.docxperson, including a corporate officer or executive, who directly or indirectly or through an agent or any other Substitute Senate Bill No.

658 (4)person, "Employmentincluding site"through means the principalservices physicalof placeatemporary whereservice aor laid-offemployeeperformedthepredominanceoftheemployee'sdutiesstaffing prioragency toor beingsimilar laidentity, off,conducts or,an inenterprise theand caseemploys of a laid-off employee in construction,transportation,building services or otherexercises industrieswherecontrol workover is performed at locations other than the employer'swages, administrativehours headquartersor fromworking whichconditions suchof assignments were made, any locationemployee; served by such headquarters;

(5) "Enterprise""Employment site" means anythe income-producingprincipal economicphysical activityplace carriedwhere ona laid-offemployeeperformedthepredominanceoftheemployee'sduties prior to being laid off, or, in thisthe statecase thatof employsa fivelaid-off employee in building services or moreother employees;industries where work is performed at locations other than the employer's administrative headquarters from which such assignments were made, any location served by such headquarters;

(6) "Laid-off"Enterprise" employee" means anya employeehotel, wholodging washouse, employedfood byservice thecontractor employer for six months or morebuilding inservices theenterprise, twelveincluding monthssuch precedinga Marchbusiness 10,located 2020,at anda whosepublicly mostor recentprivately separationoperated fromhighway active service orplaza, whose failure to be scheduled for customary seasonal work by that employeremploys occurredfifteen after March 10, 2020, and before December 31, 2024, and was due to the lack of business or amore reductionemployees. or furlough of the employer's workforce, the public health and civil preparedness emergencies declared by the Governor on March 10, 2020, or other economic, nondisciplinary reasons;

and"Enterprise" (7)does "Lengthnot ofinclude service"cruise meansline thecompanies; total of all periods of time during which an employee has been in active service, including periods of time when the employee was on leave or on vacation.

(b)(7) Each"Food employerservice" shallmeans sendthe toon-site eachpreparation, ofservice its laid-off employees, in writing to such employee's last-known physical address and electroniccleanup mail address, and in a text message to such employee's mobile phone, notice of allfood jobor positionsbeverages; that become available at the employer for whichthelaid-offemployeeisqualified.Alaid-offemployeeisqualified for a position if the employee:

(1)(8) Held"Food theservice samecontract" ormeans similara positioncontract atfor thea enterpriseterm atof thenot timeless ofthan thesix employee'smonths mostfor recentthe separationprovision fromof activefood service withthat requires the employer;food service contractor to provide all food service workers;

or(9)"Foodservicecontractor"meansanypersonwhoentersintoafood (2)service iscontract to provide food service at any commercial, industrial, institutional or canmixed-use bebusiness qualifiedfacility forin the positionstate within thea samesingle trainingbuilding thator wouldin becontiguous providedbuildings tounder acommon newownership employeeor hiredmanagement foror suchat position.any state building;

The(10) employer"Hotel" shallhas offerthe suchsame positionsmeaning toas laid-offprovided employees in thesection order12-407 ofpreference set forth under LCO {\\PRDFS1\SCOUSERS\FORZANOF\WS\2021SB-00652 of 6the R03-SB.docxgeneral }statutes; Substitute Bill No.

658(11) subdivisions"Laid-off (1)employee" andmeans (2)any ofemployee thiswho subsection.was employed by Public Act No.

Where21-189 more2 than one employeeisentitledtopreferenceforaposition,theemployershalloffer the position to the employee with the greatest length of service7 atSubstitute theSenate employmentBill site.No.

An658 the employer mayfor makesix offersmonths ofor employmentmore in the twelve months preceding March 10, 2020, and whose most recent separation from active service or whose failure to be scheduled for acustomary positionseasonal work by that employer occurred after March 10, 2020, and before May 1, 2022, and was due to morelack thanof onebusiness laid-offor employeea withreduction or furlough of the finalemployer's offerworkforce ofdue employmentto forthe suchCOVID-19 positionpandemic, conditionedand uponincluding executive orders issued pursuant to the orderCOVID-19 ofpublic preferencehealth describedemergency inand thisthe subsection.civil preparedness emergency declared by the Governor on March 10, 2020;

(c)(12) An"Length offer of employmentservice" tomeans a laid-off employee pursuant to this section shall be in the sametotal classificationof orall jobperiods titleof attime substantiallyduring thewhich samean employmentemployee site,has subjectbeen to relocation as provided in subdivisionactive (4)service, ofincluding subsectionperiods (g) of thistime section,when and with substantially the same duties, compensation, benefits and working conditions as applied to the laid-off employee immediatelywas prioron toleave Marchor 10,on 2020.vacation;

(d)(13) Any"Lodging laid-offhouse" employeehas whothe issame offeredmeaning aas positionprovided pursuantin to this section shall12-407 beof given not less thanten days inwhich to accept or decline the offer.general statutes;

A(14) laid-off"Person" employeemeans who declines an offerindividual, duecorporation, topartnership, hislimited orpartnership, herlimited age,liability underlyingpartnership, healthlimited conditionsliability ofcompany, himselfbusiness ortrust, herselfestate, ortrust, ofassociation, ajoint familyventure, memberagency, instrumentality or any other personlegal living in his or hercommercial householdentity, shalleither retaindomestic his or herforeign; right to accept the position and shall retain all other rights under this section until both (1) the expiration of the public health and civil preparedness emergencies declared by the Governor on March 10, 2020, and any extension of such emergency declarations, and (2) the laid-off employee is reoffered the position.

(e)and Each(15) employer"COVID-19" thatmeans declinesthe torespiratory rehiredisease adesignated laid-offby employee on the groundsWorld ofHealth lackOrganization ofon qualificationsFebruary and11, instead2020, hiresas acoronavirus person2019, otherand thanany arelated laid-offmutation employeethereof shallrecognized provideby tosaid theorganization laid-offas employee a writtencommunicable noticerespiratory notdisease. later than thirty days after the date such other person is hired.

Such(b)(1)Not noticelater shallthanthirty identifydaysafterthelayoffofanemployee thebefore personMay hired1, in2022, lieuan ofemployer rehiringshall thesubmit laid-offto employee, the reasonsLabor forDepartment suchan decisionaffidavit andstating all demographic data the employerreasons hasfor regarding such new hire and the laid-offdecision. employee who was not rehired.

(f)(2) ANot laid-offlater employeethan rehiredfive pursuantdays toafter thisa sectionjob shallposition bebecomes LCOavailable {\\PRDFS1\SCOUSERS\FORZANOF\WS\2021SB-006583at an employer, the employer shall notify each of 6its R03-SB.docxlaid-off }employees Substitutewho Billare No.qualified for the position that the position is available.

658Such permittedPublic toAct workNo. for not less than thirty work days, unless there is just cause for the employee's termination.

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658 notification shall be sent in writing to the laid-off employee's last known physical address or electronic mail address, whichever is the usual and customary means of providing notices between the employer and employee, and in a text message to the employee's mobile phone if such phone number is maintained by the employer.

Where more than one employee is qualified for an available position, the employer shall offer the position to the employee with the greatest length of service at the employment site.

A laid-off employee is qualified for a position if the employee:

(A) Held the same or similar position at the enterprise at the time of the employee's most recent separation from active service with the employer;

or (B) is or can be qualified for the position with the same training that would be provided to a new employee hired for such position.

(c) An offer of employment to a laid-off employee pursuant to this section shall be at substantially the same employment site, subject to relocationasprovidedin subdivision(4)of subsection(g) ofthis section.

If the laid-off employee held the same or similar position at the enterprise at the time of the employee's most recent separation from active service with the employer, such offer shall be in the same classification or job title and with substantially the same duties, compensation, benefits and working conditions as applied to the laid- off employee immediately prior to March 10, 2020.

(d) Any laid-off employee who is offered a position pursuant to this section shall be given not less than five days in which to accept or decline the offer.

If the laid-off employee does not accept or reject the offer in the time provided by the employer, the offer shall be considered declined.

If a laid-offemployee declinesanoffer ofaposition,within the time period provided by the employer, due to underlying conditions related to contracting COVID-19 diagnosed on or before May 1, 2021, as evidenced by a medical note to the employer, such laid-off employee shall retain the right to accept an available position for which the Public Act No.

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658 employee is qualified pursuant to subdivision (2) of subsection (b) of this section, and shall retain all other rights under this section until both (1) the expiration of the public health and civil preparedness emergencies declared by the Governor on March 10, 2020, and any extension of such emergency declarations, and (2) the laid-off employee is reoffered a position.

(e) Each employer that declines to rehire a laid-off employee on the grounds of lack of qualifications and instead hires an individual other than a laid-off employee shall provide to the laid-off employee a written notice not later than thirty days after the date such other individual is hired.

Such notice shall include the reasons for such decision.