Public Hearing Testimony of Commissioner Danté Bartolomeo
Department of Labor
Appropriations Committee
February 20, 2026
Good afternoon, Senator Osten, Representative Walker, Senator Somers, Representative Nuccio, Subcommittee Co-Chairs Senator Hartley and Representative Kavros DeGraw, and members of the Appropriations Committee. My name is Danté Bartolomeo, and I am the Commissioner of the Connecticut Department of Labor (CTDOL). It is my pleasure to speak with you today in support of Governor Ned Lamont’s proposed Budget Adjustments for SFY 2027 while highlighting Connecticut’s Unemployment Insurance Program.
While the U.S. Department of Labor (USDOL) recognizes the joint state-federal Unemployment Insurance (UI) Program as a critical economic stabilizer, our federal partners have consistently reduced UI program support. Insufficient funding and the volatility of unexpected federal clawbacks have put additional and significant financial pressure on state labor agencies including CTDOL.
Federal Unemployment Insurance Funding Reductions
From federal fiscal year (FFY) 2009 through FFY 2023, the federal government underfunded Unemployment Insurance administration nationally by 16%. Over the past two federal fiscal years, Connecticut has been hard hit by a $9.85 million federal funding loss for UI administration—funding that supports staff who assist unemployment filers. With these reductions, it could take several weeks to months to get assistance to filers.
USDOL uses the Resource Justification Model (RJM) system to calculate and distribute UI Administrative funding. The Model analyzes prior-year work to determine funding awards for the next year; funding does not directly correlate to the state’s unemployment rate. It is important to note that despite the notice of award, the federal government sequesters (reduces) the award mid-year.
UI Base Grants: Mid-year cuts of $7.5 million over two Federal Fiscal Years.
UI Base Grants are distributed according to Federal Fiscal Year (FFY), October 1 to September 30:
- FFY 2024-2025 notice of award was announced late summer 2024 at $49.8M but reduced by sequestration mid-FFY by 5.5% to $47.1M, causing a loss of $2.7M.
- FFY 2025-2026 notice of award announce late summer 2025 at $44.8M reflecting another UI base grant annual reduction of $2.3M, another 4.9% reduction (compared to the previous year’s “new” base of $47.1M).
- FFY 2025-2026 was again reduced by sequestration early February 2026, bringing the UI base grant award down to just under $42.3M, reflecting a total annual reduction of $4.8M and 10.2% compared to the previous year's final funding level.
UI Admin Base Grant and Above Base Grant with change year over year.
UI Admin Base Grant against salary increases in CT.
As ARPA funding approached termination, CTDOL actively sought and was awarded multiple U.S. Department of Labor competitive American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) Grants, primarily for technology and related staff support. These grants were terminated without notice in March 2025 leaving a deficit of $2.35 million.
- Unemployment Insurance Program Letter (UIPL) 11-23 approx. $664K loss
- Integrity Grant - used for fraud detection and prevention.
- Unemployment Insurance Program Letter (UIPL) 23-21 approx. $1.6M loss
- Equity Grant – used by to evaluate barriers and improve upon equitable access to UI benefits.
- Unemployment Insurance Program Letter (UIPL) 22-21 approx. $82K loss
- Fraud Grant - used for fraud detection and prevention.
Federal Reduction Plan
CTDOL is approximately 70% federally funded. The agency carefully forecasts budgets and continually makes adjustments to operate within our means. We make every effort to communicate our status with our state and federal partners. While the agency was well-prepared for the sunset of pandemic-related funding, the sheer scope of federal funding reductions and grant clawbacks were unexpected and have generated pressure points in the agency. In response, CTDOL implemented an agencywide plan due to these reductions in federal funding.
CTDOL plans in SFY 2026 include:
- Reduction of 20 full-time staff positions (through attrition) since 10/1/25 and leaving additional positions unfilled as employees retire;
- Delaying user experience enhancements to technology platforms;
- Deferring ReEmployCT technology upgrades and data migrations; and
- Pulling back and consolidating technology, software, and subscription spending.
Despite reductions in staff and operations during SFY 2026, with reduced funding and increasing caseloads, we are approaching an estimated deficit in UI funding by the end of SFY 2027. Without additional funding this results in increased backlogs and timeframes for resolution.
Current Division Caseload:
- Adjudications Unit – Administers CTDOL’s first level of claim appeal. Thirty-nine staff conduct fact findings, hold hearings, and issue decisions on unemployment claims. Each staffer handles an average of 55 claims per week.
- As of 2-9-26, there were 10,641 claims pending adjudication. Current wait times for adjudication hearings are 5-6 weeks. It will take at least four months before wait times drop to a more acceptable 12-15 days.
- As of 2-9-26, there were 10,641 claims pending adjudication. Current wait times for adjudication hearings are 5-6 weeks. It will take at least four months before wait times drop to a more acceptable 12-15 days.
- Appeals (Lower Authority/Referee Level) – Quasi-judicial unit hears and decides appeals to decisions made by CTDOL. Most appeals happen when a claimant is denied benefits.
- Appeals has 23 FTEs who each average 22 decisions per week.
- Currently there are 3,933 appeals awaiting a decision.
- Including outlier appeals, some of which are pandemic related, the average life of an appeal is 118 days; the median is 51 days. New appeals are averaging 60 days from initiation to decision.
- Consumer Contact Center (CCC) – Frontline service providers who assist unemployment claimants on the phone, online, and virtually by appointment at our American Job Centers. Consumer Contact Center agents also provide support to the Integrity Unit on fraudulent claims. In 2025, Contact Center agents assisted an average of 15,198 individuals per week, hitting a high monthly average of 25,515 individuals per week in January 2025.
With 88 FTEs currently in the unit, CCC wait times are:- Less than one week for off-peak seasons (Feb-May, Aug-Nov)
- About four weeks for peak seasons (Nov-Jan, mid-April, end Jun-July)
- With improvements in AI technology, CTDOL is examining how virtual assistants may be further used to assist filers and help them avoid callback times.
- Integrity Unit – Detects and prevents fraud in the UI system. This protects employers, the UI Trust Fund, employers’ future charge rates, and individuals’ tax returns. Since the pandemic, attempts to defraud UI programs nationally and in CT remain very high. The Integrity Unit works closely with state and federal law enforcement partners to share information, investigate, and prosecute theft and attempted theft of benefits.
Fraud Prevention - CTDOL uses multiple technologies to assist staff in fraud detection.- More than 450,000 fraudulent UI applications were stopped between March 2020-December 2025. Identifying these fraud claims protected an estimated $4.68 billion.
- Between July 2021-December 2025, Integrity identified 1,182 fictious employer schemes and protected $149.8 million from dispersal to fake employers.
CTDOL has 22 staff dedicated to fraud detection and prevention:- 12 FTEs on individual claims (approx. 1380 to 4580 initial claims/week) and
- 10 FTEs on employer accounts (approx. 350/wk. or 1500/mo. new registrations with associated “employees”)
The 2025 Legislative Session
The 2025 session provided $407,318 from the state general fund and seven (7) additional positions for the UI Consumer Contact Center
Note that $385,370 - $382,328 PS actually provides 6 FTEs, not 7.
Unfortunately, the final budget also eliminated funding of $580,000 in both FY 26 and FY 27 and seven positions for the Office of the Unemployed Worker's Advocate (UWA). UWA was shuttered on June 30, 2025, and their cases were transferred to the Consumer Contact Center.
Therefore, the 2025 session concluded with a net loss of $200,000 and 1 FTE for UI-related work.
The 2026 Legislative Session
Given the reduction in federal funding, we appreciate and support the Governor’s proposed budget and Secretary Wojcik’s designation of an additional $2 million for UI staffing and $500,000 for UI technology beginning in SFY 2027. This builds on Connecticut’s contribution to state funding starting in FY 2023 to support UI administration.
Thank you
In closing, I want to express my appreciation to the Appropriations Committee for taking the time to understand the complexities of the agency and those related to federal funding. Thank you for the opportunity to testify before you today. I am available with CTDOL subject matter experts to take your questions.
