Public Hearing Testimony of Commissioner Danté Bartolomeo
Department of Labor
Labor and Public Employees Committee
February 24, 2026
Good afternoon Senator Kushner, Representative Sanchez, Senator Sampson, Representative Weir and members of the Labor and Public Employees Committee. Thank you for the opportunity to provide you with written testimony regarding SB 271: AN ACT IMPLEMENTING THE RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE LABOR DEPARTMENT. My name is Danté Bartolomeo, and I am the Commissioner of the Connecticut Department of Labor (CTDOL).
Sections 1 and 2 of SB 271 would make a technical change to CGS 31-236(a)(16) and 31-235(c) to ensure uniformity in the Unemployment Insurance statutes. Currently, in the Unemployment Insurance statutes, there are multiple definitions for health care providers, which slow down the time it takes claimants to obtain medical forms and thereby hamper the adjudication of cases.
Section 3 would amend CGS 31-266c to permit compromises for reimbursable employers. CGS 31-266c permits a taxable employer to make an offer of compromise for any contributions due under the Unemployment Insurance (UI) law, if there is doubt as to the employer's liability for the amount in controversy or doubt as to the collectability of such amount. This has enabled CTDOL’s UI Tax Division to settle cases which is beneficial to both CTDOL and the employer. However, the statute does not refer to an offer of compromise for those employers who do not pay contributions but make payments in lieu of contributions. Those are the reimbursable employers, such as municipalities and non-profits, who opt to be reimbursable employers. Instead of paying contributions to the UI Trust Fund, those reimbursable employers pay dollar for dollar for any UI claim filed against it. We believe that those employers should also be permitted to offer a compromise to settle cases with CTDOL’s Tax Division under the same situations as the taxable employer.
Section 4 would amend CGS 53-303e to move enforcement authority from the State Board of Mediation and Arbitration to CTDOL’s Wage and Workplace Standards Division. CGS 53-303e prohibits employers from compelling any employee engaged in any commercial occupation or in the work of any industrial process to work more than six days in any calendar week. While the statute currently requires the State Board of Mediation and Arbitration to enforce this requirement, it would be more logical to transfer this responsibility to CTDOL’s Wage and Workplace Standards Division, as it is the unit where workers already file complaints regarding working conditions violations andwould allow for investigation by the agency.
Sections 5 and 6 would repeal CGS 31-250a and CGS 31-77. CGS 250a established the Employment Security Advisory Board (ESAB). CTDOL is seeking this repeal largely because there have been long-standing vacancies that, despite our repeated attempts, have not been filled for several years., Also, low attendance records for many of the members has frequently caused the ESAB to not reach quorums needed to take any action/votes. We acknowledge that the ESAB has contributed to important past initiatives when fully appointed and active, such as the PA 21-200 UI Trust Fund reform. With that work done, no initiatives pending, and the burden of the administrative and audit responsibilities upon CTDOL, we are not experiencing a return on the agency’s investment in the ESAB.
CGS 31-77 requires CTDOL to receive, monitor, and enforce the submission of union financial reports. These reports disclose information that is already available to the public in IRS form 990. Complying with this statute requires CTDOL to spend staff time receiving the reports, archiving them for two years, and then filing papers to have them destroyed in accordance with the statute and state records retention laws. Additionally, the fine for unions that don’t submit a report is $25; it would cost more in CTDOL staff time to pursue unions that fail to report than the fine covers. Lastly, the reports are not disclosable to the public, whereas the IRS 990 forms are.
We believe SB 271 represents minor changes to the Labor statutes that will ultimately better help CTDOL to assist our customers. Thank you for the opportunity to speak with you today. I am here with CTDOL subject matter experts, and we would be happy to answer any questions.
