Public Hearing Testimony of Commissioner Danté Bartolomeo
Department of Labor
Appropriations Committee
March 10, 2026
Good Morning 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 435: AN ACT CONCERNING AUTOMATED DECISION SYSTEMS PROTECTIONS FOR EMPLOYEES. My name is Danté Bartolomeo, and I am the Commissioner of the Connecticut Department of Labor (CTDOL).
CTDOL understands that the goal of SB 435 is to establish various requirements concerning the use of automated employment-related decision systems and artificial intelligence technologies.
Sec. 8 of SB 435 outlines how CTDOL would enforce the requirements laid out in the bill. In summary, CTDOL would be required to:
- Establish and implement an approval process of independent auditors to conduct bias audits and maintain a registry of independent auditors approved by such process.
- Receive bias audit reports from employers within thirty days of the bias audit being conducted.
- Approve corrective actions following a bias audit.
CTDOL opposes Sec. 8 of SB 435 because:
- AI systems should be monitored with human review of system input, output, decision-making logic, errors, accuracy, and appropriateness, yet CTDOL does not directly employ any AI subject matter experts.
- Similarly, CTDOL does not directly employ any human resources subject matter experts.
- Therefore, while CTDOL does have employment law experts, our agency does not have the expertise to comply with this legislation’s requirements regarding automated employment-related decision systems.
- If SB 435 were to pass as written, we would be subject to a significant fiscal impact to hire staff with expertise in automated employment-related decision systems and other associated technology. Additionally, this would likely require longer than the currently drafted effective date of October 1, 2027.
Thank you for the opportunity to provide you with this written testimony regarding these proposals. My staff and I are reachable to further discuss SB 435 by directing any questions you may have to Billy Taylor, Legislative and Administrative Advisor at william.b.taylor@ct.gov or 203-947-4136.
