Public Hearing Testimony of Commissioner Danté Bartolomeo
Department of Labor
Labor and Public Employees Committee
March 3, 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 345: AN ACT CONCERNING BREASTFEEDING IN THE WORKPLACE, PRE AND POST-SHIFT HOURS AND ESTABLISHING A TASK FORCE TO STUDY WORKPLACE HEAT SAFETY STANDARDS. My name is Danté Bartolomeo, and I am the Commissioner of the Connecticut Department of Labor.
Section 2 of SB 345 would amend the definition of "hours worked" by including the time an employee spends in security screenings required by an employer. The CT Department of Labor’s Wage and Workplace Standards Division considers this as “wait time” pursuant to Section 31-60-11 of our administrative regulations which reads, in part, “hours worked include all time during which an employee is required by the employer to be on the employer's premises or to be on duty, or to be at the prescribed work place, and all time during which an employee is employed or permitted to work, whether or not required to do so, provided time allowed for meals shall be excluded unless the employee is required or permitted to work. Such time includes, but shall not be limited to, the time when an employee is required to wait on the premises while no work is provided by the employer”. This “wait time” is similar to the time spent waiting to punch in or out for a shift. The Wage Division has historically enforced that time as compensable. That position was recently confirmed in Del Rio v. Amazon.com Services, Inc. (SC 21109), a case in which the Connecticut Supreme Court found that employees must be compensated for time spent undergoing mandatory security screenings on their
employer’s premises.
The CT Department of Labor finds Sec. 2 of SB 345 bill unnecessary for enforcement purposes. Thank you for the opportunity to provide the Committee with this written testimony. My staff and I are reachable to further discuss SB 345 by directing any questions you may have to Billy Taylor, Legislative and Administrative Advisor at william.b.taylor@ct.gov or 203-947-4136.
