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 this written testimony regarding S.B. 356 AN ACT CONCERNING ELECTRONIC FILING OF CERTIFIED PAYROLL AND DAILY LOGS FOR CERTAIN PUBLIC WORKS PROJECTS. My name is Danté Bartolomeo, and I am the Commissioner of the Connecticut Department of Labor (CTDOL).
Section 1 of SB 356 would amend CGS 31-53 to require employers working on certain public works projects to submit certified payroll records electronically to CTDOL and maintain and submit daily logs for workers on site.
Section 2 of SB 356 would require that CTDOL engage a vendor to establish an online system for submission of certified payroll records and maintain a database of such records that could be searched by the public. While we appreciate the intent of this section and the overall bill, building and maintaining the system outlined in the bill would result in a significant fiscal impact on our agency; verified by preliminary conversation with our colleagues at the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development. If financed, accounting for procurement, development, testing, and production, CTDOL requests that the effective date be no sooner than 7/1/28.
CTDOL is appreciative of the ongoing dialogue that we’ve had with the proponents of SB 356, and believe that their stated goals of modernizing compliance, strengthening prevailing wage enforcement, deterring misclassification, and ensuring there is an accurate record of who is on a jobsite at any given time are laudable. We would appreciate the opportunity to continue to participate in discussions on SB 356 and any other proposals designed to protect workers.
Thank you for the opportunity to provide the Committee with this written testimony. My staff and I are reachable to further discuss SB 356 by directing any questions you may have to Billy Taylor,Legislative and Administrative Advisor at william.b.taylor@ct.gov or 203-947-4136.
