03/08/2022
March 8, 2022 Labor and Public Employees Cmte, SB 312
Public Hearing Testimony of
Danté Bartolomeo, Commissioner
Department of Labor
Labor and Public Employees Committee
March 8, 2022
Good Morning Senator Kushner, Representative Porter, Senator Sampson, Representative Arora and members of the Labor and Public Employees Committee. Thank you for the opportunity to provide you with testimony regarding Senate Bill No. 312, AN ACT CONCERNING THE EXPANSION OF CONNECTICUT PAID SICK DAYS. My name is Danté Bartolomeo and I am the Commissioner of the Connecticut Department of Labor (CTDOL).
In 2011, Connecticut became the first state to require private sector employers to provide paid sick leave to their employees. Since that time many other states have passed paid sick leave laws that are more expansive than CT. The proposed bill would update Connecticut’s law to align with policies passed in those other states.
Currently, the law covers employers with 50 or more employees in Connecticut and employees listed as service workers in the law, which is a list of 69 job classifications. The proposed bill would expand the law to cover all employers in the state as well as all employees rather than those in the 69 job classifications. It additionally expands the family members for whom employees can use the sick leave, mirroring that of the Paid Family and Medical Leave Act and CT Family and Medical Leave Act.
If passed as written, this bill will have a significant fiscal impact on CTDOL given the substantial increase in eligible workers. This expansion of the current law would require the Agency to hire additional staff in our Wage and Workplace Standards Division as well as our Legal Division to accommodate the increased inquiries, complaints and Uniform Administrative Procedure Act hearings that may result.
Thank you for the opportunity to provide this testimony. I am available to answer any questions you may have.
Connecticut Department of Labor • www.ct.gov/dol
An Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer