02/26/2024
February 22, 2024 Labor and Public Employees Committee, HB 5164
Public Hearing Testimony of
Danté Bartolomeo
Commissioner
Department of Labor
Labor and Public Employees Committee
February 22, 2024
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 HB 5164: AN ACT CONCERNING UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFITS. My name is Danté Bartolomeo and I am the Commissioner of the Connecticut Department of Labor (CTDOL).
We appreciate the willingness of the proponents of the bill and the Labor and Public Employees Committee to draft HB 5164: AAC UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFITS with an effective date of mid-December 2025. Should HB 5164 pass, it allows CTDOL the opportunity to work with our consortium states and receive the approval needed to make the required state-specific technology changes to ReEmployCT. Connecticut is part of a coalition of states using the ReEmploy system—it helps Connecticut save money on operational costs and allowed us to bring in federal funding to develop, build, and launch the new system. Based upon the effective date, we are able to split the one-time cost of this automation project over two state fiscal years. CTDOL estimates an expense of $197,000 in both SFY25 and SYF26. However, to the extent that more people are utilizing unemployment insurance, it may have a negative impact on the unemployment insurance trust fund.
Technical Change Request
Since each Sunday is the start of a new claim week for unemployment benefits, CTDOL respectfully requests that lines 9-10 be amended to read December 14 [15], 2025.
ReEmployCT launched July 5, 2022 and has been utilized by more than 257,000 filers and 50K employers. As was expected, the system will continue to require enhancements and modifications to meet all customer expectations and improve their experience, and to further develop integrity measures that became necessary during the pandemic. CTDOL is committed to process improvement, LEAN concepts, and more to keep ReEmployCT up to date.
Thank you for the opportunity to provide the Committee with this written testimony. My staff and I are happy to be responsive to any questions that you may have regarding HB 5164 and looks forward to joining any future discussions if this proposal moves forward.
Connecticut Department of Labor • www.ct.gov/dol
An Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer