Press Releases
03/25/2024
Governor Lamont Applauds Legislative Approval of New Personal Care Assistant Labor Agreement
(HARTFORD, CT) – Governor Ned Lamont is applauding the members of the Connecticut General Assembly for voting today in favor of approving a new three-year labor agreement reached between the Connecticut Personal Care Assistant Workforce Council and SEIU District 1199 New England regarding personal care assistants (PCAs).
PCAs are workers who assist the elderly, persons with disabilities, and persons recovering from illnesses and operations with their daily living activities.
The agreement was approved in the House of Representatives by a vote of 98 to 49 (House Resolution 9) and in the Senate by a vote of 21 to 11 (Senate Resolution 7). The Lamont administration will now submit it to the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) for its consideration. Approval by this federal agency is the final step in the process before the agreement can take effect.
“This agreement will help both the 12,000 personal care assistants and the 8,000 consumers of Connecticut’s Medicaid self-directed programs,” Governor Lamont said. “Personal care assistants provide essential services to help some of our most vulnerable residents stay in their homes and in their communities. I am incredibly thankful to the General Assembly for their swift action approving this agreement, and I appreciate all of those who helped negotiate it.”
The agreement runs through June 30, 2026. It includes the following:
- Provides historic wage increases: PCAs will receive a 26% wage increase over the life of the three-year contract, lifting workers from the current rate of $18.25 per hour up to $23 per hour by January 1, 2026. This wage ensures that Connecticut remains competitive with other states in the compensation provided to PCAs serving Medicaid recipients in similar programs.
- Acknowledges and rewards longevity: PCAs working two or more years for the same consumer-employer will be eligible to receive a longevity bonus payment of $400 or $800, depending on the annualized number of hours worked per week. This will help promote more consistent, higher-quality care for the consumers and encourage PCAs to grow within the profession.
- Provides two additional paid holidays (Juneteenth and Labor Day): PCAs currently receive time-and-one-half for hours worked on six holidays (New Year’s Day; Martin Luther King, Jr. Day; Memorial Day; Independence Day; Thanksgiving Day; and Christmas Day). Juneteenth and Labor Day will be added to that list.
- Expands paid time off: PCAs have the ability to accrue an extra ten hours of paid time off per year, increasing paid time off maximum accruals from 40 to 50 hours per year and the ability to carry over unused time up to a maximum of 100 hours in any state fiscal year (up from 80 hours in prior agreement) to allow workers to stay home when they are sick or a child is ill without fear of missing a paycheck, and provides the option to take vacation and personal days to avoid burnout and recharge to support better quality of life.
- Expands health care premium assistance: This agreement provides more streamlined access to affordable health care coverage and helps workers avoid a “benefits cliff” by expanding the innovative cornerstone of the last contract through simplification of the application procedure from a semi-annual to annual process and expanding the health premium assistance amount from 6% to 7% of annual wages. These payments assist PCAs who do not qualify for HUSKY or Covered Connecticut or do not have access to any other health insurance option with financial assistance to purchase quality, affordable health care coverage through Connecticut’s health insurance exchange Access Health CT. For the majority of PCAs, these premium assistance payments will cover most, if not all of the premium cost for a plan on the exchange.
- Supports improved quality and service and career development through voluntary training options and tuition reimbursement: $750,000 is dedicated to worker orientation and training with funds being allotted for tuition reimbursement for those taking PCA courses from an accredited institution that support their work as a PCA and improve the quality of services they provide to the Medicaid participants for whom they work.
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