Working Together

The 2026 session of the Connecticut General Assembly adjourned on May 6, 2026. As an election-year session, it was relatively brief, yet the legislature continued its trend of enacting omnibus bills, sweeping measures that consolidate broadly related provisions under a single legislative vehicle.  

Public Act 26-12, signed by the Governor on May 12, 2026, was the session’s principal labor and employment omnibus bill. Formally titled “An Act Concerning Workforce Development and Working Conditions in the State,” it addresses an extensive range of employment law subjects. Its provisions generally take effect on October 1, 2026, unless otherwise noted.  Here is a summary of its key provisions.  

Enhanced Workers’ Compensation for School and Health Care Employees

The Act provides that certain school and health care employees who are unable to work due to being assaulted in the course of their duties shall receive enhanced workers’ compensation benefits. Covered school employees include teachers and other persons employed by (or who are members of a local board of education, the State Board of Education, the Board of Regents of Higher Education, or the Board of Trustees for the University of Connecticut. If such a person suffers a compensable injury resulting in total or partial inability to work as a result of an intentional or negligent assault while acting in the discharge of their duties, they shall receive weekly compensation equal to 100% of their average weekly earnings as of the date of injury—with no cap—rather than the standard 75% benefit subject to a statutory maximum.  Furthermore, such employees may receive payment of expenses for medical care and lost wages due to court appearance in connection with the assault. 

Additionally, such persons absent from work due to an assault-related injury or for a court appearance connected to the assault shall continue to receive their full salary (except that workers’ compensation payments may be deducted from salary payments), and such time off shall not be charged against sick leave, vacation, or personal leave. The Act repeals the former “save harmless” provision under Connecticut General Statutes §10-236a for those school employees who were assaulted while performing their duties.

Wage Range Disclosure and Job Posting Requirements

The Act amends existing salary disclosure law to require employers to include in both public and internal job postings the wage or wage range for the position, together with a general description of benefits—including health benefits, retirement benefits, paid days off, and tax-reportable benefits—and other compensation to be offered. Where no public or internal posting is used, the employer must provide this information upon an applicant’s request, or prior to any offer or discussion of compensation if no request is made. Employers must also provide this information to employees upon hiring, upon a change in position, or upon the employee’s first request for a wage range.

The Act revises the definition of “wage range” to mean the range of wages “set in good faith” by reference to an applicable pay scale, a previously determined wage range for the position, actual wages for current employees holding the position, actual wages for employees in comparable positions, or the employer’s budgeted amount for the position. The Act also extends these requirements to remote positions held by out-of-state employees who report to a Connecticut supervisor, office, or work site. Notably, the Act eliminates the ability of a court to award punitive damages in cases brought under the wage disclosure law.

Pay Differential Codes

Effective October 1, 2026, employers with more than 100 employees must create a guide for employees explaining pay codes for overtime and commonly used pay differentials—such as shift differentials, on-call pay, hazard pay, call-back pay, holiday or weekend pay, and geographical pay differentials. The guide must include at least ten pay codes and be posted on the employer’s website in English, Spanish, and the other most common languages spoken by the employer’s workforce. It must also include contact information for the designated office or individual handling employee disputes regarding hours and pay differential calculations.

Employers must update the guide each time a new pay code is added and provide the website address upon hire and on each record of hours furnished to employees. Alternatively, a written copy may be provided upon hire, including through a third-party payroll services company. The Act does not require an employer to create a website or establish new pay codes solely to satisfy this new legal mandate.

Employment Promissory Notes

Effective October 1, 2026, the Act extends to all employers the existing prohibition on requiring employees to sign employment promissory notes (agreements requiring repayment of employer expenses if the employee does not remain for a specified duration),thus removing the prior threshold of 26 or more employees. Existing exceptions (agreements to repay for advances, property sold or leased, for educational personnel to comply with sabbatical leave terms, and collectively bargained programs) remain unchanged.

Minimum Wage Task Force and Cannabis Worker Clarification

The Act establishes a task force to study additional services, funding, and benefits for people with disabilities who earn less than minimum wage under the federal subminimum wage provisions. The task force must report its findings and recommendations to the General Assembly’s Labor and Public Employees Committee by January 1, 2028. Separately, the Act clarifies that persons employed at cannabis establishments, dispensaries, or producers must be paid the “minimum fair wage,” and that gratuities shall not be credited toward that wage.

Portal-to-Portal Workers’ Compensation for Public Works Employees

Effective October 1, 2026, the Act extends “portal-to-portal” workers’ compensation coverage, which currently applies only to certain first responders, to public works department employees in the following circumstances: (1) when they are subject, by the terms of their employment, to emergency calls while off duty; (2) when they are responding to a direct order to appear at their work assignment when nonessential employees are excused; or (3) when they have worked two or more mandatory overtime shifts on consecutive days.

Teacher Tenure Act Dismissal Revisions

Effective July 1, 2026, the Act makes significant revisions to the Teacher Tenure Act’s termination provisions. The permitted ground for termination of “other due and sufficient cause” is revised to “other due and sufficient reason.” The standard of review for all reasons for termination shall be the same standard applied in other disciplinary actions under the terms of the teacher’s collective bargaining agreement—which is generally “just cause.” The Act mandates that any termination proceeding for a tenured teacher be conducted before an impartial hearing officer, eliminating the ability of the parties to have the hearing before the employing board of education.

The Act provides that the hearing officer’s decision shall now be binding on the parties. Both the teacher and the employing board of education may appeal the decision to the Superior Court, but such appeal must be brought as—and subject to the same standards as—an application to vacate an arbitration award, rather than an administrative appeal. The Act appears to preserve a non-tenured teacher’s right of administrative appeal when terminated for “moral misconduct” or “disability as shown by competent medical evidence.”

Janus-Related Service Fee Revisions

The Act conforms the Teacher Negotiation Act to the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2018 decision in Janus v. AFSCME by removing provisions that required non-member teachers covered by a collective bargaining agreement to pay “service fees” in lieu of union dues. The Act instead permits the parties to negotiate CBA provisions allowing teachers to elect payroll deduction for dues, initiation fees, and service fees.

Educator Externship Pilot Program

The Act requires the Commissioner of Education, in consultation with the Office of Workforce Strategy, to create a two-year pilot program for educator externships by January 1, 2028. The program will allow certified teachers to participate in experiential learning with private-sector employers to align classroom instruction with current industry standards and workforce needs. Priority is given to educators in “alliance school districts” and those teaching STEM, manufacturing, or health care subjects.

Paraeducator Reasonable Assurance and Unemployment Compensation

Effective July 1, 2026, the Act requires school districts, regional educational service centers, charter schools, and endowed or incorporated academies to report to the Department of Labor—ten days prior to the last day of the school year—which paraeducators have, and which do not have, a “reasonable assurance” of returning to work for the next academic term, and the manner in which that assurance was communicated. The Department of Labor may consider this information in determining unemployment compensation eligibility, although such information is not conclusive evidence of reasonable assurance.  The Act sets forth relevant factors for determining such “reasonable assurance.”

Fallen Hero Fund and Survivor Benefits Expansions

The Act expands eligibility for Fallen Hero Fund benefits to surviving family members of correction officers and of investigators employed by the Judicial Department’s Court Support Services Division, the Division of Criminal Justice, or the Office of the Chief Public Defender, who are killed in the line of duty.

The Act also requires non-state public employers to continue “partnership plan” health coverage for survivors of unpaid volunteer firefighters killed in the line of duty, for one year with annual renewals up to five years (with premiums to be paid by the employer but reimbursed from the Fallen Hero Fund). Additionally, the Act extends to surviving spouses and dependent children of state marshals, correction officers, investigators, and unpaid volunteer firefighters the right to participate in the state employees’ health insurance plan, a benefit previously limited to survivors of police officers and paid firefighters.

Municipal Deferred Retirement Option Plans (DROP)

Commencing October 1, 2026, the Act authorizes any municipality that does not participate in CMERS to create a deferred retirement option plan (DROP) for employees eligible for service retirement. Under a DROP, an employee continues working beyond retirement eligibility while the employer deposits funds into a separate account that earns interest, paid to the employee upon actual retirement. The DROP must include a fixed participation period of up to five years and a specified interest rate, and such other terms as may be created by the municipality. Within four years after creating a DROP, the municipality must have it evaluated by its consulting actuary and may discontinue the plan.

DOL ADA Posting and Employee Notice Requirements

Effective October 1, 2026, the Act requires the Commissioner of Labor to post information about the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) on the Department of Labor’s website, including information on the definition of disability and reasonable workplace accommodations. The information must be available for download by employers in English and Spanish. Employers must provide written notice of employees’ rights to reasonable accommodations to new employees, to existing employees within 120 days of the effective date, and to employees who notify the employer of a disability within 10 days of such notification. Employers may satisfy these obligations by conspicuously displaying the DOL-created poster.

Breastfeeding and PUMP Act Alignment

Effective October 1, 2026, the Act aligns Connecticut’s breastfeeding statute with the federal PUMP Act. Employers must provide reasonable break time for employees to express breast milk or breastfeed on site each time the need arises, in addition to scheduled breaks, removing the prior requirement that such activity occur during a meal or break period.

Retention of Service Contract Workers (Effective July 1, 2027)

The Act establishes a comprehensive service contract worker retention framework, effective July 1, 2027. Successor employers that assume certain service contracts at covered locations must retain the terminated contractor’s employees for at least 90 days. Covered locations include multifamily residential buildings with 50 or more units, commercial buildings over 75,000 square feet, municipal buildings, public and private schools, cultural centers, shopping malls, bank branches, industrial sites, pharmaceutical labs, airports, train stations, warehouses, and independent institutions of higher education.  Covered employees include any person working at least 16 hours per week who has been engaged in care, maintenance, or security services at a covered location for at least 60 days, but excludes managerial, supervisory, or confidential employees and persons performing permit-related construction work. Contracts awarded by the federal government, the State, and the Connecticut Airport Authority are excluded from these provisions.

The awarding authority must provide at least 15 days’ advance written notice to the terminated contractor before a contract transition or property sale; the terminated contractor is then required to provide the successor contractor with employee information. The successor employer must hand-deliver written offers of employment to eligible employees at least five days before the contract terminates or 15 days before successor services commence, stating pay rate, hours, and benefits. If fewer employees are needed, retention is by seniority within each classification, and a preferential hiring list must be maintained. Employees may not be discharged during the 90-day period without just cause based solely on individual performance or conduct.

After the 90-day period, the successor employer must provide a performance evaluation, and if performance was satisfactory, the employer must offer continued employment under the terms and conditions established by the successor employer, or as required by law.  The retention requirement does not apply to employees whose attendance or performance records (while working under the terminated service contract) would lead a reasonably prudent employer to terminate them. In the case of property purchases or acquisition, the retention requirement only applies when the services to be performed are substantially the same as those previously provided by the terminated contractor’s employees.  Please note: Public Act 26-68 specifies that a terminated contractor may take disciplinary action against an employee (to the extent permissible by law or by a collective bargaining agreement), up to termination prior to the start of the successor service contract or (successor employer assuming control of the site or sites covered by the contract to sell or transfer property) if the employee's attendance or performance records, while working under the terminated contract, would lead a reasonably prudent employer to take similar disciplinary action.

Remedies via an action in the Superior Court or a complaint with the DOL include back pay with interest, reinstatement, compensatory damages, and attorney’s fees. Successor employers violating retention provisions face penalties of $500 to $1,000 per employee per day; awarding authorities or terminated contractors violating notice provisions face penalties of $50 to $200 per employee per day.

Additional Provisions of Public Act 26-12

The Act contains numerous additional provisions of note. It requires incentives for first responders including tuition waivers and mortgage assistance programs. Employers on prevailing wage projects must maintain daily attendance records and submit them weekly to the contracting agency, with failure to file constituting a Class C misdemeanor.

For covered construction contracts entered into on or after January 1, 2027, contractors are jointly and severally liable for unpaid wages owed to a subcontractor’s employees, with a private right of action available after 30 days’ notice. The Act expressly permits such contractors to protect themselves with respect to their subcontractors via contract provisions addressing a remedy for liability caused by the subcontractor’s nonpayment of wages (including having such liability paid from retainage under the contract). The Act specifies which types of construction contracts are covered by these new provisions. Expressly not covered by these provision are 1) public works or other contracts by the state, another state, or the federal government or 2) home improvement contracts to build, renovate, or rehabilitate (a) an owner-occupied residence or property where it is located or (b) one- or two-family dwelling units or properties unless there are more than 15 of them at one project site.

The Act permits employees delivering direct care services under DDS and DSS programs (or their unions) to access visual monitoring evidence used in disciplinary actions under specified confidentiality conditions. It requires regional workforce navigators to connect adults in education programs with workforce opportunities by October 1, 2026. It mandates reports on hospital nurse staffing plan variations, veterans employment information updates, and military employment assistance programs.

The Act exempts minor league baseball players compensated under a collective bargaining agreement from state minimum wage and overtime requirements. It also requires the Commissioner of Labor and the Chief Manufacturing Officer to post veterans’ benefits information for employer download.  Finally, the Act requires the Comptroller to conduct a study of health insurance covered for retired police officers and firefighters.

Stay tuned for more.