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General Assembly Raised Bill No. 5276
February Session, 2020
LCO No. 1619
Referred to Committee on LABOR AND PUBLIC EMPLOYEES
Introduced by:
(LAB)
AN ACT CONCERNING DO MESTIC WORKERS.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. Section 31-71f of the general statutes is repealed and the 1
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective January 1, 2021): 2
(a) Each employer shall: (1) Advise his employees in writing, at the 3
time of hiring, of the rate of remuneration, hours of employment and 4
wage payment schedules, and (2) make available to his employees, 5
either in writing or through a posted notice maintained in a place 6
accessible to his employees, any employment practices and policies or 7
change therein with regard to wages, vacation pay, sick leave, health 8
and welfare benefits and comparable matters. 9
(b) Each employer employing a domestic worker, as defined in 10
section 3 of this act, shall advise the domestic worker in writing, at the 11
time of hiring, of: (1) The rate of remuneration, hours of employment 12
and wage payment schedules; (2) the job duties and responsibilities; (3) 13
the availability of sick leave, days of rest, vacation, personal days and 14
holidays, and whether such days are paid or unpaid, and the rate at 15 Raised Bill No. 5276
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which such days accrue; (4) necessary or required modes of 16
transportation, and whether such transportation is provided, paid or 17
reimbursed; (5) the availability of health insurance, and whether it is 18
paid or reimbursed; (6) any applicable severance, yearly raises or other 19
forms of compensation; (7) whether the employer may charge any fees 20
or costs for board and lodging; and (8) any other rights afforded to such 21
domestic worker under the provisions of this section, section 53-303e, as 22
amended by this act, and sections 3 to 5, inclusive, of this act. 23
Sec. 2. Section 53-303e of the general statutes is repealed and the 25 24
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective January 1, 2021): 25
(a) (1) No employer shall compel any employee engaged in any 26
commercial occupation, [or] (2) engaged in the work of any industrial 27
process, or (3) employed as a domestic worker, as defined in section 3 28
of this act, to work more than six days in any calendar week. An 29
employee's refusal to work more than six days in any calendar week 30
shall not constitute grounds for his or her dismissal. 31
(2) Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivision (1) of this 32
subsection, a domestic worker may work seven days in any calendar 33
week, provided (A) the domestic worker and his or her employer agree, 34
in writing, to such schedule, and (B) the domestic worker is 35
compensated at the appropriate rate, including the overtime rate, if 36
applicable. 37
(b) Any employee, who believes that his or her discharge was in 38
violation of subsection (a) of this section may appeal such discharge to 39
the State Board of Mediation and Arbitration. If said board finds that the 40
employee was discharged in violation of said subsection (a), it may 41
order whatever remedy will make the employee whole, including but 42
not limited to reinstatement to his or her former or a comparable 43
position. 44
(c) Any person who violates any provision of this section shall be 45
fined not more than two hundred dollars. 46 Raised Bill No. 5276
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Sec. 3. (NEW) (Effective January 1, 2021) (a) For the purposes of this 47
section and sections 4 and 5 of this act: (1) "Domestic worker" means any 48
individual or employee who is paid or who is told he or she will be paid 49
to perform work of a domestic nature in or about a private dwelling, 50
including, but not limited to, housekeeping, home management, child 51
care, caretaking of individuals, including sick, convalescing and elderly 52
individuals, laundering, meal preparation, home companion services 53
and other household services for occupants of the private dwelling or 54
the guests of such occupants. "Domestic worker" does not include (A) a 55
babysitter whose employment is irregular and intermittent or of a casual 56
nature, or (B) a personal care attendant providing services pursuant to 57
a state-funded program, including, but not limited to, (i) the program 58
for individuals with acquired brain injuries, established pursuant to 59
section 17b-260a of the general statutes, (ii) the personal care assistance 60
program, established pursuant to section 17b-605a of the general 61
statutes, (iii) the Connecticut home care program for the elderly, 62
established pursuant to section 17b-342 of the general statutes, (iv) the 63
pilot program to provide home care services to disabled persons, 64
established pursuant to section 17b-617 of the general statutes, (v) the 65
individual and family support waiver program administered by the 66
Department of Developmental Services, and (vi) the comprehensive 67
waiver program administered by the Department of Developmental 68
Services; (2) "employer" means any owner or any person, partnership, 69
corporation, limited liability company or association of persons acting 70
directly as, or on behalf of, or in the interest of an employer in relation 71
to a domestic worker and shall include for the purposes of chapter 567 72
of the general statutes a (A) homemaker-companion agency, as defined 73
in section 20-670 of the general statutes, (B) registry, as defined in section 74
20-670 of the general statutes, or (C) homemaker-home health aide 75
agency, as defined in section 19a-490 of the general statutes, that refers 76
a domestic worker to a consumer to provide (i) homemaker services, (ii) 77
companion services, or (iii) homemaker-home health aide services; (3) 78
"consumer" means an individual receiving homemaker services, 79
companion services or homemaker-home health aide services from a 80
homemaker-companion agency, registry or homemaker-home health 81 Raised Bill No. 5276
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aide agency; (4) "homemaker services" means homemaker services, as 82
defined in section 20-670 of the general statutes; (5) "companion 83
services" means companion services, as defined in section 20-670 of the 84
general statutes; (6) "homemaker-home health aide services" means 85
homemaker home health aide services, as defined in section 19a-490 of 86
the general statutes; (7) "live-in domestic worker" means a domestic 87
worker who resides in or about an employer's private dwelling for at 88
least four consecutive twenty-four-hour periods during at least two 89
consecutive weeks within one calendar year; (8) "full-time employment" 90
means an average working period of forty hours or more per week 91
within the previous month; and (9) "part-time employment" means an 92
average working period of less than forty hours per week within the 93
previous month. 94
(b) No employer shall (1) restrict or interfere with a domestic worker's 95
private communications that are made when the domestic worker is not 96
expected to be working, (2) seize, search or inspect the domestic 97
worker's personal belongings, or (3) engage in any conduct against a 98
domestic worker that violates subsection (a) of section 53a-192a of the 99
general statutes or any other section of the general statutes. 100
(c) No employer of a live-in domestic worker shall enter a live-in 101
domestic worker's designated living area in or about the employer's 102
private dwelling without such live-in domestic worker's informed and 103
voluntary consent, except that the employer may enter such designated 104
living area if emergency repairs are required, if (1) securing such live-in 105
domestic worker's consent within a reasonable time is not feasible, and 106
(2) the employer provides notice to the live-in domestic worker that the 107
employer entered the live-in domestic worker's designated living area 108
to conduct such emergency repairs within a reasonable time after doing 109
so. 110
(d) No employer of a domestic worker shall monitor a domestic 111
worker's activities or communications by any means other than direct 112
observation, including the use of a computer, telephone, wire, radio, 113
camera or electromagnetic, photoelectronic or photo-optical systems, 114 Raised Bill No. 5276
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without such domestic worker's informed and voluntary consent, 115
except that an employer may use such devices to monitor a domestic 116
worker while he or she is performing care-giving tasks, including, but 117
not limited to, babysitting, child care and caretaking of sick, 118
convalescing or elderly individuals. 119
(e) A domestic worker who is required to utilize cleaning products as 120
part of his or her employment shall have the right to (1) alert his or her 121
employer to health hazards and allergies that the domestic worker 122
believes to be related to these cleaning products, (2) negotiate with his 123
or her employer regarding the substitution of alternative cleaning 124
products, and (3) substitute cleaning products he or she believes to be 125
less harmful to his or her health, or to the health of others, except where 126
the employer can demonstrate medical necessity for the use of a 127
particular cleaning product. 128
(f) (1) Except as otherwise provided in subdivision (2) of this 129
subsection, if a domestic worker has been employed by an employer for 130
a period of ninety days or longer, such employer shall provide the 131
domestic worker with written notice prior to the termination of 132
employment. Such notice shall be provided not less than seven days 133
prior to the effective date of such termination, except that, if such 134
domestic worker is a live-in domestic worker, such notice shall be 135
provided not less than fourteen days prior to the effective date of such 136
termination. 137
(2) If a domestic worker has been employed by an employer for a 138
period of ninety days or longer, such employer may terminate such 139
domestic worker's employment immediately and without written 140
notice, provided such employer compensates such domestic worker at 141
a rate not less than the amount the domestic worker would have earned 142
had the employer continued to employ such domestic worker after 143
providing notice of such termination pursuant to subdivision (1) of this 144
subsection. 145
(g) The provisions of subsection (f) of this section shall not apply to 146 Raised Bill No. 5276
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any employer who terminates a domestic worker due to the domestic 147
worker's wilful misconduct in the course of his or her employment. For 148
the purposes of this subsection, "wilful misconduct" means deliberate 149
misconduct in wilful disregard of the employer's interest and includes 150
any abuse, assault or other harmful or destructive conduct committed 151
by the domestic worker against the employer, the employer's 152
possessions, members of the employer's family, guests or other 153
individuals residing in or about the employer's private dwelling. 154
(h) Compensation provided in lieu of notice of termination pursuant 155
to subdivision (2) of subsection (f) of this section shall be provided upon 156
termination of the domestic worker's employment. Such compensation 157
shall not release an employer from any obligation to make payments as 158
may be necessary to comply with chapter 567 of the general statutes or 159
any other applicable municipal, state or federal law. 160
Sec. 4. (NEW) (Effective January 1, 2021) No employer shall discharge, 161
discipline, penalize, retaliate against or in any manner discriminate 162
against a domestic worker because such domestic worker has (1) 163
complained to the employer, an authorized representative of the 164
domestic worker or any other person, (2) filed a complaint or instituted 165
or caused to be instituted any proceeding, (3) testified or intends to 166
testify in any such proceeding, or (4) exercised any right afforded to him 167
or her by any provision of sections 31-58, 31-71f, 46a-51 and 53-303e of 168
the general statutes, as amended by this act, or sections 3 to 5, inclusive, 169
of this act. 170
Sec. 5. (NEW) (Effective January 1, 2021) A domestic worker or 171
terminated domestic worker may bring an action in Superior Court 172
against an employer to recover any appropriate relief, including 173
rehiring or reinstatement to his or her previous job, payment of back 174
wages and any interest due on such wages, compensation for the denial 175
of days of leave, reestablishment of employee benefits or any other 176
remedies that the court deems appropriate. 177 Raised Bill No. 5276
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This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:
Section 1 January 1, 2021 31-71f
Sec. 2 January 1, 2021 53-303e
Sec. 3 January 1, 2021 New section
Sec. 4 January 1, 2021 New section
Sec. 5 January 1, 2021 New section
Statement of Purpose:
To expand the application of various labor laws to domestic workers.
[Proposed deletions are enclosed in brackets. Proposed additions are indicated by underline, except
that when the entire text of a bill or resolution or a section of a bill or resolution is new, it is not
underlined.]