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OLR Bill Analysis
sSB 943 (File 681, as amended by Senate "A")*
AN ACT REQUIRING EMPLOYERS TO PROVIDE CERTAIN
INFORMATION TO DOMESTIC WORKERS AT THE TIME OF HIRE
AND ESTABLISHING AN EDUCATION AND TRAINING GRANT
PROGRAM FOR DOMESTIC WORKERS.
SUMMARY
This bill broadens the categories of written information that
employers must provide to certain domestic workers when they are
hired to include things such as their job duties and whether the
employer will charge fees for room and board.
It also requires certain organizations that provide services to
domestic workers to collectively establish a program to inform
domestic workers and their employers about the laws and regulations
related to domestic workers. The organizations must consult with the
labor commissioner about the program and the materials produced for
it must be reviewed and approved by the commissioner before they
can be distributed or published online.
“Domestic workers” under the bill are employees who are paid or
told they will be paid to perform work of a domestic nature in or about
a private dwelling. This includes housekeeping; home management;
child care; laundering; meal preparation; home companion services;
caretaking of sick, convalescing, or elderly individuals; and other
household services for the dwelling’s occupants or their guests. They
do not include irregular or intermittent babysitters or personal care
attendants providing personal care assistance to consumers in state-
funded programs, including the:
1. acquired brain injury Medicaid waiver program,
2. personal care assistance Medicaid waiver program, 2021SB-00943-R02-BA.DOCX
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3. Connecticut Home Care Program for the Elderly,
4. pilot program to provide home care services to disabled
persons, and
5. Department of Developmental Services’ individual and family
support waiver program and comprehensive waiver program.
*Senate Amendment “A” requires (1) employers to include
information about how to file complaints with the other information
they must provide to domestic workers and (2) qualified organizations
to establish the information program, rather than requiring the labor
commissioner to establish a program to provide grants to qualified
organizations, as in the underlying bill.
EFFECTIVE DATE: October 1, 2021
EMPLOYER NOTICE REQU IREMENT
Existing law requires employers to advise their employees, when
they are hired and in writing, about their pay rate, hours of
employment, and pay schedule (CGS § 31-71f). The bill requires
employers to additionally provide domestic workers, when they are
hired, with written information about (1) their job duties and
responsibilities; (2) the availability of sick leave, rest days, vacation,
personal days, and holidays, whether paid or unpaid, and the rate at
which those days accrue; (3) whether the employer may charge any
fees or costs for board and lodging and, if so, their amount; and (4)
how to file a complaint for a violation of the domestic worker’s rights.
Existing law also requires employers to make available to all
employees, either in writing or through a posted notice, any
employment practices and policies, or related changes, on the
following topics: wages, vacation pay, sick leave, health and welfare
benefits, and comparable matters.
DOMESTIC WORKER INFO RMATION PROGRAM
The bill requires “qualified organizations” to collectively establish a
program to inform domestic workers and their employers about laws 2021SB-00943-R02-BA.DOCX
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and regulations related to domestic workers. Under the bill, “qualified
organizations” include (1) each nonprofit organization (i.e., 501(c)(3)
tax-exempt organization) that, as of October 1, 2021, has at least five
years of experience providing education, advocacy, or other related
services to domestic workers and (2) each organization that, as of
October 1, 2021, provides education, education advocacy, or other
related services to domestic workers on behalf of such a nonprofit
organization.
Under the bill, the program established by the qualified
organizations must at least include:
1. education and training for domestic workers and their
employers about the laws on minimum wage, overtime, sick
leave, record-keeping, wage adjudication, retaliation, and the
bill’s notice requirement;
2. an online resource to provide domestic workers and their
employers with information on state laws and regulations
related to domestic workers; and
3. providing technical and legal assistance to domestic workers
and their employers through legal service providers.
The bill requires the qualified organizations to consult with the
labor commissioner, or his designee, about implementing and
executing the program, including (1) educating domestic workers
about employee rights and obligations and (2) distributing information
to them and their employers. Under the bill, any materials the
organizations produce for the program about matters under the
commissioner’s jurisdiction must be reviewed and approved by the
commissioner or his designee. This must occur before a qualified
organization (1) distributes the materials to domestic workers or their
employers or (2) publishes them in an online resource.
BACKGROUND
Legislative History
The Senate referred the bill (File 403) to the Appropriations 2021SB-00943-R02-BA.DOCX
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Committee, which reported a substitute that removed a provision that
would have appropriated $210,000 to the Department of Labor for the
grant program for FY 22.
COMMITTEE ACTION
Labor and Public Employees Committee
Joint Favorable Substitute
Yea 9 Nay 4 (03/23/2021)
Appropriations Committee
Joint Favorable Substitute
Yea 31 Nay 16 (05/03/2021)