OFFICE OF FISCAL ANALYSIS
Legislative Office Building, Room 5200
Hartford, CT 06106 (860) 240-0200
http://www.cga.ct.gov/ofa
sSB-1002
AN ACT CONCERNING LABOR ISSUES RELATED TO COVID-19,
PERSONAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT AND OTHER STAFFING
MATTERS.
Primary Analyst: LD 4/15/21
Contributing Analyst(s): ME, CG, PR, ES, CW
OFA Fiscal Note
State Impact:
Agency Affected Fund-Effect FY 22 $ FY 23 $
Labor Dept. GF- Cost 287,942 319,529
Public Health, Dept.; Social
Services, Dept.; Department of
Developmental Services
GF – Cost See Below See Below
State Comptroller – Fringe
Benefits
1
GF – Cost 114,955 127,588
Various State Agencies GF - Potential
Cost
See Below See Below
Social Services, Dept.;
Department of Developmental
Services
GF – Potential
Revenue Loss
See Below See Below
Correction, Dept; Judicial Dept.
(Probation)
GF – See Below See Below See Below
Resources of the General Fund GF – See Below See Below See Below
Note: UCF = Unemployment Compensation Fund; GF=General Fund
Municipal Impact:
Municipalities Effect FY 22 $ FY 23 $
Various Municipalities STATE
MANDATE
2
- Potential
Cost
See Below See Below
Explanation
1
The fringe benefit costs for most state employees are budgeted centrally in accounts
administered by the Comptroller. The estimated active employee fringe benefit cost
associated with most personnel changes is 41.3% of payroll in FY 22 and FY 23.
2
State mandate is defined in Sec. 2-32b(2) of the Connecticut General Statutes, "state
mandate" means any state initiated constitutional, statutory or executive action that
requires a local government to establish, expand or modify its activities in such a
way as to necessitate additional expenditures from local revenues. 2021SB-01002-R000464-FN.docx Page 2 of 6
Section 3 and Section 4 establish a $20,000 workers' compensation
benefit for burial expenses and increase the current standard benefit
from $4,000 to $20,000 once the bill passes and includes a rebuttable
presumption provision related to COVID-19. This results in a potential
cost to various state agencies and municipalities to the extent that an
employee contracts COVID-19 and meets the other conditions of the
bill.
Section 5 and Section 6 of the bill expand eligibility for workers’
compensation benefits for post-traumatic stress injuries (PTSI) to cover
(1) emergency medical services (EMS) personnel; (2) all Department of
Correction (DOC) employees; (3) telecommunicators; and (4) under
certain circumstances related to COVID-19, health care providers.
The bill results in a potential cost to the Department of Corrections
(DOC) to the extent that DOC employees apply for Workers'
Compensation benefits and meet the conditions of the bill. For
reference, there are 6,000 current DOC employees. The bill also results
in a potential cost to other various state agencies and various
municipalities who employ EMS personnel, telecommunicators, and
health care providers to the extent that these employees apply for
Workers' Compensation benefits due to PTSI and COVID-19 related
conditions and meet the other conditions of the bill.
Section 7 allows terminated employees to bring an action in
Superior Court over alleged violations, which does not result in any
fiscal impact to the state or municipalities. The court system disposes
of over 400,000 cases annually and the number of cases is not
anticipated to be great enough to need additional resources.
Section 8 results in a cost to the Department of Public Health (DPH)
to administer a contract(s) for the procurement of personal protective
equipment (PPE) to create two stockpiles over time. The bill requires
DPH to (1) pay for PPE with federal public health emergency funds, to
the maximum extent feasible, (2) make PPE available, without charge,
to certain entities during a declaration of a public health emergency,
and (3) make PPE (within one year of its expiration) available for sale 2021SB-01002-R000464-FN.docx Page 3 of 6
at no more than fair market value.
This is anticipated to result in a cost of approximately $55,560 in FY
22 and $57,230 in FY 23 (with associated fringe of $22,950 and $23,640,
respectively) to support staff to oversee the contract. The cost to
purchase PPE and resupply prior to expiration is estimated to be at
least $2 million annually, which may be paid for with federal funds.
The actual cost depends on the contract established and the stockpile
levels determined by DPH.
Section 10 could result in a revenue gain, beginning in FY 24,
associated with a $25,000 civil penalty imposed on covered providers
who do not maintain an unexpired inventory of PPE required under
the bill.
Section 13 results in a cost to the Department of Social Services
(DSS) to administer the Essential Employees Pandemic Pay Grant
Program. Grants will support employers whose covered employees
were engaged in activities substantially dedicated to mitigating or
responding to the public health and civil preparedness emergencies
between March 20, 2020, and April 30, 2021. This is assumed to include
the state and municipalities.
The grant program will be funded by an appropriation of at least
15% of unrestricted funds received by the state from January 1, 2021, to
July 1, 2021, for COVID-19 relief. Based on current estimates, 15% of
anticipated federal State Fiscal Recovery funds is $397.5 million.
Assuming standard administrative costs of 3.2%, DSS would incur
increased costs of $12.7 million in FY 22 to support a contract to
administer the grant program including application review and post
payment audits. The actual cost to administer the program will depend
on the number of applicants and associated employees, established
grant review process, and payment distribution requirements.
Section 14 requires each employer that receives a pandemic pay
grant to pay (via lump sum) each of its covered employees additional
compensation for each hour they worked during the covered period. 2021SB-01002-R000464-FN.docx Page 4 of 6
This could result in increased costs to the state and municipalities to
administer such payments to employees.
Sections 15 and 17 subject employers to penalties if they violate
conditions of the bill resulting in in a potential cost for incarceration or
probation and a potential revenue gain from fines to the extent
violations occur. On average, the marginal cost to the state for
incarcerating an offender for the year is $2,200
3
while the average
marginal cost for supervision in the community is less than $700
4
each
year.
Sections 20-25, which require all private-sector employers to
provide additional paid sick leave related to COVID-19, result in: 1) a
potential cost to the Departments of Social Services and
Developmental Services, 2) a potential cost to the Department of Labor
(DOL) of up to $402,897 in FY 22 and up to $447,117 in FY 23, and 3) a
potential loss of federal revenue.
Establishing new COVID-19 paid sick leave results in a potential
cost to the DOL to administer.
5
Specifically, the DOL could need up to
two additional Wage Enforcement Agents and one Staff Attorney for a
total potential cost of up to $393,297 in FY 22 and up to $436,517 in FY
23, including salaries and benefits. There are also associated overhead
costs estimated at up to $9,600 for FY 22 and up to $10,600 for FY 23 for
computers, office supplies, etc. These costs would cease four weeks
after the governor’s emergency declarations expire (thus, they are
3
Inmate marginal cost is based on increased consumables (e.g. food, clothing, water,
sewage, living supplies, etc.) This does not include a change in staffing costs or
utility expenses because these would only be realized if a unit or facility opened.
4
Probation marginal cost is based on services provided by private providers and
only includes costs that increase with each additional participant. This does not
include a cost for additional supervision by a probation officer unless a new offense
is anticipated to result in enough additional offenders to require additional probation
officers.
5
The current paid sick leave law covers employers with over 50 employees
(excluding manufacturers and some non-profits) and only applies to 69 job
classifications. The bill expands COVID-19-specific coverage to all private-sector
employers for the duration of the pandemic, which includes an estimated 110,000
employers and 1.6 million workers. 2021SB-01002-R000464-FN.docx Page 5 of 6
potential costs for FY 22 and FY 23).
Sections 20-25 could result in a cost to the Departments of Social
Services (DSS) and Developmental Services (DDS) associated with
paid sick leave for personal care attendants (PCAs). Cost components
include (1) payment to PCAs for sick leave, (2) payment to PCAs to
provide necessary services to Medicaid consumers while another PCA
is taking sick leave, and (3) enhanced contract costs for the PCA
Workforce Council to administer paid sick leave benefits.
There are approximately 13,000 active PCAs supporting DSS and
DDS Medicaid consumers paid a rate of approximately $16.25 per
hour. The extent of the cost to the state depends on the number of
PCAs requiring paid sick leave related to COVID-19 and the length of
sick leave, up to eighty hours.
These sections also require the PCA Workforce Council to act on
behalf of consumer employers of PCAs for purposes of the bill. This is
anticipated to increase state contract costs to support the
administration of paid sick leave benefits through fiscal intermediaries.
Additionally, since most DSS and DDS consumers with funding for
PCAs are enrolled in a Home and Community-Based Medicaid waiver,
the bill may also result in a potential federal revenue loss to the extent
the bill's provisions conflict with Medicaid waiver requirements.
Sections 26 and 27 disregard an employer’s benefit charges and
taxable wages between July 1, 2019, and June 30, 2021, when
calculating the employer’s unemployment tax experience rate for
taxable years starting on or after January 1, 2022. This does not result
in any fiscal impact as costs not directly charged to a specific employer
will be handled as pooled costs spread among all employers.
Section 28 increases unemployment benefits for certain claimants.
This does not result in any fiscal impact as costs not directly charged to
a specific employer will be handled as pooled costs spread among all
employers. 2021SB-01002-R000464-FN.docx Page 6 of 6
Section 29 increases, from $500 to $2,000, the financial threshold
used to determine whether someone's unemployment compensation
fraud is a misdemeanor or a felony. This is not anticipated to have a
material impact on the Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund. It results
in a potential savings for incarceration or probation and a potential
revenue loss to the extent fewer fines are collected and fewer violations
result in incarceration or probation.
The Out Years
Beginning January 1, 2022, the standard benefit for burial expenses
will be annually adjusted by the previous calendar year’s percentage
increase in the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and
Clerical Workers in the Northeast.