OFFICE OF FISCAL ANALYSIS
Legislative Office Building, Room 5200
Hartford, CT 06106 (860) 240-0200
http://www.cga.ct.gov/ofa
sSB-314
AN ACT CONCERNING PROTECTION OF WAREHOUSE
WORKERS.
Primary Analyst: CW 4/12/22
Contributing Analyst(s): LD, MR, PR
OFA Fiscal Note
State Impact:
Agency Affected Fund-Effect FY 23 $ FY 24 $
Labor Dept. GF - Potential
Cost
103,081 108,133
State Comptroller - Fringe
Benefits
1
GF - Potential
Cost
39,752 40,746
Resources of the General Fund GF - Potential
Revenue Gain
Minimal Minimal
Note: GF=General Fund
Municipal Impact: None
Explanation
The bill, which establishes limits on production quotas for certain
warehouse distribution centers, results in: 1) a potential cost to the
Department of Labor (DOL) of $142,833 in FY 23 and $148,879 in FY 24,
and 2) a potential minimal revenue gain to the extent there are violations
found and penalties imposed.
2
The bill allows complaints to be filed with DOL and requires DOL to
enforce its provisions via coordinated and strategic efforts with the
Workers' Compensation Commission. It is uncertain how many
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 40.53% of payroll in FY 23.
2
The bill allows the labor commissioner to award the employee all appropriate relief
and allows a civil action by aggrieved parties to recover damages, civil penalties, and
equitable and injunctive relief. 2022SB-00314-R000444-FN.DOCX Page 2 of 2
complaints would be filed and investigated annually.
3
To the extent the
number is significant there is a cost to DOL of $137,833 in FY 23 and
$$141,279 in FY 24, inclusive of salaries and benefits, for a position
dedicated to enforcement/investigation. There are also potential
associated overhead costs estimated at $5,000 in FY 23 and $7,600 in FY
24 for computers, office supplies, etc.
The bill allows anyone aggrieved by a violation of its provisions, the
labor commissioner, or the attorney general to bring a civil action in
Superior Court. The court system disposes of over 400,000 cases
annually and the number of cases is not anticipated to be great enough
to have a material impact on court operations.
The Out Years
The annualized ongoing cost impact identified above would continue
into the future subject to inflation.
3
The bill covers 87 employers and 32,651 employees as of the time of publication.