LCO No. 2626 1 of 3
General Assembly Raised Bill No. 317
February Session, 2022
LCO No. 2626
Referred to Committee on LABOR AND PUBLIC EMPLOYEES
Introduced by:
(LAB)
AN ACT CONCERNING UNEMPLOYMENT FOR STRIKING
EMPLOYEES.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. (NEW) (Effective October 1, 2022) (a) The accumulation of 1
benefit rights by a claimant shall be suspended during a period of two 2
consecutive weeks beginning with the day after such claimant lost their 3
employment because of a strike or other labor dispute. 4
(b) Benefits shall not be suspended under this section if it is shown to 5
the satisfaction of the administrator that: 6
(1) The individual: (A) is not participating in or financing or directly 7
interested in the labor dispute that caused the unemployment; and (B) 8
does not belong to a trade, class or organization of workers, members of 9
which, immediately before the commencement of the labor dispute, 10
were employed at the premises at which the labor dispute occurred, and 11
are participating in or financing or directly interested in the dispute; or 12
(2) The individual's unemployment is due to the existence of a 13
lockout. A lockout exists, whether or not such action is to obtain for the 14 Raised Bill No. 317
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employer more advantageous terms, when an employer: (A) Fails to 15
provide employment to its employees with whom the employer is 16
engaged in a labor dispute, either by physically closing its plant or 17
informing its employees that there will be no work until the labor 18
dispute has terminated; or (B) makes an announcement that work will 19
be available after the expiration of the existing contract only under terms 20
and conditions that are less favorable to the employees than those 21
current immediately prior to such announcement, provided in either 22
event the recognized or certified bargaining agent shall have advised 23
the employer that the employees with whom the employer is engaged 24
in the labor dispute are ready, able and willing to continue working 25
pending the negotiation of a new contract under the terms and 26
conditions current immediately prior to such announcement. 27
Sec. 2. Section 31-237d of the general statutes is repealed and the 28
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2022): 29
(a) The chairman of the board shall be the executive head of the 30
appeals division. He may delegate to any person employed in the 31
appeals division such authority as he deems reasonable and proper for 32
the effective administration of the division's responsibilities. 33
(b) In any appeal to the board, the board or any of its members may 34
hear the appeal, except that the full board shall hear and decide cases 35
[requiring the application of subsection (a)(3) of section 31-236 and 36
cases] in which a party has specifically requested in writing a hearing 37
by the full board, provided the decision on all appeals shall be by a 38
majority vote of the full board. The board shall approve or reject, by a 39
majority vote, each request for a hearing before the full board in 40
accordance with the criteria for granting such requests established in 41
regulations adopted pursuant to section 31-237g. In any case before the 42
board, the board may delegate to a referee or other qualified employee 43
of the appeals division the taking or hearing of evidence. 44
Sec. 3. Subdivision (3) of subsection (a) of section 31-226 of the general 45
statute is repealed. (Effective October 1, 2022) 46 Raised Bill No. 317
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This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:
Section 1 October 1, 2022 New section
Sec. 2 October 1, 2022 31-237d
Sec. 3 October 1, 2022 Repealer section
Statement of Purpose:
To allow striking employees to collect unemployment benefits.
[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.]