Connecticut 2023 Regular Session

Connecticut House Bill HB06859 Compare Versions

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7	7		General Assembly Substitute Bill No. 6859
8	8		January Session, 2023
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12	12		AN ACT CONCERNING PREDICTABLE SCHEDULING.
13	13		Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
14	14		Assembly convened:
15	15
16	16		Section 1. (NEW) (Effective October 1, 2023) As used in this section and 1
17	17		sections 2 to 8, inclusive, of this act: 2
18	18		(1) "Employee" means any person (A) paid on an hourly basis, (B) not 3
19	19		exempt from the minimum wage and overtime compensation 4
20	20		requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 and the 5
21	21		regulations promulgated thereunder, as amended from time to time, (C) 6
22	22		suffered or permitted to work by an employer, and (D) employed in an 7
23	23		occupation in a retail establishment, food services establishment, a 8
24	24		hospitality occupation or a long-term health care services establishment 9
25	25		in an occupation defined by the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics 10
26	26		Standard Occupational Classification system or any successor system as 11
27	27		31-012 for nursing aides, orderlies and attendants. An alleged employer 12
28	28		bears the burden of proof that the individual is, under applicable law, 13
29	29		an independent contractor rather than an employee of the alleged 14
30	30		employer; 15
31	31		(2) "Employer" means a retail establishment, a food services 16
32	32		establishment, a hospitality establishment or a long-term health care 17
33	33		services establishment that is (A) an individual, partnership, 18
34	34		association, joint stock company, trust, firm, business, nonprofit agency, 19 Substitute Bill No. 6859
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41	41		corporation, limited liability company or any other entity employing 20
42	42		any person, including the state and any political subdivision thereof, 21
43	43		that employs not less than five hundred employees within the United 22
44	44		States or globally and, for an employer that is a restaurant where food 23
45	45		is prepared, served and consumed on the premises, such employer has 24
46	46		not less than thirty restaurant locations within the United States or 25
47	47		globally, or (B) a franchisee, that is a person to whom a franchise is 26
48	48		granted, including a distributor, wholesaler or jobber or retailer who is 27
49	49		granted the authority under a franchise to use a trademark, tradename, 28
50	50		service mark or other identifying symbol or name, if the network of 29
51	51		franchises within the United States or globally employs not less than five 30
52	52		hundred employees in the aggregate; 31
53	53		(3) "Food services establishment" means the fixed point of service 32
54	54		location for food services contractors, caterers, mobile food services, 33
55	55		drinking places, full service restaurants, limited service restaurants, 34
56	56		cafeterias, grill buffets and buffets and snack and nonalcoholic beverage 35
57	57		bars, as defined under Sector 722 of the 2022 North American Industry 36
58	58		Classification System, or other classification or subsequent edition of the 37
59	59		North American Industry Classification System designated pursuant to 38
60	60		regulations adopted by the Labor Commissioner; 39
61	61		(4) "Hospitality establishment" means hotel, motel or casino hotel, as 40
62	62		defined under Sectors 721110 and 721120 of the 2022 North American 41
63	63		Industry Classification System, or other classification or subsequent 42
64	64		edition of the North American Industry Classification System 43
65	65		designated pursuant to regulations adopted by the Labor 44
66	66		Commissioner; 45
67	67		(5) "Long-term health care services establishment" means a provider 46
68	68		of long-term health care services as defined under Sector 623110 of the 47
69	69		2022 North American Industry Classification System, or other 48
70	70		classification or subsequent edition of the North American Industry 49
71	71		Classification System designated pursuant to regulations adopted by 50
72	72		the Labor Commissioner; 51 Substitute Bill No. 6859
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79	79		(6) "Regular rate" has the same meaning as provided in section 31- 52
80	80		76b of the general statutes; 53
81	81		(7) "Retail establishment" means the fixed point of sale location for an 54
82	82		establishment as defined under Sectors 4410 through 4599, inclusive, of 55
83	83		the 2022 North American Industry Classification System, or other 56
84	84		classification or subsequent edition of the North American Industry 57
85	85		Classification System designated pursuant to regulations adopted by 58
86	86		the Labor Commissioner; 59
87	87		(8) "Scheduled work hours" means the hours an employee is 60
88	88		scheduled to work pursuant to a work schedule; 61
89	89		(9) "Shift" means the consecutive hours an employer schedules an 62
90	90		employee to work, or to be available to report to work at the request or 63
91	91		permission of the employer, except a break period of not more than one 64
92	92		hour is not considered an interruption of consecutive hours; 65
93	93		(10) "Work schedule" means a written notice of an employee's regular 66
94	94		and on-call hours, including specific start and end times for each shift, 67
95	95		during a consecutive seven-day period; 68
96	96		(11) "Work schedule change" means any employer -initiated 69
97	97		modification to the employee's work schedule, including (A) the 70
98	98		addition or reduction of hours, (B) cancellation of a work shift or portion 71
99	99		of a work shift, (C) a change in the date, time or location of a work shift, 72
100	100		or (D) scheduling of an employee for an on-call work shift for which the 73
101	101		employee does not need to report to work; and 74
102	102		(12) "Whistleblower" means a person, or a representative of such 75
103	103		person, with knowledge of an alleged violation of sections 2 to 8, 76
104	104		inclusive, of this act regardless of whether such person is aggrieved by 77
105	105		the violation. "Whistleblower" does not include the state or its 78
106	106		representatives. 79
107	107		Sec. 2. (NEW) (Effective October 1, 2023) (a) Upon the hiring of an 80
108	108		employee, an employer shall: 81 Substitute Bill No. 6859
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115	115		(1) Obtain a written statement from the employee of such employee's 82
116	116		(A) desired number of weekly work hours, and (B) the days and times 83
117	117		such employee is available to work, and inform such employee that such 84
118	118		written statement may be modified by the employee at any time; and 85
119	119		(2) Provide such employee with a written estimate of the employee's 86
120	120		anticipated work hours that contains (A) the average number of work 87
121	121		hours the employee can expect to work each week, (B) the minimum 88
122	122		and maximum numbers of work hours the employee can expect to work 89
123	123		each week, (C) the minimum length of shifts that the employee can 90
124	124		expect to work, (D) the number of days, the amount of time and the 91
125	125		number of shifts that the employee can expect to work, and (E) the days 92
126	126		of the week and times or shifts on which the employee will not be 93
127	127		scheduled to work. Any estimate made without a basis in good faith 94
128	128		shall be a violation of this subsection. An employer shall revise the 95
129	129		written estimate of the employee's work schedule if there is a significant 96
130	130		change to such employee's work schedule due to changes in the 97
131	131		employee's availability or to the employer's business needs. 98
132	132		(b) An employer shall not be in violation of any provision of this 99
133	133		section if an employee's average weekly work hours significantly exceed 100
134	134		the number provided in the written estimate if the employer makes 101
135	135		every effort to schedule the employee for the employee's desired 102
136	136		number of weekly work hours. 103
137	137		Sec. 3. (NEW) (Effective October 1, 2023) (a) Not later than the date of 104
138	138		an employee's first shift, an employer shall provide such employee with 105
139	139		the employee's work schedule for the period commencing on the date 106
140	140		of the employee's first shift and ending on the last date of the seven-day 107
141	141		period covered by the work schedule posted by the employer pursuant 108
142	142		to subsection (b) of this section. Thereafter, the employer shall notify the 109
143	143		employee of the employee's work schedule in accordance with the 110
144	144		provisions of subsection (b) of this section. 111
145	145		(b) Not later than fourteen days prior to the first date of the seven-112
146	146		day period of any work schedule, an employer shall post the work 113 Substitute Bill No. 6859
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153	153		schedule in a conspicuous place at the workplace and shall distribute 114
154	154		such schedule to each employee. Such distribution may be electronic if 115
155	155		electronic means are regularly used to communicate scheduling 116
156	156		information to such employer's employees. The work schedule shall 117
157	157		identify all employees currently employed by the employer, whether or 118
158	158		not such employees are scheduled to work any hours or shifts in such 119
159	159		work schedule. 120
160	160		(c) (1) An employer shall provide an employee with written notice of 121
161	161		any change to such employee's work schedule as soon as possible and 122
162	162		prior to such change taking effect. Such employer shall revise the posted 123
163	163		work schedule to reflect such change not later than twenty-four hours 124
164	164		after making such change to the work schedule. 125
165	165		(2) An employee may decline to work any hours not included in the 126
166	166		original or any subsequent versions of the posted work schedule. If such 127
167	167		employee voluntarily consents to work such hours, such consent shall 128
168	168		be recorded in writing. 129
169	169		(d) An employee may decline to work any shift that begins less than 130
170	170		eleven hours after the end of such employee's previous day's shift or 131
171	171		during the eleven-hour period following the end of a shift that spanned 132
172	172		more than one day. If an employee consents to work such shift, such 133
173	173		consent shall be in writing and such employee shall be compensated at 134
174	174		one and one-half times the employee's regular rate of pay for any hours 135
175	175		worked during the shift for which such employee consented. 136
176	176		(e) (1) An employee may request adjustments or changes to such 137
177	177		employee's work schedule, including, but not limited to, requests not to 138
178	178		be scheduled for work shifts during certain days or times or at certain 139
179	179		locations, for certain hours, days or locations of work, for more or fewer 140
180	180		work hours and to be scheduled consistently for a specified or minimum 141
181	181		number of weekly work hours. 142
182	182		(2) An employer shall engage in an interactive process to discuss any 143
183	183		employee request for an adjustment or change to such employee's work 144 Substitute Bill No. 6859
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190	190		schedule, and may grant or deny the request for any bona fide business 145
191	191		reason that is not unlawful. 146
192	192		Sec. 4. (NEW) (Effective October 1, 2023) (a) Except as otherwise 147
193	193		provided in subsection (b) of this section, an employer shall pay an 148
194	194		employee: 149
195	195		(1) One hour of pay at the employee's regular rate for each instance 150
196	196		that such employer (A) adds one or more hours of work, or (B) changes 151
197	197		the date, time or location of a work shift, without a reduction of hours 152
198	198		less than seven days prior to the commencement of scheduled work 153
199	199		hours; and 154
200	200		(2) One-half of the employee's regular rate for any scheduled work 155
201	201		hours the employee does not work due to such employer cancelling or 156
202	202		reducing the employee's scheduled work hours (A) after the employee 157
203	203		reports to work for such scheduled work hours, or (B) less than seven 158
204	204		days prior to the commencement of such scheduled work hours. 159
205	205		(b) The provisions of subsection (a) of this section shall not apply if 160
206	206		the employee's scheduled work hours are changed due to: 161
207	207		(1) An employee's written request, including, but not limited to, a 162
208	208		request to use sick leave, vacation leave or other leave pursuant to the 163
209	209		employer's policy; 164
210	210		(2) A mutually agreed-upon shift trade or coverage arrangement 165
211	211		between employees, subject to an existing employer policy regarding 166
212	212		such shift trade or coverage arrangement; or 167
213	213		(3) The inability of an employer's operations to begin or continue due 168
214	214		to (A) the failure of a public utility, (B) the shutdown of public 169
215	215		transportation, (C) fire, flood or other natural disaster, or (D) an 170
216	216		emergency declaration issued by the President of the United States or 171
217	217		the Governor. 172
218	218		Sec. 5. (NEW) (Effective October 1, 2023) (a) (1) Prior to hiring a new 173 Substitute Bill No. 6859
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225	225		employee from an external applicant pool or through a contractor, 174
226	226		including a temporary help service or an employment agency, as 175
227	227		defined in section 31-129 of the general statutes, an employer shall make 176
228	228		every effort to schedule existing employees for such existing employees' 177
229	229		desired number of weekly work hours identified in the written 178
230	230		statements provided pursuant to section 2 of this act, provided the 179
231	231		employer may hire a new employee if existing employees lack, and 180
232	232		cannot obtain with reasonable training, the qualifications necessary to 181
233	233		perform the duties of the position being filled. 182
234	234		(2) If an employer fails to offer existing employees opportunities to 183
235	235		work such existing employees' desired number of weekly work hours 184
236	236		before hiring a new employee, such employer shall compensate the 185
237	237		existing employees at such employees' regular hourly rate for hours 186
238	238		worked by a newly hired employee that occurred within the existing 187
239	239		employees' written availability. 188
240	240		(b) Nothing in this section shall be construed to require any employer 189
241	241		to schedule employees to work hours required to be paid at an overtime 190
242	242		rate under state or federal law. 191
243	243		Sec. 6. (NEW) (Effective October 1, 2023) (a) Each employer, subject to 192
244	244		the provisions of sections 2 to 5, inclusive, of this act, shall, unless 193
245	245		exempted by regulations adopted by the Labor Commissioner pursuant 194
246	246		to section 7 of this act, keep a true and accurate record for not less than 195
247	247		three years of (1) the shifts worked each day and each week by each of 196
248	248		its employees, (2) each employee's work schedule, and (3) any revisions 197
249	249		to such work schedule. 198
250	250		(b) Nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit an employer 199
251	251		from adopting policies related to employee scheduling that are more 200
252	252		favorable to an employee than those required by sections 2 to 5, 201
253	253		inclusive, of this act. 202
254	254		Sec. 7. (NEW) (Effective October 1, 2023) The Labor Commissioner may 203
255	255		adopt regulations, in accordance with the provisions of chapter 54 of the 204 Substitute Bill No. 6859
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262	262		general statutes, to implement and enforce the provisions of sections 2 205
263	263		to 6, inclusive, of this act, including, but not limited to, a process for the 206
264	264		commissioner to address complaints relating to violations of said 207
265	265		sections. 208
266	266		Sec. 8. (NEW) (Effective October 1, 2023) (a) Any person aggrieved by 209
267	267		a violation of any of the provisions of sections 2 to 6, inclusive, of this 210
268	268		act, the Labor Commissioner, the Attorney General or any entity, a 211
269	269		member of which is aggrieved by a violation of said sections, may bring 212
270	270		a civil action in the Superior Court to recover damages, civil penalties 213
271	271		and such equitable and injunctive relief as the court deems appropriate. 214
272	272		Any individual who prevails in such civil action shall be awarded 215
273	273		reasonable attorney's fees and costs to be taxed by the court. 216
274	274		(b) In the case of a civil action under this section, the Superior Court 217
275	275		may grant, in addition to, or as an alternative to, any other remedies 218
276	276		provided by law, the following relief to an employee, or former 219
277	277		employee, for a violation of any provision of sections 2 to 6, inclusive, 220
278	278		of this act: 221
279	279		(1) All compensatory damages and other relief required to make the 222
280	280		employee or former employee whole; 223
281	281		(2) For each violation of the provisions of section 2 of this act, (A) two 224
282	282		hundred dollars, and (B) an order directing compliance with said 225
283	283		section; 226
284	284		(3) For each violation of the provisions of subsections (a) to (c), 227
285	285		inclusive, of section 3 of this act, (A) two hundred dollars, and (B) an 228
286	286		order directing compliance with said subsections; 229
287	287		(4) For each violation of the provisions of section 4 of this act, (A) 230
288	288		payment of compensation withheld in violation of said section, (B) three 231
289	289		hundred dollars, and (C) an order directing compliance with said 232
290	290		section; 233
291	291		(5) For each violation of the provisions of section 5 of this act, (A) the 234 Substitute Bill No. 6859
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298	298		greater of five hundred dollars or such employee's actual damages, and 235
299	299		(B) an order directing compliance with said section; and 236
300	300		(6) An order directing the employer to comply with the 237
301	301		recordkeeping requirements of subsection (a) of section 6 of this act. 238
302	302		(c) The relief authorized pursuant to subsection (b) of this section 239
303	303		shall be imposed on a per-employee and per-instance basis for each 240
304	304		violation. 241
305	305		(d) An employer that violates a provision of subsections (a) and (b) of 242
306	306		section 2 of this act, subsections (a) to (c), inclusive, of section 3 of this 243
307	307		act or section 4 or 5 of this act, shall pay a civil penalty of two hundred 244
308	308		dollars to the Labor Commissioner for each employee affected by the 245
309	309		violation during each pay period the violation occurred. 246
310	310		Sec. 9. (NEW) (Effective October 1, 2023) (a) (1) A whistleblower may, 247
311	311		on behalf of the state, bring a civil action in the Superior Court against 248
312	312		an employer who violates any provision of sections 2 to 6, inclusive, of 249
313	313		this act to seek equitable remedies or penalties described in subsection 250
314	314		(d) of section 8 of this act. 251
315	315		(2) The state may intervene in an action brought under this section at 252
316	316		any time from the commencement of the action until thirty days after 253
317	317		the commencement of the action. After thirty days, the state may 254
318	318		intervene with permission from the court. 255
319	319		(b) (1) Not less than thirty days before the action is filed, the 256
320	320		whistleblower shall give written notice to the Labor Commissioner of 257
321	321		the specific provisions of sections 2 to 6, inclusive, of this act that such 258
322	322		whistleblower alleges an employer violated. 259
323	323		(2) The commissioner may prosecute an action brought under this 260
324	324		section in the name of the Labor Department or allow the whistleblower 261
325	325		to proceed on behalf of the state. 262
326	326		(c) (1) The proceeds of any judgment entered in favor of a 263 Substitute Bill No. 6859
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333	333		whistleblower pursuant to this section shall be distributed as follows: 264
334	334		(A) Seventy-five per cent to the department for enforcement of this 265
335	335		section, and (B) twenty-five per cent to the first whistleblower who filed 266
336	336		the action. 267
337	337		(2) In addition to the amount described in subdivision (1) of this 268
338	338		subsection, the court shall award reasonable attorney's fees to a 269
339	339		whistleblower who prevails in an action brought pursuant to said 270
340	340		subdivision. 271
341	341		(d) The court shall review and approve any settlement of civil action 272
342	342		filed pursuant to this chapter upon determining that such settlement is 273
343	343		fair, adequate, reasonable and in the public interest. 274
344	344		(e) No private contract shall impair the right to bring an action under 275
345	345		this section. 276
346	346		(f) An action under this section shall be tried promptly and without 277
347	347		regard to concurrent adjudication of private claims. 278
348	348		(g) If any part of a whistleblower's claim under this section is ordered 279
349	349		or submitted to arbitration or is resolved by way of final judgment, 280
350	350		settlement or arbitration in favor of the employee, the employee 281
351	351		whistleblower retains standing to recover penalties for violations 282
352	352		suffered by the other employees in any forum having jurisdiction over 283
353	353		the claim. 284
354	354		This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
355	355		sections:
356	356
357	357		Section 1 October 1, 2023 New section
358	358		Sec. 2 October 1, 2023 New section
359	359		Sec. 3 October 1, 2023 New section
360	360		Sec. 4 October 1, 2023 New section
361	361		Sec. 5 October 1, 2023 New section
362	362		Sec. 6 October 1, 2023 New section
363	363		Sec. 7 October 1, 2023 New section
364	364		Sec. 8 October 1, 2023 New section Substitute Bill No. 6859
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371	371		Sec. 9 October 1, 2023 New section
372	372
	373	+	Statement of Legislative Commissioners:
	374	+	In Section 1(3) "section" was replaced with "Sector" for accuracy and
	375	+	statutory consistency, in Section 1(4) "sections" was replaced with
	376	+	"Sectors" for accuracy and statutory consistency, in Section 1(5) "section"
	377	+	was replaced with "Sector" for accuracy and statutory consistency, in
	378	+	Section 1(7) "sections" was replaced with "Sectors" for accuracy and
	379	+	statutory consistency, Section 1(9) was rewritten for clarity, in Section
	380	+	3(b), "its" was replaced with "such employer's" for clarity and "at the
	381	+	worksite" was replaced with "by the employer" for clarity, in Section
	382	+	3(e)(1), "or changes" was added after "adjustments" for clarity, Section 4
	383	+	was reorganized for clarity, Section 8(b) was rewritten for clarity, in
	384	+	Section 8(d), "continued" was replaced with "occurred" for clarity and
	385	+	consistency with standard drafting conventions, and Section 9(e) was
	386	+	rewritten for consistency with standard drafting conventions.
373	387
374	388		LAB Joint Favorable Subst. -LCO
375		-	APP Joint Favorable
376	389