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General Assembly Substitute Bill No. 152
January Session, 2023
AN ACT CONCERNING THE PROTECTION OF WAREHOUSE
WORKERS.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. (NEW) (Effective July 1, 2023) As used in this section and 1
sections 2 to 7, inclusive, of this act: 2
(1) "Employee" means an individual engaged in service to an 3
employer in a business of the employer; 4
(2) "Work speed data" means any information an employer collects, 5
stores, analyzes or interprets relating to an employee's performance of 6
a quota, including, but not limited to, quantities of tasks performed, 7
quantities of items or materials handled or produced, rates or speeds 8
of tasks performed or measurements of employee performance in 9
relation to a quota and time categorized as performing tasks or not 10
performing tasks; 11
(3) "Employer" means an individual, corporation, partnership, 12
limited partnership, limited liability partnership, limited liability 13
company, business trust, estate, trust, association, joint venture, 14
agency, instrumentality, or any other legal or commercial entity, 15
whether domestic or foreign, that directly or indirectly, or through an 16
agent or any other person, including through the services of a third-17
party employer, temporary services, or staffing agency, independent 18
contractor or any similar entity, at any time in the prior twelve months, 19 Substitute Bill No. 152
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employs or exercises control over the wages, hours or working 20
conditions of (A) one hundred or more employees at a single 21
warehouse distribution center in the state, or (B) one thousand or more 22
employees, in the aggregate, at one or more warehouse distribution 23
centers in the state that are owned and operated by the same 24
individual, partnership, corporation, limited liability company, 25
association of persons or other business entity; 26
(4) "Quota" means a performance standard under which (A) an 27
employee is assigned or required, within a defined time period, to 28
perform a quantified number of tasks or at a specified productivity 29
speed or to handle or produce a quantified amount of material without 30
a certain number of errors or defects, as measured at the individual or 31
group level within a defined time period, and for which the employee 32
may suffer an adverse employment action if such employee fails to 33
complete such performance standard, or (B) an employee's actions are 34
categorized and measured between time performing tasks and not 35
performing tasks within a day, and such employee may suffer an 36
adverse employment action if such employee fails to complete such 37
performance standard; and 38
(5) "Warehouse distribution center" means an establishment as 39
defined by any of the following North American Industry 40
Classification System Codes: (A) 493110 for General Warehousing and 41
Storage; (B) 423 for Merchant Wholesalers, Durable Goods; (C) 424 for 42
Merchant Wholesalers, Nondurable Goods; (D) 454110 for Electronic 43
Shopping and Mail-Order Houses; or (E) 492110 for Couriers and 44
Express Delivery Services. 45
Sec. 2. (NEW) (Effective July 1, 2023) (a) Not later than August 1, 46
2023, an employer shall provide each employee with a written 47
description of each quota that the employee is subject to, including any 48
potential adverse employment action that may result from a failure to 49
satisfy such quota. On and after August 1, 2023, an employer shall 50
provide such written description of each quota to each person hired by 51
such employer. 52 Substitute Bill No. 152
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(b) Nothing in this section shall require an employer to use quotas 53
or monitor work speed data. An employer that does not monitor such 54
data shall not be obligated to provide such data to such employer's 55
employees. 56
Sec. 3. (NEW) (Effective July 1, 2023) (a) No employee shall be 57
required to meet any quota that (1) prevents compliance with section 58
31-51ii of the general statutes concerning meal periods, (2) interferes 59
with the employee's use of bathroom facilities, including the 60
reasonable time to travel to and from bathroom facilities, (3) prevents 61
compliance with the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, 15 62
USC 651 et seq., as amended from time to time, or (4) measures total 63
output over an increment of time that is shorter than one day. Any 64
action taken by an employee to comply with the Occupational Safety 65
and Health Act of 1970, 15 USC 651 et seq., as amended from time to 66
time, or regulations promulgated thereunder, shall be considered time 67
on task and productive time for purposes of any quota or monitoring 68
system, provided meal and rest breaks are not considered productive 69
time unless such employee is required to be on call. 70
(b) No employer shall take any adverse employment action against 71
an employee for failure to meet (1) a quota that prevents compliance as 72
described in subdivisions (1) and (3) of subsection (a) of this section, 73
(2) a quota that interferes with an employee's use of bathroom facilities 74
pursuant to subdivision (2) of subsection (a) of this section, (3) a quota 75
that has not been previously provided to an employee as part of the 76
written descriptions of each quota pursuant to section 2 of this act, or 77
(4) a daily quota if the employee did not complete such employee's 78
entire scheduled shift. 79
(c) (1) If a current or former employee believes that meeting a quota 80
caused or will cause a violation of subsection (a) of this section, a 81
current employee may request, from such employee's supervisor, or 82
another designated supervisor, (A) the written description of each 83
quota that such employee is subject to, (B) a copy of such employee's 84
own personal work speed data for the most recent ninety days, and (C) 85 Substitute Bill No. 152
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a copy of the aggregate work speed data for similar employees at the 86
same employer for the same time period. Such request may be made 87
orally or in writing. If a former employee requests the written 88
description of each quota that the former employee was subject to and 89
a copy of such former employee's own personal work speed data 90
pursuant to this subsection, the employer shall provide such former 91
employee's quotas and personal work speed data for the ninety days 92
prior to the date of the employee's separation from employment with 93
the employer. A former employee may only make one request under 94
this subsection. 95
(2) An employer that receives a written or oral request for 96
information under this subsection shall provide such written 97
description of each quota and such employee's personal work speed 98
data not later than five calendar days after the date of the request. Such 99
employer shall provide the requested written description of any quota 100
or personal work speed data in English and the language identified by 101
each employee as the primary language of such employee. 102
(3) Each employer shall establish, maintain and preserve true and 103
accurate records of such information for a period of three years. 104
(d) (1) If an employer in any manner discriminates, retaliates or 105
takes any adverse action against any employee not later than ninety 106
days after such employee (A) makes a request for the written 107
description of each quota or such employee's own personal work 108
speed data pursuant to subsection (c) of this section, or (B) makes a 109
complaint to the Labor Commissioner, related to a quota, alleging a 110
violation pursuant to subsection (e) of this section, there shall be a 111
rebuttable presumption of an adverse employment action in violation 112
of this section. 113
(2) Such presumption may be rebutted by clear and convincing 114
evidence that (A) the adverse action was taken for other permissible 115
reasons, and (B) the employee making or attempting to make (i) a 116
request pursuant to subsection (c) of this section, or (ii) a complaint 117 Substitute Bill No. 152
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pursuant to subsection (e) of this section was not a motivating factor in 118
the employer taking such adverse action. 119
(e) (1) An employee who believes an employer violated any 120
provision of this section may file a complaint with the Labor 121
Commissioner. Upon receipt of any such complaint, the commissioner 122
shall hold a hearing. After the hearing, the commissioner shall send 123
each party a written copy of the commissioner's decision. The 124
commissioner may award the employee all appropriate relief. Any 125
party aggrieved by a decision of the commissioner may appeal the 126
decision to the Superior Court in accordance with the provisions of 127
chapter 54 of the general statutes. 128
(2) If the commissioner determines that an employer has violated 129
any provision of this section, the commissioner shall issue an order of 130
compliance to such employer which shall describe particularly the 131
nature of the alleged violation. A copy of such order shall be provided 132
to any employee who has filed the complaint and any authorized 133
representative of such employee. 134
(f) (1) Any employer who violates a provision of this section and 135
section 2 of this act may be liable to the Labor Department for a civil 136
penalty of (A) one thousand dollars for a first violation, (B) two 137
thousand dollars for a second violation, or (C) three thousand dollars 138
for a third or subsequent violations. 139
(2) The Attorney General, upon complaint of the Labor 140
Commissioner, shall institute a civil action to recover the penalties 141
provided for under subdivision (1) of this subsection. Any amount 142
recovered shall be deposited in the General Fund and credited to the 143
separate, nonlapsing appropriation to the Labor Department, for other 144
current expenses, and may be used by the Labor Department to 145
enforce the provisions of this section and section 2 of this act. 146
(g) Any employee aggrieved by a violation of any provision of this 147
section, or the Attorney General on behalf of any employee aggrieved 148
by a violation of any provision of this section, may bring a civil action 149 Substitute Bill No. 152
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in the Superior Court to recover damages, civil penalties and such 150
equitable and injunctive relief as the court deems appropriate. Any 151
person who prevails in such civil action may be awarded reasonable 152
attorney's fees and cost to be taxed by the court. Exhaustion of any 153
available administrative remedies shall not be required prior to 154
commencement of suit under this section. 155
Sec. 4. (NEW) (Effective July 1, 2023) The commissioner may adopt 156
regulations, in accordance with the provisions of chapter 54 of the 157
general statutes, to implement and enforce the provisions of sections 2 158
and 3 of this act. 159
Sec. 5. (NEW) (Effective July 1, 2023) The Labor Commissioner may 160
develop an outreach program in order to inform employees and 161
employers about their rights and obligations under the provisions of 162
sections 2 and 3 of this act. Such program shall include the distribution 163
of notices and other written materials to employers and employees 164
working in a warehouse. 165
Sec. 6. (NEW) (Effective July 1, 2023) (a) The Labor Commissioner 166
shall have access to data, including employer-reported injury data and 167
enforcement actions in employer warehouses, the identity of 168
uninsured employers, and employers who are committing workers' 169
compensation fraud, wage theft or other information relevant to the 170
commissioner's authority. 171
(b) Not later than July 1, 2024, the Labor Commissioner shall report 172
to the joint standing committee of the General Assembly having 173
cognizance of matters relating to labor and public employees on (1) the 174
number of claims filed with the commissioner under section 3 of this 175
act, (2) data on warehouse production quotas in warehouses in which 176
the Workers' Compensation Commission has indicated that annual 177
employee injury rates are above the industry average, and (3) the 178
number of investigations undertaken and enforcement actions 179
initiated. 180
Sec. 7. (NEW) (Effective July 1, 2023) The Workers' Compensation 181 Substitute Bill No. 152
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Commission shall monitor the injury rates for each employer, as 182
defined in section 1 of this act. If an employer is found to have an 183
annual employee injury rate at or over one and one-half times the 184
warehousing industry's average annual injury rate, the Workers' 185
Compensation Commission shall notify the Labor Commissioner and 186
the commissioner shall determine whether an investigation concerning 187
potential violations of sections 2 and 3 of this act is appropriate. 188
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:
Section 1 July 1, 2023 New section
Sec. 2 July 1, 2023 New section
Sec. 3 July 1, 2023 New section
Sec. 4 July 1, 2023 New section
Sec. 5 July 1, 2023 New section
Sec. 6 July 1, 2023 New section
Sec. 7 July 1, 2023 New section
JUD Joint Favorable Subst.