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