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General Assembly Raised Bill No. 1117
January Session, 2023
LCO No. 4731
Referred to Committee on JUDICIARY
Introduced by:
(JUD)
AN ACT PROVIDING PROTECTIONS FOR PERSONS WHO HAVE
BEEN TRAFFICKED AND ADDITIONAL MEASURES TO PREVENT
TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. Subsection (b) of section 46a-60 of the general statutes is 1
repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2
2023): 3
(b) It shall be a discriminatory practice in violation of this section: 4
(1) For an employer, by the employer or the employer's agent, except 5
in the case of a bona fide occupational qualification or need, to refuse to 6
hire or employ or to bar or to discharge from employment any 7
individual or to discriminate against any individual in compensation or 8
in terms, conditions or privileges of employment because of the 9
individual's race, color, religious creed, age, sex, gender identity or 10
expression, marital status, national origin, ancestry, present or past 11
history of mental disability, intellectual disability, learning disability, 12
physical disability, including, but not limited to, blindness, status as a 13
veteran or status as a victim of domestic violence, sexual assault or 14 Raised Bill No. 1117
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trafficking in persons; 15
(2) For any employment agency, except in the case of a bona fide 16
occupational qualification or need, to fail or refuse to classify properly 17
or refer for employment or otherwise to discriminate against any 18
individual because of such individual's race, color, religious creed, age, 19
sex, gender identity or expression, marital status, national origin, 20
ancestry, present or past history of mental disability, intellectual 21
disability, learning disability, physical disability, including, but not 22
limited to, blindness, status as a veteran or status as a victim of domestic 23
violence, sexual assault or trafficking in persons; 24
(3) For a labor organization, because of the race, color, religious creed, 25
age, sex, gender identity or expression, marital status, national origin, 26
ancestry, present or past history of mental disability, intellectual 27
disability, learning disability, physical disability, including, but not 28
limited to, blindness, status as a veteran or status as a victim of domestic 29
violence, sexual assault or trafficking in persons of any individual to 30
exclude from full membership rights or to expel from its membership 31
such individual or to discriminate in any way against any of its 32
members or against any employer or any individual employed by an 33
employer, unless such action is based on a bona fide occupational 34
qualification; 35
(4) For any person, employer, labor organization or employment 36
agency to discharge, expel or otherwise discriminate against any person 37
because such person has opposed any discriminatory employment 38
practice or because such person has filed a complaint or testified or 39
assisted in any proceeding under section 46a-82, 46a-83 or 46a-84; 40
(5) For any person, whether an employer or an employee or not, to 41
aid, abet, incite, compel or coerce the doing of any act declared to be a 42
discriminatory employment practice or to attempt to do so; 43
(6) For any person, employer, employment agency or labor 44
organization, except in the case of a bona fide occupational qualification 45
or need, to advertise employment opportunities in such a manner as to 46 Raised Bill No. 1117
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restrict such employment so as to discriminate against individuals 47
because of their race, color, religious creed, age, sex, gender identity or 48
expression, marital status, national origin, ancestry, present or past 49
history of mental disability, intellectual disability, learning disability, 50
physical disability, including, but not limited to, blindness, status as a 51
veteran or status as a victim of domestic violence, sexual assault or 52
trafficking in persons; 53
(7) For an employer, by the employer or the employer's agent: (A) To 54
terminate a woman's employment because of her pregnancy; (B) to 55
refuse to grant to that employee a reasonable leave of absence for 56
disability resulting from her pregnancy; (C) to deny to that employee, 57
who is disabled as a result of pregnancy, any compensation to which 58
she is entitled as a result of the accumulation of disability or leave 59
benefits accrued pursuant to plans maintained by the employer; (D) to 60
fail or refuse to reinstate the employee to her original job or to an 61
equivalent position with equivalent pay and accumulated seniority, 62
retirement, fringe benefits and other service credits upon her signifying 63
her intent to return unless, in the case of a private employer, the 64
employer's circumstances have so changed as to make it impossible or 65
unreasonable to do so; (E) to limit, segregate or classify the employee in 66
a way that would deprive her of employment opportunities due to her 67
pregnancy; (F) to discriminate against an employee or person seeking 68
employment on the basis of her pregnancy in the terms or conditions of 69
her employment; (G) to fail or refuse to make a reasonable 70
accommodation for an employee or person seeking employment due to 71
her pregnancy, unless the employer can demonstrate that such 72
accommodation would impose an undue hardship on such employer; 73
(H) to deny employment opportunities to an employee or person 74
seeking employment if such denial is due to the employee's request for 75
a reasonable accommodation due to her pregnancy; (I) to force an 76
employee or person seeking employment affected by pregnancy to 77
accept a reasonable accommodation if such employee or person seeking 78
employment (i) does not have a known limitation related to her 79
pregnancy, or (ii) does not require a reasonable accommodation to 80 Raised Bill No. 1117
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perform the essential duties related to her employment; (J) to require an 81
employee to take a leave of absence if a reasonable accommodation can 82
be provided in lieu of such leave; and (K) to retaliate against an 83
employee in the terms, conditions or privileges of her employment 84
based upon such employee's request for a reasonable accommodation; 85
(8) For an employer, by the employer or the employer's agent, for an 86
employment agency, by itself or its agent, or for any labor organization, 87
by itself or its agent, to harass any employee, person seeking 88
employment or member on the basis of sex or gender identity or 89
expression. If an employer takes immediate corrective action in 90
response to an employee's claim of sexual harassment, such corrective 91
action shall not modify the conditions of employment of the employee 92
making the claim of sexual harassment unless such employee agrees, in 93
writing, to any modification in the conditions of employment. 94
"Corrective action" taken by an employer, includes, but is not limited to, 95
employee relocation, assigning an employee to a different work 96
schedule or other substantive changes to an employee's terms and 97
conditions of employment. Notwithstanding an employer's failure to 98
obtain a written agreement from an employee concerning a modification 99
in the conditions of employment, the commission may find that 100
corrective action taken by an employer was reasonable and not of 101
detriment to the complainant based on the evidence presented to the 102
commission by the complainant and respondent. As used in this 103
subdivision, "sexual harassment" means any unwelcome sexual 104
advances or requests for sexual favors or any conduct of a sexual nature 105
when (A) submission to such conduct is made either explicitly or 106
implicitly a term or condition of an individual's employment, (B) 107
submission to or rejection of such conduct by an individual is used as 108
the basis for employment decisions affecting such individual, or (C) 109
such conduct has the purpose or effect of substantially interfering with 110
an individual's work performance or creating an intimidating, hostile or 111
offensive working environment; 112
(9) For an employer, by the employer or the employer's agent, for an 113
employment agency, by itself or its agent, or for any labor organization, 114 Raised Bill No. 1117
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by itself or its agent, to request or require information from an 115
employee, person seeking employment or member relating to the 116
individual's child-bearing age or plans, pregnancy, function of the 117
individual's reproductive system, use of birth control methods, or the 118
individual's familial responsibilities, unless such information is directly 119
related to a bona fide occupational qualification or need, provided an 120
employer, through a physician may request from an employee any such 121
information which is directly related to workplace exposure to 122
substances which may cause birth defects or constitute a hazard to an 123
individual's reproductive system or to a fetus if the employer first 124
informs the employee of the hazards involved in exposure to such 125
substances; 126
(10) For an employer, by the employer or the employer's agent, after 127
informing an employee, pursuant to subdivision (9) of this subsection, 128
of a workplace exposure to substances which may cause birth defects or 129
constitute a hazard to an employee's reproductive system or to a fetus, 130
to fail or refuse, upon the employee's request, to take reasonable 131
measures to protect the employee from the exposure or hazard 132
identified, or to fail or refuse to inform the employee that the measures 133
taken may be the subject of a complaint filed under the provisions of 134
this chapter. Nothing in this subdivision is intended to prohibit an 135
employer from taking reasonable measures to protect an employee from 136
exposure to such substances. For the purpose of this subdivision, 137
"reasonable measures" are those measures which are consistent with 138
business necessity and are least disruptive of the terms and conditions 139
of the employee's employment; 140
(11) For an employer, by the employer or the employer's agent, for an 141
employment agency, by itself or its agent, or for any labor organization, 142
by itself or its agent: (A) To request or require genetic information from 143
an employee, person seeking employment or member, or (B) to 144
discharge, expel or otherwise discriminate against any person on the 145
basis of genetic information. For the purpose of this subdivision, 146
"genetic information" means the information about genes, gene 147
products or inherited characteristics that may derive from an individual 148 Raised Bill No. 1117
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or a family member; 149
(12) For an employer, by the employer or the employer's agent, to 150
request or require a prospective employee's age, date of birth, dates of 151
attendance at or date of graduation from an educational institution on 152
an initial employment application, provided the provisions of this 153
subdivision shall not apply to any employer requesting or requiring 154
such information (A) based on a bona fide occupational qualification or 155
need, or (B) when such information is required to comply with any 156
provision of state or federal law; and 157
(13) (A) For an employer or the employer's agent to deny an employee 158
a reasonable leave of absence in order to: (i) Seek attention for injuries 159
caused by domestic violence including for a child who is a victim of 160
domestic violence, provided the employee is not the perpetrator of the 161
domestic violence against the child; (ii) obtain services including safety 162
planning from a domestic violence agency or rape crisis center, as those 163
terms are defined in section 52-146k, as a result of domestic violence; 164
(iii) obtain psychological counseling related to an incident or incidents 165
of domestic violence, including for a child who is a victim of domestic 166
violence, provided the employee is not the perpetrator of the domestic 167
violence against the child; (iv) take other actions to increase safety from 168
future incidents of domestic violence, including temporary or 169
permanent relocation; or (v) obtain legal services, assisting in the 170
prosecution of the offense, or otherwise participate in legal proceedings 171
in relation to the incident or incidents of domestic violence. 172
(B) An employee who is absent from work in accordance with the 173
provisions of subparagraph (A) of this subdivision shall, within a 174
reasonable time after the absence, provide a certification to the employer 175
when requested by the employer. Such certification shall be in the form 176
of: (i) A police report indicating that the employee or the employee's 177
child was a victim of domestic violence; (ii) a court order protecting or 178
separating the employee or employee's child from the perpetrator of an 179
act of domestic violence; (iii) other evidence from the court or 180
prosecuting attorney that the employee appeared in court; or (iv) 181 Raised Bill No. 1117
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documentation from a medical professional, domestic violence 182
counselor, as defined in section 52-146k, or other health care provider, 183
that the employee or the employee's child was receiving services, 184
counseling or treatment for physical or mental injuries or abuse 185
resulting in victimization from an act of domestic violence. 186
(C) Where an employee has a physical or mental disability resulting 187
from an incident or series of incidents of domestic violence, such 188
employee shall be treated in the same manner as an employee with any 189
other disability. 190
(D) To the extent permitted by law, employers shall maintain the 191
confidentiality of any information regarding an employee's status as a 192
victim of domestic violence. 193
Sec. 2. Subsection (a) of section 46b-16a of the general statutes is 194
repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 195
2023): 196
(a) Any person who has been the victim of sexual abuse, sexual 197
assault or stalking may make an application to the Superior Court for 198
relief under this section, provided such person has not obtained any 199
other court order of protection arising out of such abuse, assault or 200
stalking and does not qualify to seek relief under section 46b-15. As used 201
in this section, "stalking" means two or more wilful acts, performed in a 202
threatening, predatory or disturbing manner of: Harassing, following, 203
lying in wait for, surveilling, monitoring or sending unwanted gifts or 204
messages to another person directly, indirectly or through a third 205
person, by any method, device or other means. [, that causes such person 206
to reasonably fear for his or her physical safety.] 207
Sec. 3. (NEW) (Effective October 1, 2023) No operator of a hotel, motel 208
or similar lodging may offer an hourly rate for any sleeping 209
accommodation maintained by such hotel, motel or similar lodging. 210
Sec. 4. (NEW) (Effective October 1, 2023) No operator of a hotel, motel 211
or similar lodging shall provide use of any sleeping accommodation 212 Raised Bill No. 1117
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maintained by such hotel, motel or similar lodging to any person 213
without first establishing such person's identity by requiring such 214
person to present such person's motor vehicle operator's license, or any 215
other valid form of identification issued by the federal government or a 216
state or municipal government or an official passport, provided such 217
form of identification includes a photograph. 218
Sec. 5. Subsection (b) of section 46a-170 of the general statutes is 219
repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 220
2023): 221
(b) The council shall consist of the following members: (1) The Chief 222
State's Attorney, or a designee; (2) the Chief Public Defender, or a 223
designee; (3) the Commissioner of Emergency Services and Public 224
Protection, or the commissioner's designee; (4) the Labor Commissioner, 225
or the commissioner's designee; (5) the Commissioner of Social Services, 226
or the commissioner's designee; (6) the Commissioner of Public Health, 227
or the commissioner's designee; (7) the Commissioner of Mental Health 228
and Addiction Services, or the commissioner's designee; (8) the 229
Commissioner of Children and Families, or the commissioner's 230
designee; (9) the Commissioner of Consumer Protection, or the 231
commissioner's designee; (10) the Commissioner of Developmental 232
Services, or the commissioner's designee; (11) the director of the Basic 233
Training Division of the Police Officer Standards and Training Council, 234
or the director's designee; [(11)] (12) the Child Advocate, or the Child 235
Advocate's designee; [(12)] (13) the Victim Advocate, or the Victim 236
Advocate's designee; [(13)] (14) a chairperson of the Commission on 237
Women, Children, Seniors, Equity and Opportunity, or the 238
chairperson's designee; [(14)] (15) one representative of the Office of 239
Victim Services of the Judicial Branch appointed by the Chief Court 240
Administrator; [(15)] (16) a municipal police chief appointed by the 241
Connecticut Police Chiefs Association, or a designee; [(16)] (17) the 242
Commissioner of Education, or the commissioner's designee; [(17)] (18) 243
an adult victim of trafficking, appointed by the Governor; [(18)] (19) a 244
judge of the Superior Court, appointed by the Chief Court 245
Administrator; [(19)] (20) a state's attorney appointed by the Chief 246 Raised Bill No. 1117
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State's Attorney; [(20)] (21) a public defender appointed by the Chief 247
Public Defender; and [(21)] (22) fifteen public members appointed as 248
follows: The Governor shall appoint three members, one of whom shall 249
represent victims of commercial exploitation of children, one of whom 250
shall represent sex trafficking victims who are children and one of 251
whom shall represent a coalition of children's advocacy centers and 252
multidisciplinary teams that are dedicated to serving child abuse 253
victims and their families, the president pro tempore of the Senate shall 254
appoint two members, one of whom shall represent the Connecticut 255
Alliance to End Sexual Violence and one of whom shall represent an 256
organization that provides civil legal services to low-income 257
individuals, the speaker of the House of Representatives shall appoint 258
two members, one of whom shall represent the Connecticut Coalition 259
Against Domestic Violence and one of whom shall represent the 260
Connecticut Lodging Association, the majority leader of the Senate shall 261
appoint two members, one of whom shall represent an organization that 262
deals with behavioral health needs of women and children and one of 263
whom shall represent the Connecticut Coalition to End Homelessness, 264
the majority leader of the House of Representatives shall appoint two 265
members, one of whom shall represent an organization that advocates 266
on social justice and human rights issues and one of whom shall 267
represent the Connecticut Criminal Defense Lawyers Association, the 268
minority leader of the Senate shall appoint two members, one of whom 269
shall represent the Connecticut Immigrant and Refugee Coalition and 270
one of whom shall represent massage therapists, and the minority 271
leader of the House of Representatives shall appoint two members, one 272
of whom shall represent the Motor Transport Association of 273
Connecticut, Inc. and one of whom shall represent an organization that 274
works with adult victims of trafficking. 275
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:
Section 1 July 1, 2023 46a-60(b)
Sec. 2 July 1, 2023 46b-16a(a)
Sec. 3 October 1, 2023 New section Raised Bill No. 1117
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Sec. 4 October 1, 2023 New section
Sec. 5 July 1, 2023 46a-170(b)
Statement of Purpose:
To (1) include victims of sexual assault and trafficking as protected
persons under the state's employment discrimination provisions, (2)
revise the definition of stalking as relates to an application for a civil
protection order, (3) prohibit a hotel, motel and similar lodging from
offering an hourly rate for any sleeping accommodation and require
such entities to establish a person's identity by means of a photo
identification prior to providing such person any sleeping
accommodation, and (4) expand the membership of the Trafficking in
Persons Council.
[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.]