Substitute Senate Bill No. 220
Public Act No. 24-102
AN ACT CONCERNING CLARIFYING THE APPEALS PROCESS
UNDER THE PAID FAMILY AND MEDICAL LEAVE STATUTES.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. Section 31-49p of the general statutes is repealed and the
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2024):
(a) Any covered employee aggrieved by a denial of compensation
under the Paid Family and Medical Leave Insurance Program or any
person aggrieved by the imposition of a penalty imposed pursuant to
section 31-49r may file an appeal with the Labor Commissioner not
more than twenty-one calendar days after issuance of the denial or
penalty decision, unless good cause exists for the late filing.
(b) Upon receipt of any such appeal, the commissioner, or the
commissioner's designee, shall decide the appeal based upon the file
record, except that the commissioner, or the commissioner's designee,
may do one or both of the following: (1) Supplement the file record, or
(2) conduct a hearing. The commissioner, or the commissioner's
designee, may require the attendance of witnesses and the production
of documents in connection with the appeal, and may issue subpoenas.
For purposes of this section, "file record" means any documents
submitted to the Paid Family and Medical Leave Insurance Authority or Substitute Senate Bill No. 220
Public Act No. 24-102 2 of 6
to the private plan administrator, any documents relied upon by the
authority or the private plan administrator in making its determination,
and any other documents the commissioner, or the commissioner's
designee, deems necessary to dispose of the appeal. [The commissioner
or designee may require the attendance of witnesses and the production
of documents in connection with the appeal, and may issue subpoenas.
The Labor Department shall adopt regulations, in accordance with the
provisions of chapter 54, concerning the rules of procedure for the
disposition of appeals filed under the provisions of this section.]
(c) After determination of the appeal, the commissioner, or the
commissioner's designee, shall send each party a written copy of the
decision. The commissioner, or the commissioner's designee, may
award the covered employee or person all appropriate relief, including,
but not limited to, any compensation or benefits to which the employee
otherwise would have been eligible if such denial had not occurred.
[Any party aggrieved by the decision of the commissioner or designee
may appeal the decision to the superior court for the judicial district of
Hartford or for the judicial district in which the appellant resides, not
later than thirty days after issuance of the decision.]
(d) (1) Any decision of the commissioner, or the commissioner's
designee, in the absence of a timely appeal from a party aggrieved by
such decision shall become final on the thirty-first calendar day after the
date on which a written copy of the decision is sent to each party. At any
time prior to when the decision of the commissioner, or the
commissioner's designee, becomes final, any party aggrieved by the
decision may appeal such decision to the superior court for the judicial
district of Hartford or for the judicial district wherein the appealing
party resides. The appealing party shall file the original appeal with the
commissioner, or the commissioner's designee, and shall state the
grounds on which review is sought. The commissioner, or the
commissioner's designee, shall, on or before the fourteenth calendar day Substitute Senate Bill No. 220
Public Act No. 24-102 3 of 6
thereafter, cause the original appeal to be filed electronically or mailed
to the clerk of the Superior Court and a copy sent to each party listed in
the decision being appealed by mail or electronically through the
Connecticut Labor Department Leave Complaint and Appeal Portal.
The clerk shall docket such appeal as returned to the next return day
after the receipt of such appeal.
(2) In any appeal to the Superior Court taken pursuant to this
subsection, the commissioner, or the commissioner's designee, shall
certify the record to the court. The record shall consist of the following:
(A) The notice of appeal to the commissioner, or the commissioner's
designee, (B) the file record, (C) the findings of fact and any decision of
the commissioner, or the commissioner's designee, and (D) any
documents submitted to the commissioner, or the commissioner's
designee, prior to the filing of the appeal. Upon request of the court, the
commissioner, or the commissioner's designee, shall, in cases in which
a hearing was conducted before the commissione r, or the
commissioner's designee, prepare and verify to the court a transcript of
such hearing before the commissioner, or the commissioner's designee.
(3) Any appeal to the Superior Court taken under this subsection shall
be claimed by the party taking such appeal for the short calendar unless
the court orders the appeal placed on the trial list. It shall not be
necessary in any judicial proceeding under this section that exceptions
to the rulings of the commissioner, or the commissioner's designee, shall
have been made or entered and no bond shall be required for entering
an appeal to the Superior Court. In any appeal in which one of the
parties is not represented by counsel and in which the party taking the
appeal does not claim the case for the short calendar or trial within a
reasonable time after the return day, the court may, of its own motion,
dismiss the appeal, or the party ready to proceed may move for nonsuit
or default as appropriate.
(4) Any appeal to the Superior Court taken under this subsection shall Substitute Senate Bill No. 220
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be heard by the court upon the certified copy of the record filed by the
commissioner, or the commissioner's designee. The court shall not retry
the facts or hear any evidence other than such record certified to the
court by the commissioner, or the commissioner's designee. Any review
by the court shall be limited to determining (A) whether the findings of
the commissioner, or the commissioner's designee, should be corrected,
or (B) whether there is any evidence in the record to support in law the
conclusions reached. The court shall not substitute its judgment for that
of the commissioner, or the commissioner's designee, as to the weight of
the evidence on questions of fact. The court may only determine
whether the decision of the commissioner, or the commissioner's
designee, incorrectly applied the law to the facts found or if such
decision is clearly erroneous and could not have reasonably or logically
followed from the evidence in the record certified to the court by the
commissioner, or the commissioner's designee. In any such appeal,
corrections of the commissioner's, or the commissioner's designee's,
findings, by the court shall only be made upon (i) refusal by the
commissioner, or the commissioner's designee, to find a material fact
that was an admitted or undisputed fact, (ii) the commissioner's, or the
commissioner's designee's, finding of a fact in language of doubtful
meaning so that its real significance may not clearly appear, or (iii) the
finding of a material fact by the commissioner, or the commissioner's
designee, without evidence.
(5) The appealing party may request that any finding of the
commissioner, or the commissioner's designee, be corrected on appeal
by filing a motion for the correction of such finding with the
commissioner, or the commissioner's designee, within fourteen calendar
days after the record has been filed in the Superior Court, unless the
time is extended for cause by the commissioner, or the commissioner's
designee. Such motion shall include portions of the evidence the
appealing party deems relevant and material to the corrections
requested. The commissioner, or the commissioner's designee, shall file Substitute Senate Bill No. 220
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such motion along with the commissioner's, or the commissioner's
designee's, decision with the court within a reasonable time upon
receiving such motion. If the court denies such motion in whole or in
part and such denial is appealed, the commissioner, or the
commissioner's designee, shall, within a reasonable time thereafter, file
copies of evidence filed by the appealing party, together with such
additional evidence as may have been taken before the commissioner,
or the commissioner's designee.
(6) In any appeal taken under this subsection, unless the court shall
otherwise order after motion and hearing, the final decision of the court
shall be the decision as to all parties to the original proceeding before
the commissioner, or the commissioner's designee. When an appeal is
taken to the Superior Court, the clerk thereof shall, in writing, notify the
commissioner, or the commissioner's designee, of any action of the court
thereon and of the disposition of such appeal whether by judgment,
remand, withdrawal or otherwise and shall, upon the decision on the
appeal, furnish the commissioner, or the commissioner's designee, with
a copy of such decision.
(7) The court may remand the case to the commissioner, or the
commissioner's designee, for proceedings de novo, or for further
proceedings on the record, or for such limited purposes as the court may
prescribe. The court may retain jurisdiction by ordering a return to the
court of the proceedings conducted in accordance with the order of the
court or the court may order final disposition. A party aggrieved by a
final disposition made in compliance with an order of the Superior
Court, by the filing of an appropriate motion, may request the court to
review the disposition of the case.
(e) Any party aggrieved by a decision of the Superior Court may
appeal such decision to the Appellate Court in the same manner as is
provided in section 51-197b. Substitute Senate Bill No. 220
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(f) The Labor Department shall adopt regulations, in accordance with
the provisions of chapter 54, concerning the rules of procedure for the
disposition of appeals filed under the provisions of this section.