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OLR Bill Analysis
sSB 414
AN ACT CONCERNING EQUITY IN STATE EMPLOYMENT.
SUMMARY
This bill establishes a (1) Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI)
Division in state agencies and the offices of certain constitutional officers
(collectively referred to as “departments” below) and (2) full-time,
salaried director position to lead each division. It makes a DEI Division
responsible for equity-related matters within its department and in
relation to the services the department provides. It also requires
department heads (which includes the applicable constitutional
officers), before implementing a proposed policy or regulation, to
consult with their DEI Division director to ensure that it will not have
an indirect or direct adverse impact on any underserved communities.
Under the bill, each DEI Division director must, among other things,
create an equity action plan for the department that identifies specific
DEI goals and establishes accountability mechanisms for achieving
them. Each division must annually examine (1) demographic data on its
department’s job applicants and (2) how far an individual of each
category progressed in the hiring process. And each department must
use diverse hiring panels to conduct interviews, although this
requirement may be waived under certain conditions.
Lastly, the bill sets DEI standardized and annual training
requirements for department employees, which DEI directors must
develop to meet specified criteria (e.g., how to mitigate unconscious
implicit biases and reduce misinformation about different identities).
Under the bill, “equity” is the consistent and systematic, fair, just, and
impartial treatment of all people, including those who belong to
underserved communities that have been denied this treatment, such as 2024SB-00414-R000355-BA.DOCX
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Black, Latino, Indigenous, and Native American people, Asian
Americans and Pacific Islanders, and other people of color; members of
religious minorities; women; lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and
queer people; people with disabilities; people who live in rural areas;
and people otherwise adversely affected by persistent poverty or
inequality. An “underserved community” is populations sharing a
particular characteristic and geographic communities that have been
systematically denied a full opportunity to participate in aspects of
economic, social, and civic life, such as the people listed above.
EFFECTIVE DATE: October 1, 2024
§ 1 — DEI DIVISIONS AND DIRECTORS
The bill creates a DEI Division and director position in the offices of
the secretary of the state, comptroller, treasurer, and attorney general,
and in the following state agencies: the departments of Administrative
Services, Aging and Disability Services, Agriculture, Banking, Children
and Families, Consumer Protection, Correction, Developmental
Services, Economic and Community Development, Education,
Emergency Services and Public Protection, Energy and Environmental
Protection, Housing, Insurance, Labor, Mental Health and Addiction
Services, Motor Vehicles, Public Health, Revenue Services, Social
Services, Transportation, and Veterans Affairs, and the offices of Early
Childhood and Policy and Management (OPM).
Under the bill, the director position is a full-time salaried position in
the state employee classified service under the supervision and
direction of the department head. The department head may appoint
their director, subject to the governor’s approval, and fix their director’s
compensation, subject to the governor’s and OPM secretary’s approval.
Director Responsibilities
The bill makes each DEI director responsible for doing the following:
1. coordinating their department’s equity initiatives;
2. serving as the primary contact and subject matter expert for the
department’s officials and employees on developing, 2024SB-00414-R000355-BA.DOCX
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implementing, and assessing the DEI Division’s programs;
3. developing and publishing the department’s equity plan (see
below);
4. evaluating the department’s policies, operations, training, and
hiring practices;
5. evaluating outcomes of services provided by the department;
6. collecting and using department data relevant to the division,
such as disparate outcomes (a) of services provided by the
department or (b) in the department’s operations and policies;
7. helping department staff create division-related training
programs required by the bill and presenting those training
programs;
8. supporting the department in creating and sustaining inclusive
cultures and behaviors;
9. maintaining knowledge about equity-related issues, operations,
and strategies that ensure that a department’s activities reflect its
best equity practices;
10. overseeing the division’s community engagement work and
ensuring that underserved communities are encouraged to
provide feedback on department activities;
11. advising and guiding department staff on navigating situations
that impact the department’s DEI; and
12. any other duties the department head assigns.
§ 2 — EQUITY ACTION PLANS
The bill requires each department’s DEI director, starting by October
1, 2026, to annually create an equity action plan for the department that
identifies specific DEI goals and establishes accountability mechanisms
for achieving them. All department heads must ensure the plan’s 2024SB-00414-R000355-BA.DOCX
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effective implementation by prioritizing and incorporating its strategies
when setting department goals. The plans must be posted on each
department’s website.
Under the bill, the plans must:
1. identify the department’s progress on the actions, performance,
measures, and milestones highlighted in the preceding year’s
plan;
2. identify potential barriers that underserved communities may
face in (a) accessing and benefiting from the department’s
benefits, services, and programs, or (b) providing feedback about
department programs;
3. evaluate certain key department programs and policies that the
department head identifies to assess whether underserved
communities and their members face systemic barriers in
accessing program benefits and opportunities;
4. identify how the department intends to engage with underserved
communities to advance equity in department policies, services,
and programs, including by (a) accessible and appropriate
outreach to them; (b) incorporating their perspectives in the
department’s policies, services, and programs; and (c)
continually assessing the progress made or not made towards
attaining community engagement during the prior year;
5. identify training programs developed by the division (see
below); and
6. evaluate applicant data required by the bill (see below) and
identify demographic hiring trends in the department.
§ 3 — JOB APPLICANT DATA
The bill requires each (1) department to collect and maintain
demographic data for job applicants and (2) division to annually
examine the data and disaggregate it by age, race, ethnicity, religious 2024SB-00414-R000355-BA.DOCX
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creed, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, and people with
disabilities, as well as how far a person of each category progressed in
the hiring or interview process. The disaggregation must keep each
person’s information personally nonidentifiable.
The bill requires the division to annually submit a summary of the
data to the department head and post it on its website.
§ 4 — DIVERSE HIRING PANELS
The bill requires each department to use diverse hiring panels to
conduct interviews for open positions. The panels must be (1)
comprised of current employees in appropriate positions from varying
backgrounds such as race, ethnicity, gender, age, and sexual orientation,
and (2) used for at least one candidate interview.
The bill allows departments to use employees from other
departments on hiring panels, when appropriate. And when filling a
position, and where relevant, a department must consider whether a
candidate is conversant in a language other than English that is spoken
by the diverse populations the department serves.
Under the bill, the director may waive the diverse hiring panel
requirement if he or she determines that the panel cannot be organized
after considering (1) the circumstances, (2) whether reasonable efforts
were made to fulfill the requirement, and (3) the demographic
information of the department’s current employees.
§ 5 — STANDARDIZED DEI TRAINING
Under the bill, each department must require DEI training and
education for all supervisory and nonsupervisory employees hired on
or after July 1, 2025, within six months after the employee assumes a
position in the department, while prioritizing the training for
supervisory employees.
The bill requires each DEI director to develop a standardized DEI
training program that their department must use to complete this
training requirement. The program must at least include training on
how to (1) recognize and mitigate unconscious implicit biases; (2) reduce 2024SB-00414-R000355-BA.DOCX
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miscommunication and misinformation about different identities and
backgrounds; and (3) cultivate inclusive community and cross-
community interactions within the department and with the wider
community, including when interacting with underserved community
members.
Under the bill, “implicit bias” is an attitude or internalized stereotype
that affects someone’s perceptions, actions, and decisions in an
unconscious way and often contributes to unequal treatment of
someone based on their race, ethnicity, gender identity, sexual
orientation, age, disability, or other characteristics.
§ 6 — ANNUAL DEI TRAINING
The bill requires each DEI director to develop annual training and
materials on DEI topics for all supervisory and nonsupervisory
employees, including supervisory-specific trainings and materials.
These must include topics related to cultural sensitivity, sexual
orientation and gender identities, anti-racism, anti-sexism, and
disability awareness.
The bill also requires each department to require at least four hours
of annual DEI training starting (1) by July 1, 2025, for all existing
employees and (2) for any employee hired on or after that date, within
six months after they assume a position in the department. In both
instances, the department must prioritize the training for supervisory
employees.
COMMITTEE ACTION
Labor and Public Employees Committee
Joint Favorable Substitute
Yea 8 Nay 4 (03/21/2024)