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General Assembly Substitute Bill No. 414
February Session, 2024
AN ACT CONCERNING EQUITY IN STATE EMPLOYMENT.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. (NEW) (Effective October 1, 2024) (a) For the purposes of this 1
section and sections 2 to 6, inclusive, of this act: 2
(1) "Constitutional officer" means the Secretary of State, Comptroller, 3
Treasurer and Attorney General; 4
(2) "Department" means the (A) Departments of Administrative 5
Services, Aging and Disability Services, Agriculture, Banking, Children 6
and Families, Consumer Protection, Correction, Developmental 7
Services, Economic and Community Development, Education, 8
Emergency Services and Public Protection, Energy and Environmental 9
Protection, Housing, Insurance, Labor, Mental Health and Addiction 10
Services, Motor Vehicles, Public Health, Revenue Services, Social 11
Services, Transportation and Veterans Affairs, (B) Offices of Early 12
Childhood and Policy and Management, and (C) offices of the Secretary 13
of State, Comptroller, Treasurer and Attorney General; 14
(3) "Department head" means the (A) Commissioners of 15
Administrative Services, Aging and Disability Services, Agriculture, 16
Banking, Children and Families, Consumer Protection, Correction, 17
Developmental Services, Economic and Community Development, 18 Substitute Bill No. 414
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Education, Emergency Services and Public Protection, Early Childhood, 19
Energy and Environmental Protection, Housing, Insurance, Labor, 20
Mental Health and Addiction Services, Motor Vehicles, Public Health, 21
Revenue Services, Social Services, Transportation and Veterans Affairs, 22
and (B) the Secretary of the Office of Policy and Management; 23
(4) "Director" means the director of the Diversity, Equity and 24
Inclusion division established pursuant to subsection (b) of this section; 25
(5) "Division" means the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion division of 26
each department established pursuant to subsection (b) of this section; 27
(6) "Equity" means the consistent and systematic fair, just and 28
impartial treatment of all individuals, including individuals who belong 29
to underserved communities that have been denied such treatment, 30
such as Black, Latino, Indigenous and Native American persons, Asian 31
Americans and Pacific Islanders and other persons of color, members of 32
religious minorities, women, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and 33
queer persons, persons with disabilities, persons who live in rural areas 34
and persons otherwise adversely affected by persistent poverty or 35
inequality; 36
(7) "Implicit bias" means an attitude or internalized stereotype that 37
affects a person's perceptions, actions and decisions in an unconscious 38
manner and often contributes to unequal treatment of a person based on 39
such person's race, ethnicity, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, 40
disability or other characteristics; and 41
(8) "Underserved community" means populations sharing a 42
particular characteristic and geographical communities that have been 43
systemically denied a full opportunity to participate in aspects of 44
economic, social and civic life, such as Black, Latino, Indigenous and 45
Native American persons, Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders and 46
other persons of color, members of religious minorities, women, lesbian, 47
gay, bisexual, transgender and queer persons, persons with disabilities, 48
persons who live in rural areas and persons otherwise adversely 49
affected by persistent poverty or inequality. 50 Substitute Bill No. 414
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(b) There shall be established a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion 51
Division within each department, which shall be administered by a full-52
time, salaried director, who shall be subject to the supervision and the 53
direction of the department head or constitutional officer. Such director 54
shall be in the classified service and shall devote full-time to the duties 55
of such director's office. The department head or constitutional officer 56
may appoint and fix the compensation of such director, provided such 57
appointment shall be subject to the approval of the Governor and the 58
rate of such compensation shall be subject to the approval of the 59
Governor and the Secretary of the Office of Policy and Management. 60
The Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Division shall be responsible for 61
equity-related matters within the department and in relation to the 62
services provided by the department. 63
(c) The director shall be responsible for (1) coordinating the 64
department's equity initiatives, (2) serving as the primary contact and 65
subject matter expert for officials and employees within the department 66
regarding the development, implementation and assessment of the 67
division's programs, (3) developing and publishing the department's 68
equity plan pursuant to section 2 of this act, (4) evaluating the policies, 69
operations, training and hiring practices of the department, (5) 70
evaluating outcomes of services provided by the department, (6) 71
collecting and using data from the department relevant to the division, 72
including, but not limited to, disparate outcomes of services provided 73
by the department or disparate outcomes in the operations and policies 74
of the department, (7) assisting department staff in creating division-75
related training programs required pursuant to sections 5 and 6 of this 76
act and participating in the presentation of such training programs, (8) 77
supporting the department in creating and sustaining inclusive cultures 78
and behaviors, (9) maintaining knowledge of equity-related issues, 79
operations and strategies that ensure the department's activities reflect 80
best equity practices for the department, (10) overseeing the community 81
engagement work of the division and ensuring that underserved 82
communities are encouraged to provide feedback on department 83
activities, (11) providing department staff with advice and guidance on 84 Substitute Bill No. 414
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how to navigate situations that impact the diversity, equity, and 85
inclusion of the department, and (12) any other duties assigned by the 86
department head or constitutional officer. 87
(d) Prior to implementing any proposed department policy or 88
adopting any proposed regulation, in accordance with the provisions of 89
chapter 54 of the general statutes, the department head or constitutional 90
officer shall consult with the director to ensure that the proposed policy 91
or regulation will not have an indirect or direct adverse impact on any 92
underserved communities. 93
Sec. 2. (NEW) (Effective October 1, 2024) Not later than October 1, 2026, 94
and annually thereafter, the director for each department shall create an 95
equity action plan for such department that identifies specific diversity, 96
equity and inclusion goals for the department and establishes 97
accountability mechanisms for achieving such goals. All department 98
heads and constitutional officers shall ensure effective implementation 99
of such equity action plans by prioritizing and incorporating the 100
strategies of the equity action plan when setting equity goals for the 101
department. Such equity action plan shall be posted on the department's 102
Internet web site. Such equity action plan shall: 103
(1) Identify the progress made by the department on the actions, 104
performance, measures and milestones highlighted in the preceding 105
year's equity action plan; 106
(2) Identify potential barriers that underserved communities may 107
face in accessing and benefitting from the benefits, services and 108
programs provided by the department or in providing feedback 109
concerning department programs; 110
(3) Evaluate certain key programs and policies of the department as 111
identified by the department head or constitutional officer, to assess 112
whether underserved communities and their members face systemic 113
barriers in accessing benefits and opportunities available pursuant to 114
those policies and programs; 115 Substitute Bill No. 414
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(4) Identify how the department intends to engage with underserved 116
communities in order to advance equity in the department's policies, 117
services and programs, including, but not limited to, accessible and 118
appropriate outreach to such underserved communities and individuals 119
in underserved communities and the incorporation of perspectives of 120
underserved communities in the department's policies, services and 121
programs and continually assess the progress made or not made 122
towards attaining such community engagement during the prior year; 123
(5) Identify training programs developed by the division pursuant to 124
section 5 of this act; 125
(6) Evaluate the applicant data required pursuant to section 3 of this 126
act and identify demographic hiring trends within the department; and 127
(7) Evaluate whether new policies, regulations or guidance 128
documents may be necessary to address potential barriers to benefits, 129
services and programs provided by the department. 130
Sec. 3. (NEW) (Effective October 1, 2024) (a) Each department shall 131
collect and maintain data regarding demographic information for each 132
individual that applies for positions with such department. 133
(b) Each division shall annually examine data regarding 134
demographic information for individuals who apply for positions with 135
the department collected pursuant to subsection (a) of this section and 136
disaggregate such data by the categories of age, race, ethnicity, religious 137
creed, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, individuals 138
with disabilities and how far an individual of each category progressed 139
in the hiring or interview process, provided such disaggregation keeps 140
such individuals' information personally nonidentifiable. The division 141
shall annually submit to the department head or constitutional officer, 142
and post on its Internet web site, a report summarizing the examination 143
and disaggregation of such data. 144
Sec. 4. (NEW) (Effective October 1, 2024) (a) Each department shall 145
utilize diverse hiring panels to conduct interviews for open positions 146 Substitute Bill No. 414
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within such department. Such hiring panels shall be comprised of 147
current employees in appropriate positions from varying backgrounds, 148
including, but not limited to, race, ethnicity, gender, age and sexual 149
orientation. Such hiring panels shall be utilized for at least one interview 150
of a candidate. Departments may, where appropriate, utilize employees 151
from other departments to serve on hiring panels. When filling a 152
position within the department, where relevant, the department shall 153
consider whether a candidate is conversant in a language other than 154
English that is spoken by the diverse populations served by the 155
department. 156
(b) The director may waive the requirements of this section in writing 157
if the director determines that a diverse hiring panel cannot be 158
organized after considering (1) the circumstances around not being able 159
to fulfil such requirement, (2) whether reasonable efforts were made to 160
fulfil such requirement, and (3) the demographic information of current 161
employees at the department. 162
Sec. 5. (NEW) (Effective October 1, 2024) (a) The director shall develop 163
a standardized diversity, equity and inclusion training program that 164
shall be used by the department in completing the diversity, equity and 165
inclusion training required under this section. Such program shall 166
include, but need not be limited to, training on how to recognize and 167
mitigate unconscious implicit biases, how to reduce miscommunication 168
and misinformation regarding different identities and backgrounds, 169
and how to cultivate inclusive community and cross-community 170
interactions both within the department and with the wider community, 171
including when interacting with a member of an underserved 172
community. 173
(b) Each department shall require diversity, equity and inclusion 174
training and education for all supervisory and nonsupervisory 175
employees hired on or after July 1, 2025, not later than six months after 176
such employees' assumption of a position within the department, while 177
prioritizing providing such training for supervisory employees. 178 Substitute Bill No. 414
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Sec. 6. (NEW) (Effective October 1, 2024) (a) The director shall develop 179
annual training and materials on diversity, equity and inclusion topics 180
for all supervisory and nonsupervisory employees, including 181
supervisory-specific trainings and materials. Such training and 182
materials shall include, but need not be limited to, topics related to 183
cultural sensitivity, sexual orientation and gender identities, anti-184
racism, anti-sexism and disability awareness. 185
(b) Each department shall require a minimum of four hours of annual 186
diversity, equity and inclusion training (1) for all existing supervisory 187
and nonsupervisory employees, not later than July 1, 2025, and annually 188
thereafter, while prioritizing providing such training for supervisory 189
employees, and (2) for all supervisory and nonsupervisory employees 190
hired on or after July 1, 2025, not later than six months after such 191
employees' assumption of a position within the department, and 192
annually thereafter, while prioritizing providing such training for 193
supervisory employees. 194
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:
Section 1 October 1, 2024 New section
Sec. 2 October 1, 2024 New section
Sec. 3 October 1, 2024 New section
Sec. 4 October 1, 2024 New section
Sec. 5 October 1, 2024 New section
Sec. 6 October 1, 2024 New section
LAB Joint Favorable Subst.