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General Assembly Committee Bill No. 8
January Session, 2025
LCO No. 4255
Referred to Committee on LABOR AND PUBLIC EMPLOYEES
Introduced by:
(LAB)
AN ACT CONCERNING PROTECTIONS FOR WORKERS AND
ENHANCEMENTS TO WORKERS' RIGHTS.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. (NEW) (Effective October 1, 2025) As used in this section and 1
sections 2 to 9, inclusive, of this act: 2
(1) "Employee" means an individual who is employed at a warehouse 3
distribution center. "Employee" does not include a driver or courier 4
traveling to or from a warehouse distribution center; 5
(2) "Employer" means an individual, corporation, partnership, 6
limited partnership, limited liability partnership, limited liability 7
company, business trust, estate, trust, association, joint venture, agency, 8
instrumentality or any other legal or commercial entity, whether 9
domestic or foreign that directly or indirectly, or through an agent or 10
any other person, including through services of a third party employer, 11
temporary services, staffing agency, independent contractor or any 12
similar entity, at any time in the prior twelve months, employs or 13
exercises control over the wages, hours or working conditions of one 14
hundred or more employees at a single warehouse distribution center 15
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in the state or one thousand or more employees at one or more 16
warehouse distribution centers in the state; 17
(3) "Quota" means a work performance standard where: 18
(A) An employee is assigned or required to perform at a specified 19
productivity speed or a quantified number of tasks or to handle or 20
produce a quantified amount of material within a defined time period; 21
(B) Actions by an employee are categorized and measured between 22
time performing tasks and not performing tasks within a defined time 23
period; 24
(C) Increments of time within a defined time period during which an 25
employee is or is not doing a particular activity that are measured, 26
recorded or tallied; or 27
(D) An employee's performance is ranked in relation to the 28
performance of other employees; 29
(4) "Work speed data" means information an employer collects, 30
stores, analyzes or interprets relating to an individual employee's 31
performance of a quota, including, but not limited to, quantities of tasks 32
performed, quantities of items or materials handled or produced, rates 33
or speeds of tasks performed by the employee, measurements or metrics 34
of employee performance in relation to a quota and time categorized as 35
performing tasks or not performing tasks; and 36
(5) "Warehouse distribution center" means an establishment as 37
defined by any of the following North American Industry Classification 38
System Codes, however such establishment is denominated: (A) 493110 39
for General Warehousing and Storage, (B) 423 for Merchant 40
Wholesalers, Durable Goods, (C) 424 for Merchant Wholesalers, 41
Nondurable Goods, (D) 454110 for Electronic Shopping and Mail-Order 42
Houses, or (E) 492110 for Couriers and Express Delivery Services. 43
Sec. 2. (NEW) (Effective October 1, 2025) (a) On and after July 1, 2026, 44
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an employer shall provide to each employee a written description of 45
each quota to which such employee is subject, including any potential 46
adverse employment action that may result from a failure to satisfy such 47
quota. Such written description shall be provided to an employer's 48
current employees not later than August 1, 2026. For employees hired 49
after August 1, 2026, such written description shall be provided to the 50
employee upon hire. 51
(b) Whenever an employer makes a change to an existing quota for 52
an employee that results in a new quota for such employee, an employer 53
shall: 54
(1) Notify the employee of such change as soon as possible, either 55
verbally or in writing, and prior to the effective date of such new quota; 56
and 57
(2) Provide the employee with a written description of the new quota 58
to which such employee is subject to not later than two business days 59
after the change is made. 60
(c) Any written description required pursuant to this section shall be 61
provided directly to an employee by a manager during such employee's 62
work hours. 63
Sec. 3. (NEW) (Effective October 1, 2025) On and after July 1, 2026, no 64
quota shall: 65
(1) Prevent compliance with the provisions of section 31-51ii of the 66
general statutes concerning meal periods; 67
(2) Interfere with an employee's use of the bathroom facilities, 68
including reasonable travel time to and from the bathroom facilities; 69
(3) Set a performance standard that measures an employee's total 70
output over an increment of time that is shorter than such employee's 71
work day; or 72
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(4) Set a performance standard that is based solely on ranking the 73
performance of an employee in relation to the performance of other 74
employees. 75
Sec. 4. (NEW) (Effective October 1, 2025) On and after July 1, 2026, no 76
employer shall take any adverse action against an employee for failing 77
to satisfy a quota that violates the provisions of section 3 of this act or 78
has not previously been provided to the employee pursuant to section 2 79
of this act. 80
Sec. 5. (NEW) (Effective October 1, 2025) On and after July 1, 2026, each 81
employer shall establish, maintain and preserve contemporaneous, true 82
and accurate records of (1) each individual employee's work speed data, 83
(2) the aggregated work speed data for similar employees at the same 84
warehouse distribution center, and (3) the written descriptions 85
provided to each employee pursuant to section 2 of this act. Such 86
records shall be maintained for a period of three years. Nothing in this 87
section shall require an employer to establish, maintain and preserve the 88
records required pursuant to this section if such employer does not 89
assign or require quotas or collect, store, analyze or interpret work 90
speed data. 91
Sec. 6. (NEW) (Effective October 1, 2025) (a) On and after July 1, 2026, 92
if an employee believes satisfying a quota caused or will cause a 93
violation of section 3 of this act, such employee may request from such 94
employee's employer: (1) A written description of each quota the 95
employee is subject to, (2) a copy of the employee's personal work speed 96
data for the prior ninety days, and (3) a copy of aggregated work speed 97
data for similar employees at the same warehouse distribution center 98
for the prior ninety days. 99
(b) On and after July 1, 2026, a former employee may request from a 100
former employer: (1) A written description of each quota the employee 101
was subject to for the ninety days prior to the employee's separation 102
from employment with such employer; (2) a copy of the employee's 103
personal work speed data for the ninety days prior to such employee's 104
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separation from employment with such employer; and (3) a copy of 105
aggregated work speed data for similar employees at the same 106
warehouse distribution center for the ninety days prior to such 107
employee's separation from employment with such employer. A former 108
employee may only make one request under this section. 109
(c) An employer shall provide a written copy of any records 110
requested pursuant to this section not later than five calendar days after 111
receipt of such request. Such written copy shall be provided (1) in both 112
English and the primary language of the employee requesting such 113
records, and (2) for a current employee, directly to the requesting 114
employee by a manager during such employee's work hours. 115
Sec. 7. (NEW) (Effective October 1, 2025) (a) On and after July 1, 2026, 116
no employer shall discharge or in any way retaliate, discriminate or take 117
any adverse action against an employee or former employee for (1) 118
making a request pursuant to section 6 of this act, or (2) filing a civil 119
action pursuant to section 8 of this act. 120
(b) On and after July 1, 2026, if an employer discharges or in any way 121
retaliates, discriminates or takes any adverse action against an employee 122
or former employee within ninety days after such employee engages in 123
or attempts to engage in the activities described in subsection (a) of this 124
section, there shall be a rebuttable presumption that such adverse action 125
is in violation of this section. Such presumption may be rebutted by clear 126
and convincing evidence that (1) the adverse action was taken for other 127
permissible reasons, and (2) the employee engaging or attempting to 128
engage in the activities described in subsection (a) of this section was 129
not a motivating factor for the employer taking such adverse action. 130
Sec. 8. (NEW) (Effective October 1, 2025) (a) On and after July 1, 2026, 131
an employee aggrieved by a violation of sections 2 to 7, inclusive, of this 132
act, or the Attorney General on behalf of an employee aggrieved by a 133
violation of sections 2 to 7, inclusive, of this act, may bring a civil action 134
in the Superior Court to recover damages, civil penalties and such 135
equitable and injunctive relief as the court deems appropriate. The 136
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prevailing party in such civil action may be awarded reasonable 137
attorney's fees and costs to be taxed by the court. 138
(b) An employer who violates the provisions of sections 2 to 7, 139
inclusive, of this act, may be assessed a civil penalty by the court of (1) 140
one thousand dollars for a first violation, (2) two thousand dollars for a 141
second violation, or (3) three thousand dollars for a third or subsequent 142
violation. 143
Sec. 9. (NEW) (Effective October 1, 2025) On and after July 1, 2026, the 144
Workers' Compensation Commission shall monitor the injury rates of 145
employees working in warehouse distribution centers in the state. If an 146
employer is found to have an annual injury rate at or over one and one-147
half times the average annual injury rate for the relevant North 148
American Industry Classification System codes, based on data reported 149
to the federal Occupational and Safety and Health Administration, the 150
Workers' Compensation Commission shall notify the Labor 151
Commissioner and the commissioner shall determine whether an 152
investigation concerning potential violations of sections 2 to 7, inclusive, 153
of this act is appropriate. 154
Sec. 10. Subdivision (3) of subsection (a) of section 31-236 of the 155
general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu 156
thereof (Effective October 1, 2025): 157
(3) During any week in which the administrator finds that the 158
individual's total or partial unemployment is due to the existence of a 159
labor dispute other than a lockout at the factory, establishment or other 160
premises at which the individual is or has been employed, [provided] 161
except that the provisions of this subsection do not apply if it is shown 162
to the satisfaction of the administrator that: (A) For a labor dispute that 163
begins on or after December 14, 2026, such labor dispute has been 164
continuous for fourteen days since the commencement of such labor 165
dispute; (B) (i) the individual is not participating in or financing or 166
directly interested in the labor dispute that caused the unemployment, 167
and [(B)] (ii) the individual does not belong to a trade, class or 168
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organization of workers, members of which, immediately before the 169
commencement of the labor dispute, were employed at the premises at 170
which the labor dispute occurred, and are participating in or financing 171
or directly interested in the dispute; or (C) the individual's 172
unemployment is due to the existence of a lockout. A lockout exists 173
whether or not such action is to obtain for the employer more 174
advantageous terms when an employer (i) fails to provide employment 175
to its employees with whom the employer is engaged in a labor dispute, 176
either by physically closing its plant or informing its employees that 177
there will be no work until the labor dispute has terminated, or (ii) 178
makes an announcement that work will be available after the expiration 179
of the existing contract only under terms and conditions that are less 180
favorable to the employees than those current immediately prior to such 181
announcement; provided in either event the recognized or certified 182
bargaining agent shall have advised the employer that the employees 183
with whom the employer is engaged in the labor dispute are ready, able 184
and willing to continue working pending the negotiation of a new 185
contract under the terms and conditions current immediately prior to 186
such announcement; 187
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:
Section 1 October 1, 2025 New section
Sec. 2 October 1, 2025 New section
Sec. 3 October 1, 2025 New section
Sec. 4 October 1, 2025 New section
Sec. 5 October 1, 2025 New section
Sec. 6 October 1, 2025 New section
Sec. 7 October 1, 2025 New section
Sec. 8 October 1, 2025 New section
Sec. 9 October 1, 2025 New section
Sec. 10 October 1, 2025 31-236(a)(3)
Statement of Purpose:
To protect workers' rights.
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[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.]
Co-Sponsors: SEN. LOONEY, 11th Dist.; SEN. DUFF, 25th Dist.
SEN. ANWAR, 3rd Dist.; SEN. CABRERA, 17th Dist.
SEN. FLEXER, 29th Dist.; SEN. GADKAR-WILCOX, 22nd Dist.
SEN. GASTON, 23rd Dist.; SEN. HOCHADEL, 13th Dist.
SEN. HONIG, 8th Dist.; SEN. KUSHNER, 24th Dist.
SEN. LESSER, 9th Dist.; SEN. LOPES, 6th Dist.
SEN. MAHER, 26th Dist.; SEN. MARX, 20th Dist.
SEN. MCCRORY, 2nd Dist.; SEN. MILLER P., 27th Dist.
SEN. RAHMAN, 4th Dist.; SEN. SLAP, 5th Dist.
SEN. WINFIELD, 10th Dist.; REP. SWEET, 91st Dist.
REP. MARTINEZ, 22nd Dist.; REP. GAUTHIER, 38th Dist.
REP. PARIS, 145th Dist.; REP. FORTIER, 79th Dist.
REP. MENAPACE, 37th Dist.; REP. SHANNON, 117th Dist.
REP. ELLIOTT, 88th Dist.; REP. HUGHES, 135th Dist.
REP. HALL J., 7th Dist.; REP. HEFFERNAN, 115th Dist.
REP. LUXENBERG, 12th Dist.
S.B. 8