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General Assembly Committee Bill No. 831
January Session, 2025
LCO No. 5495
Referred to Committee on LABOR AND PUBLIC EMPLOYEES
Introduced by:
(LAB)
AN ACT CONCERNING ADVANCED NOTICE OF AN EMPLOYEE'S
WORK SCHEDULE TO CERTAIN EMPLOYEES.
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 and 9, inclusive, of this act: 2
(1) "Employee" means an individual who is employed (A) in a retail 3
establishment, food services establishment or hospitality establishment, 4
or (B) as a nursing assistant or orderly at a long-term health care services 5
establishment. "Employee" does not include an individual who is 6
exempt from the minimum wage and overtime compensation 7
requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 and regulations 8
promulgated thereunder, as amended from time to time; 9
(2) "Employer" means any person that is (A) a retail establishment, 10
hospitality establishment or long-term health care services 11
establishment that employs five hundred or more employees within the 12
United States or globally, or (B) a food services establishment that 13
employs five hundred or more employees within the United States or 14
globally and has thirty or more locations within the United States or 15
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globally. "Employer" includes a franchisee that is part of a network of 16
franchises within the United States and globally that employs five 17
hundred or more employees in the aggregate; 18
(3) "Franchisee" has the same meaning as provided in section 42-133e 19
of the general statutes; 20
(4) "Food services establishment" means food services and drinking 21
places, as defined under code 722 of the 2022 North American Industry 22
Classification System; 23
(5) "Hospitality establishment" means hotels and motels, as defined 24
under code 721110 of the 2022 North American Industry Classification 25
System and casino hotels, as defined under code 721120 of the North 26
American Industry Classification System; 27
(6) "Long-term health care establishment" means nursing care 28
facilities, as defined under code 623110 of the 2022 North American 29
Industry Classification System; 30
(7) "Nursing assistant" means nursing assistant, as defined in Section 31
31-1131 of the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics Standard Occupational 32
Classification system or any successor system; 33
(8) "On-call shift" means the specific and consecutive hours an 34
employer requires an employee to be available to work and for which 35
the employer requires the employee to either contact the employer or 36
wait to be contacted by the employer to determine whether the 37
employee must report to work; 38
(9) "Orderly" means orderly, as defined in Section 31-1132 of the 39
federal Bureau of Labor Statistics Standard Occupational Classification 40
system or any successor system; 41
(10) "Person" means any individual, partnership, association, joint 42
stock company, trust, firm, business, nonprofit agency, corporation, 43
limited liability company or any other entity employing any person; 44
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(11) "Regular rate" has the same meaning as provided in section 31-45
76b of the general statutes; 46
(12) "Regular shift" means the specific and consecutive hours an 47
employer schedules an employee to work; 48
(13) "Retail establishment" means the fixed point of sale location for 49
an establishment defined under sectors 44 to 45 of the 2022 North 50
American Industry Classification System; and 51
(14) "Work schedule" means the regular shifts and on-call shifts an 52
employer assigns to an employee, including the dates, times and 53
location of such regular and on-call shifts. 54
Sec. 2. (NEW) (Effective October 1, 2025) (a) Prior to the start of 55
employment, an employer shall obtain a written statement from a new 56
employee that includes the days and times the employee is available to 57
work and the employee's desired number of weekly scheduled work 58
hours. An employee may request to modify such written statement at 59
any time during employment and an employer may grant or deny any 60
such request for any bona fide business reason. 61
(b) Prior to the start of employment, an employer shall provide a new 62
employee with a good faith written estimate of the employee's 63
anticipated work schedule that includes the average number of hours 64
the employee can expect to work in an average week and the days and 65
times of regular and on-call shifts the employee can expect to work each 66
week. An employer shall revise such estimate when there is a significant 67
change in the employee's availability or to the employer's business 68
needs. An employer shall not be in violation of this section if an 69
employee's scheduled hours for any given week exceed the average 70
number of hours provided in the written estimate, provided such 71
employer has made every effort to schedule the employee for such 72
employee's desired number of weekly scheduled work hours. 73
Sec. 3. (NEW) (Effective October 1, 2025) (a) An employer shall provide 74
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an employee with notice of the employee's work schedule not later than 75
fourteen days prior to the first date of any work schedule. Such notice 76
may be provided by (1) posting the work schedule in a conspicuous 77
place, accessible to employees, at such employer's place of business, or 78
(2) transmitting the work schedule by electronic means. For a new 79
employee, an employer shall provide such employee with the 80
employee's initial work schedule not later than the date of the 81
employee's first scheduled shift for the period commencing on the date 82
of the employee's first scheduled shift and ending on the last day of the 83
seven-day period covered by the latest posted or transmitted work 84
schedule. If an employer makes changes to an employee's work 85
schedule after such work schedule is posted or transmitted, such 86
changes shall be subject to the notice requirements set forth in 87
subsection (b) of this section and the compensation requirements set 88
forth in subsection (d) of this section. 89
(b) An employer shall provide an employee with notice of any 90
employer requested change to such employee's work schedule made 91
after the advanced notice required pursuant to subsection (a) of this 92
section. Such notice shall be provided in writing, as soon as possible and 93
prior to the start of any amended or added regular or on-call shift. An 94
employer shall revise the posted or transmitted work schedule to reflect 95
such change not later than twenty-four hours after making such change 96
to the work schedule. An employee may decline to work any regular or 97
on-call shifts not included in the posted or transmitted work schedule. 98
If an employee consents to working any such shifts, such consent shall 99
be in writing. 100
(c) At any time after the advanced notice required pursuant to 101
subsection (a) of this section, an employee may request, in writing, that 102
the employer add one or more regular or on-call shifts to such 103
employee's schedule or to swap shifts with another employee. Any 104
changes made to the employee's work schedule resulting from such 105
employee-requested schedule change shall not be subject to the notice 106
requirements of subsection (b) of this section. 107
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(d) An employer shall provide the following compensation to an 108
employee for each employer requested change that occurs to the 109
employee's work schedule without adherence to the notice 110
requirements in subsection (b) of this section: 111
(1) One hour of pay at such employee's regular rate of pay, in addition 112
to wages earned, when the employer: 113
(A) Adds one or more hours to an employee's regular or on-call shift; 114
(B) Changes the date, start or end time or location of an employee's 115
regular or on-call shift without a reduction of hours; or 116
(C) Schedules the employee for an additional regular or on-call shift. 117
(2) One-half of such employee's regular rate of pay per hour for each 118
schedule hour the employee does not work when the employer: 119
(A) Subtracts hours from the employee's work shift before or after 120
such employee reports to work; 121
(B) Cancels the employee's regular shift; or 122
(C) Changes the date, start or end time or location of an employee's 123
regular or on-call shift, resulting in a loss of hours. 124
(e) The compensation requirements of subsection (d) of this section 125
shall not apply when: 126
(1) An employee mutually agrees with another employee to an 127
employee-initiated shift swap or coverage. Such employee-initiated 128
shift swap or coverage shall be subject to any existing employer policy 129
regarding shift swapping or shift coverage; 130
(2) An employer makes changes to an employee's work schedule at 131
the employee's request pursuant to subsection (c) of this section; 132
(3) An employee's request to use sick leave, vacation leave or other 133
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leave, subject to an employer policy regarding employee use of leave; 134
(4) An employer's operations inability to begin or continue due to: 135
(A) The failure of a public utility; 136
(B) A fire, flood or other natural disaster; or 137
(C) An emergency declaration issued by the President of the United 138
States or the Governor. 139
Sec. 4. (NEW) (Effective October 1, 2025) (a) No employer shall 140
schedule or require an employee to work during the following rest 141
periods: 142
(1) The first eleven hours following the end of the previous calendar 143
day's regular or on-call shift; or 144
(2) The first eleven hours following the end of a regular or on-call 145
shift that spanned two calendar days. 146
(b) An employee may consent to work any hours during the rest 147
periods described in subsection (a) of this section, provided such 148
consent is in writing. For any hour or portion of an hour an employee 149
works during the rest periods described in subsection (a) of this section, 150
an employer shall compensate such employee at one and one-half times 151
the employee's regular rate of pay. 152
Sec. 5. (NEW) (Effective October 1, 2025) (a) Prior to hiring a new 153
employee from an external applicant pool, including hiring through the 154
use of a contractor, including temporary help service or employment 155
agency, as defined in section 31-129 of the general statutes, an employer 156
shall offer available shifts to existing employees and make every effort 157
to schedule such employer's current employees for such current 158
employees' desired number of weekly scheduled work hours identified 159
in the written statement provided by such employees pursuant to 160
section 2 of this act. 161
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(b) An employer may hire individuals from an external applicant 162
pool if such employer's current employees lack and cannot obtain with 163
reasonable training, the qualifications necessary to perform the duties 164
of the position being filled or scheduling current employees would 165
require the employer to pay such employees at an overtime rate under 166
state or federal law. 167
(c) If an employer fails to offer such employer's current employees 168
opportunities to work such employees' desired number of weekly 169
scheduled work hours identified in an employee's written statement 170
provided pursuant to section 2 of this act before hiring an new employee 171
from an external applicant pool or through use of a contractor, such 172
employer shall provide compensation to an affected current employee 173
for any hours on such written statement worked by a newly hired 174
employee. Such compensation shall be at the current employee's 175
regularly hour rate. 176
Sec. 6. (NEW) (Effective October 1, 2025) An employer subject to the 177
provisions of sections 2 to 5, inclusive, of this act shall keep and maintain 178
a true and accurate record of each employee's work schedule and any 179
revisions to such work schedule. Such records shall be maintained for a 180
period of three years and shall be open to inspection by the Labor 181
Commissioner, or the commissioner's designee, at any reasonable time. 182
Sec. 7. (NEW) (Effective October 1, 2025) The Labor Commissioner may 183
adopt regulations, in accordance with the provisions of chapter 54 of the 184
general statutes, to implement and enforce the provisions of sections 2 185
to 6, inclusive, of this act. 186
Sec. 8. (NEW) (Effective October 1, 2025) (a) An employee aggrieved by 187
a violation of the provisions of sections 2 to 5, inclusive, of this, act a 188
collective bargaining agent on behalf of an employee aggrieved by a 189
violation of the provisions of sections 2 to 5, inclusive, of this act or the 190
Labor Commissioner may file a complaint in the Superior Court to 191
recover compensatory damages, civil penalties and such equitable and 192
injunctive relief as the court deems appropriate. In addition, the court 193
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may award reasonable attorney's fees and costs. 194
(b) An employer who violates the provisions of sections 2 to 6, 195
inclusive, of this act may be assessed a civil penalty of not more than 196
two hundred dollars per violation. Any civil penalty assessed under this 197
subsection shall be paid to the Labor Department. 198
(c) In addition to any damages, or as an alternative to, any relief 199
ordered pursuant to subsection (b) of this section, the court may (1) issue 200
an order of compliance to an employer who violates any provision of 201
sections 2 to 6, inclusive, of this act, or (2) award the following on a per-202
employee or per-instance basis: (A) For a violation of sections 2 to 4, 203
inclusive, of this act, statutory damages of not more than two hundred 204
dollars; and (B) for a violation of section 5 of this act, statutory damages 205
of not more than three hundred dollars. 206
Sec. 9. (NEW) (Effective October 1, 2025) (a) A whistleblower may, on 207
behalf of the state, bring a civil action in the Superior Court against a 208
covered employer who violates the provisions of sections 2 to 5, 209
inclusive, of this act to recover damages, civil penalties and equitable 210
and injunctive relief described in section 8 of this section. The state may 211
intervene in an action brought under this section not later than thirty 212
days after the commencement of such action. After thirty days, the state 213
may intervene with permission from the court. 214
(b) Prior to bringing a civil action under this section, a whistleblower 215
shall give written notice to the Labor Commissioner, in a form and 216
manner prescribed by the Labor Commissioner. Such notice shall state 217
the alleged violation of sections 2 to 5, inclusive, of this act. Not later 218
than thirty days after receipt of such notice, the commissioner shall issue 219
a decision stating whether the whistleblower may proceed with the civil 220
action on behalf of the state or if the Labor Department will be pursuing 221
such action. 222
(c) Any damages awarded to a whistleblower in a civil action brought 223
under this section shall be distributed as follows (1) seventy-five per 224
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cent to the Labor Department for enforcement of the provisions of 225
sections 2 to 7, inclusive, of this act, and (2) twenty-five per cent to the 226
whistleblower who brought such action. In addition to any damages 227
awarded, the court shall award reasonable attorney's fees and costs to a 228
whistleblower who prevails in an action brought under this section. 229
(d) The court shall review any settlement agreement in a civil action 230
brought under this section to determine whether such settlement 231
agreement is fair, adequate, reasonable and in the public interest. 232
(e) No provision of a contract shall impair the right of an individual 233
to bring an action under this section. 234
(f) Any action brought under this section shall be tried promptly and 235
without regard to concurrent adjudication of private claims. 236
(g) If any part of a whistleblower's claim brought under this section 237
is ordered or submitted to arbitration or is resolved by way of final 238
judgment, settlement or arbitration in favor of the employee, the 239
whistleblower shall retain standing to recover penalties for violations 240
suffered by employees in any forum having jurisdiction over the claim. 241
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
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Statement of Purpose:
To require employers to provide advance notice to certain employees of
such employees' work schedule and work schedule changes and create
a cause of action for violations of advance notice requirements.
[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.
S.B. 831