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General Assembly Substitute Bill No. 1417
January Session, 2025
AN ACT CONCERNING THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A NURSING HOME
WORKFORCE STANDARDS BOARD.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. (NEW) (Effective July 1, 2025) (a) As used in this section: 1
(1) "Board" means the Nursing Home Workforce Standards Board 2
established under subsection (b) of this section; 3
(2) "Certified worker organization" means a worker organization that 4
is certified by the board to conduct nursing home worker trainings; 5
(3) "Compensation" means all income and benefits paid by a nursing 6
home employer to a nursing home worker or on behalf of a nursing 7
home worker, including, but not limited to, wages, bonuses, 8
differentials, paid leave, pay for scheduling changes and pay for 9
training or occupational certification; 10
(4) "Employer organization" means: 11
(A) An organization that is exempt from federal income taxation 12
under Section 501(c)(6) of the Internal Revenue Code, as amended from 13
time to time, and that represents nursing home employers; or 14
(B) An entity that employers, who together employ a majority of 15
nursing home workers in the state, have selected as a representative; 16 Substitute Bill No. 1417
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(5) "Nursing home" has the same meaning as provided under section 17
19a-490 of the general statutes; 18
(6) "Nursing home employer" means an employer of nursing home 19
workers in a licensed, Medicaid-certified facility that is reimbursed 20
under chapter 319y of the general statutes; 21
(7) "Nursing home worker" means any worker who provides services 22
for a nursing home employer in the state, including direct care staff, 23
nondirect care staff and contractors, but excluding administrative staff, 24
medical directors, nursing directors, physicians and individuals 25
employed by a supplemental nursing services agency; and 26
(8) "Worker organization" means an organization that is exempt from 27
federal income taxation under Section 501(c)(3), 501(c)(4) or 501(c)(5) of 28
the Internal Revenue Code, as amended from time to time, that is not 29
dominated or interfered with by any nursing home employer within the 30
meaning of 29 USC 158a(2), as amended from time to time, and that has 31
at least five years of demonstrated experience engaging with and 32
advocating for nursing home workers. 33
(b) There is established a Nursing Home Workforce Standards Board 34
to establish nursing home employment, training and minimum 35
compensation standards necessary to ensure the safety and well-being 36
of nursing home residents and workers. The board shall have the 37
following members: 38
(1) The Commissioner of Social Services, or the commissioner's 39
designee; 40
(2) The Commissioner of Public Health, or the commissioner's 41
designee; 42
(3) The Labor Commissioner, or the commissioner's designee; 43
(4) Three members who represent nursing home employers or 44
employer organizations, appointed by the Governor, with one initially 45
serving a two-year term, one initially serving a three-year term and one 46 Substitute Bill No. 1417
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initially serving a four-year term; 47
(5) Three members who represent nursing home workers or worker 48
organizations, appointed by the Governor, with one initially serving a 49
two-year term, one initially serving a three-year term and one initially 50
serving a four-year term; and 51
(6) The chairpersons of the joint standing committee of the General 52
Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to human services, or 53
their designees. 54
(c) In making appointments under subdivisions (4) and (5) of 55
subsection (b) of this section, the Governor shall consider the geographic 56
distribution of nursing homes within the state. After the initial terms of 57
board members appointed under subdivisions (4) and (5) of subsection 58
(b) of this section have expired, appointed board members shall serve 59
four-year terms, limited to two consecutive terms. Any vacancy in the 60
board membership shall be filled by the appointing authority. 61
(d) The board shall (1) meet not later than thirty days after all 62
members have been appointed, (2) elect a member by majority vote to 63
serve as its chairperson, and (3) determine the duration of time that a 64
member elected as chairperson shall serve in that capacity. The 65
affirmative vote of six board members is required for the board to take 66
any action. 67
(e) The Labor Commissioner shall appoint an administrative director 68
for the board and provide office space, resources and personnel to assist 69
the board in carrying out its duties. 70
(f) To carry out its duties, the board shall hold public hearings on, and 71
conduct investigations into, working conditions in the nursing home 72
industry. The board shall examine (1) wage rate and benefit data 73
collected by or submitted to the board for nursing home workers by 74
occupation in the relevant geographic area; (2) statements showing 75
wage rates and benefits paid to nursing home workers by occupation in 76
the relevant geographic area; (3) signed collective bargaining 77 Substitute Bill No. 1417
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agreements applicable to nursing home workers by occupation in the 78
relevant geographic area; (4) testimony and information from current 79
and former nursing home workers, worker organizations, nursing home 80
employers, nursing home resident representatives and employer 81
organizations; (5) training provided to nursing home workers and 82
experience necessary for an organization to be designated a certified 83
worker organization to conduct such training; (6) state and federal laws 84
and regulations governing nursing home care and labor; and (7) any 85
other information pertinent to establishing nursing home workplace 86
standards. 87
(g) The board shall adopt minimum compensation and training 88
standards and may (1) adopt regional compensation standards based on 89
wage rate and benefit data for similar occupations in a geographic area; 90
(2) establish minimum compensation standards by occupation of a 91
nursing home worker; and (3) approve a waiver to such standards for 92
any nursing home employer that presents the board with evidence of 93
financial difficulty risking such home's closure if the standards are 94
applied to such nursing home. Before adopting any compensation or 95
training standards for workers at Medicaid-funded nursing homes with 96
rates of payment set pursuant to chapter 319y of the general statutes, the 97
board shall consult with the Commissioner of Social Services to 98
determine the amount of state funding needed to implement any 99
changes in compensation or additional costs associated with new 100
training requirements. No such standards shall be adopted or 101
implemented until such date as any necessary state appropriations are 102
made. 103
(h) The board shall establish (1) requirements for a worker 104
organization to be certified by the board to provide training; and (2) the 105
curriculum for such training, which, at a minimum, shall contain (A) the 106
applicable compensation and working condition standards adopted by 107
the board pursuant to subsection (g) of this section, and (B) the anti-108
retaliation protections established pursuant to subsection (k) of this 109
section. The training shall include, but need not be limited to, follow-up 110
written materials in languages in which nursing home workers taking 111 Substitute Bill No. 1417
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the training are proficient. Before establishing or updating curriculum 112
requirements, the board shall hold at least one public hearing to solicit 113
input. 114
(i) A nursing home employer shall compensate its nursing home 115
workers at their regular hourly rate of wages and benefits for each hour 116
of training completed as required by this section and reimburse any 117
reasonable travel expenses associated with attending training sessions 118
not held on the premises of the nursing home. A nursing home 119
employer shall submit written documentation to the board to certify 120
that every two years after training standards are adopted and 121
implemented pursuant to this section each of its nursing home workers 122
completes one hour of training that meets the requirements of this 123
section and is provided by a certified worker organization. Upon 124
request by a certified worker organization, a nursing home employer 125
shall provide the certified worker organization with the names and 126
contact information of the nursing home workers who attended the 127
training session unless such worker opts out in a written statement filed 128
with the nursing home employer. 129
(j) Nursing home employers shall provide notices informing nursing 130
home workers of applicable minimum nursing home employment 131
standards. The notice shall be in writing and include contact 132
information for the Labor Commissioner to report violations of this 133
section and, at the request of a nursing home worker, provided in the 134
language in which such worker is proficient. 135
(k) A nursing home employer shall not discharge, discipline, 136
penalize, interfere with, threaten, restrain, coerce or otherwise retaliate 137
or discriminate against a nursing home worker because such worker has 138
exercised or attempted to exercise rights protected under this section, 139
including participating in any investigations concerning violations of 140
this section or attending training or board proceedings. It shall be 141
unlawful for a nursing home employer to: (1) Inform another employer 142
that a nursing home worker or former nursing home worker has 143
engaged in an investigation of a violation of this section or exercised or 144 Substitute Bill No. 1417
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attempted to exercise any right protected under this section; or (2) report 145
or threaten to report the actual or suspected citizenship or immigration 146
status of a nursing home worker, former nursing home worker or family 147
member of a nursing home worker to a federal, state or local agency for 148
exercising or attempting to exercise any right protected under this 149
section. 150
(l) It shall be unlawful for a nursing home employer to employ a 151
nursing home worker for lower wages or other compensation than that 152
adopted as the minimum nursing home employment standards by the 153
board and adopted pursuant to the provisions of subsection (g) of this 154
section. One or more nursing home workers may bring a civil action in 155
any superior court in the state against a nursing home employer who 156
violates the provisions of this section and such action may represent a 157
class of similarly situated nursing home workers. Upon a finding of one 158
or more violations, a nursing home employer shall be liable to each 159
nursing home worker for the full amount of any wages, benefits and 160
overtime compensation lost due to the violation, less any amount the 161
nursing home employer is able to establish was actually paid to each 162
nursing home worker, in addition to liquidated damages, costs and 163
attorneys' fees. A court may also issue an order requiring compliance 164
with this section. A nursing home worker found to have experienced 165
retaliation and loss of pay in violation of this section and subsection (k) 166
of this section shall be entitled to back pay and reinstatement to the 167
worker's previous position, wages, benefits, hours and other conditions 168
of employment. 169
(m) An agreement between a nursing home employer and nursing 170
home worker or labor union entered into after the board adopts and 171
implements minimum standards pursuant to this section that fails to 172
meet such minimum standards shall not be a defense to an action 173
brought under subsection (l) of this section. 174
(n) Not later than December 1, 2025, and annually thereafter, the 175
board shall file a report, in accordance with the provisions of section 11-176
4a of the general statutes, on actions taken, standards recommended or 177 Substitute Bill No. 1417
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adopted and state appropriations necessary to implement such 178
standards with the joint standing committees of the General Assembly 179
having cognizance of matters relating to aging, appropriations and the 180
budgets of state agencies, human services, labor and public health. 181
(o) The Labor Commissioner, in consultation with the board, shall 182
adopt regulations concerning minimum compensation standards, in 183
accordance with chapter 54 of the general statutes, to implement the 184
provisions of this section. 185
(p) The Commissioner of Public Health, in consultation with the 186
board, shall adopt regulations concerning minimum training standards 187
for nursing home workers, in accordance with chapter 54 of the general 188
statutes, to implement the provisions of this section. 189
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:
Section 1 July 1, 2025 New section
Statement of Legislative Commissioners:
In, Subsec. (d)(3), "term to be served by the chairperson" was removed
and replaced with "duration of time that a member elected as
chairperson shall serve in that capacity" for clarity, Subsecs. (f)(1) to
(f)(3), inclusive, "by occupation" was inserted after "workers" and "and
nursing home occupations" was removed, for clarity; in Subsec. (i),
"after training standards are adopted and implemented pursuant to this
section" was inserted after "two years", for clarity; in Subsec. (l), "and
subsection (k) of this section" was inserted, for clarity; and in Subsec.
(m), "entered into after the board adopts and implements minimum
standards pursuant to this section" was inserted after "union", "such"
was inserted before "minimum" and "adopted by the board pursuant to
this section" was deleted for accuracy and clarity.
HS Joint Favorable Subst. -LCO