- Connecticut Business & Industry Association issues critique based on recent report highlighting mandates passed through a Connecticut General Assembly committee
- Measures include a state-run retirement benefits program, increases to the minimum wage, and paid family and medical leave program
- CBIA accuses the Labor and Public Employees Committee of creating new burdens for employers while failing to address lagging economic growth in Connecticut
Summary by Dirk Langeveld
The Connecticut Business & Industry Association has issued a critique of a Connecticut General Assembly legislative committee, accusing it of being “a source of anti-employer policies.”
CBIA cited a recent report from the legislature’s Office of Legislative Research, which highlights the mandates that have originated in the Labor and Public Employees Committee since 2016. A total of 28 new rules or policies were established through the committee, creating new requirements for private employers, tightening existing regulations, or prohibiting employers from taking certain actions.
Advocates of the measures have argued that they create greater safeguards and benefits for workers, which in turn can make Connecticut a more attractive place for people to work. CBIA counters that the measures increase the cost of doing business in the state, especially for small businesses, and pose challenges for employers.
- CBIA says the costliest mandates passed by the Labor and Public Employees Committee include a requirement that employers with five or more workers enroll any employees not eligible for a company-sponsored retirement plan in a state-run plan, an incremental increase of the minimum wage to reach $15 an hour in 2023, a paid paid family and medical leave program for most employer businesses, and a requirement that employers with 15 or more employees in the hotel, lodging, food service, or building service industries prioritize the rehiring of workers laid off during the pandemic
- Since 2016, CBIA has opposed 75 bills it describes as “harmful” that have passed the committee since 2016, as well as 75 more bills that never made it out of committee
- The association also accuses the committee of failing to address lagging economic growth in Connecticut, noting that the state had not fully recovered from the Great Recession when the COVID-19 pandemic struck
