Labor & Employment

HB 5143 requires homemaker-companion agencies to provide mandatory training to their employees. New employees must complete 10 hours of initial training within 90 days of hire, covering topics like CPR, safety, abuse reporting, and dementia care. Existing employees must complete 10 hours of annual continuing education from a state-approved training list, and agencies must maintain records of all training for state review. This bill directly affects homemaker-companion agencies and their staff, aiming to improve service quality and client safety through standardized training.

This bill requires healthcare facilities and schools to cover medical costs and pay full salary for staff injured during work-related assaults or aggressive incidents. It creates a system for reporting patient violence in digital health records (with patient appeal options) and ensures absences due to such incidents don’t count against paid leave. Directly affects healthcare workers, teachers, and school staff who face workplace violence while performing job duties.

This bill proposes the approval of a collective bargaining agreement between the University of Connecticut Board of Trustees and the Graduate Employee Union, which represents graduate student employees at the university. The agreement covers a four-year period from July 1, 2026, to June 30, 2030, and includes provisions for wage increases, adjustments to health insurance premiums, and changes to university fee credits. By ratifying this contract, the Connecticut General Assembly formally authorizes the university to implement these terms, which are expected to result in net costs to the university's operating fund totaling approximately $29.6 million over the agreement's duration.

This bill proposes approval of a collective bargaining agreement between the State of Connecticut and the Connecticut Employees Union Independent, NP-2 Bargaining Unit, covering approximately 3,661 state employees who work in service, maintenance, repair, delivery, cleaning, and cooking roles at hospitals, campuses, airports, roads, bridges, and parks. The agreement establishes a four-year contract running from July 1, 2025, to June 30, 2029, that includes general wage increases of 2.5% and annual increments for the first three years, along with lump sum payments for certain employees and provisions for grade changes and differentials. The contract also includes a wage re-opener clause for the final year that allows for additional wage negotiations, with total estimated costs to state funds reaching approximately $45 million over the four-year period.

This resolution approves an arbitration award between Connecticut's Judicial Branch and three employee unions: SEIU Local 2001, the International Brotherhood of Police Officers, and the Union of Professional Judicial Employees. The award includes a 2.5% general wage increase effective July 2025, annual increments for employees, and lump-sum payments, impacting judicial branch salaries and benefits. The agreement costs approximately $8.07 million in fiscal year 2026 and $8.60 million in 2027, with retroactive application to July 1, 2025. It directly affects over 1,000 judicial employees represented by these unions through adjusted compensation.