🔒Lamont to sign omnibus labor bill

Gov. Ned Lamont will conduct a bill signing ceremony Monday afternoon for an omnibus bill touted as protecting workers’ rights. House Bill 5003, to be known as Public Act 26-12 once it is signed into law, is an omnibus bill that was over 200 pages long with 75 sections. Many of its parts were proposed in other bills that were approved by committees and then consolidated into the one bill. The legislation was approved in the House by a vote of 117-29 with five members absent, and then in the Senate by a 28-7 vote with one member absent. Among its many provisions, it addresses wage theft in the building trades and job protections for services workers, and requires employers to disclose position wage ranges and general benefit descriptions in job postings. The bill also increases compensation to up to 100% of weekly earnings for workers who are assaulted on the job. Business organizations opposed many sections of the bill. Chris Davis, vice president of public policy for the Connecticut Business & Industry Association, said the legislation includes several provisions that would increase the cost of doing business in the state, including holding general contractors responsible for unpaid wages by subcontractors and requiring certain service workers to be retained for 90 days after a contract changes hands. The bill also includes protections for healthcare providers, including implementing a system to notify providers of patients with a history of violence. Other requirements aim to address the state’s firefighter and public safety officer shortage through tuition waivers, healthcare benefits and recruitment programs. Lamont will sign the bill during a ceremony to be held at the Hector J. Figueroa 32BJ Labor Center at 885 Wethersfield Ave. in Hartford at 2 p.m.