It’s late March, which means that it’s too soon to predict which bills at the Connecticut General Assembly are going to have enough support for final passage, but not too soon to take a look at what is on the table.

By “on the table”, I mean bills that have been voted out of the Labor & Public Employees committee.  Before that happens, a lot of proposals are good for headlines but may never see the light of day.

But now that the Labor committee has finished up its work last week, the bills outlined below have been voted out of committee.  As we know from our Schoolhouse Rock songs, these bills still have a long way to go — other committees, the House, the Senate, the Governor — and that presumes a vote too.

Here are a few that are worth keeping an eye on:

• House Bill 6536 – This bill requires employers to provide adequate equipment for employees working from home and reimbursements as well.  I talked a bit about this in a prior post.
• Senate Bill 906 – For several years, I’ve mentioned how non-compete agreements have been under attack; this year’s bill may be the closest proponents of the bill get.  The bill would greatly curtail the usage of such agreements with salary thresholds and more; although it’s not identical, there are certainly some similarities with a Washington non-compete law passed in 2019.  Keep a close eye on this one.  There’s also a similar House Bill 6379.
• House Bill 6475 – This bill would create a new “public enforcement action” and mirrors a law in California.  It allows unions and other “nonprofit organizations” to bring claims on behalf of employees against businesses.  The CBIA describes the bill as “incredibly dangerous”. 

The CBIA has done a full recap on the Labor & Public Employee Committee’s work here.