CT labor committee expected to approve 9 bills, including on NDAs, salary disclosure

HBJ PHOTO | DAVID KRECHEVSKY The State Capitol in Hartford.

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The state legislature’s Labor and Public Employees Committee is expected to act on nine bills during its meeting Tuesday, including sending to the Senate and House bills on limiting non-disclosure agreements and requiring employers to publicly disclose salary ranges.

Senate Bill 1035 seeks to “limit the misuse of nondisclosure agreements by adopting similar provisions from California, New Jersey and Washington law regarding limitations on the use of nondisclosure agreements.”

All three of those states have passed laws limiting or prohibiting the use of NDAs, including prohibiting employers from enforcing NDAs relating to discrimination, harassment and retaliation claims against current or former employees.

House Bill 6517 seeks to amend the existing law on salary transparency by requiring employers to disclose salary ranges on public and internal job postings.

According to the bill, an employer that violates the requirement “may be found liable for statutory damages of not less than $1,000 and not more than $10,000 or compensatory damages, whichever is greater, attorney's fees and costs, punitive damages and such legal and equitable relief as the court deems just and proper.”

The other seven bills expected to be approved to move on from the committee include:

H.B. 6842, which seeks to clarify that anyone employed by cannabis establishments are to be paid the minimum wage.
H.B. 6953, which would require municipalities that employ police officers and firefighters to provide them with pensions through the municipal employees' retirement system or another system that offers comparable or superior benefits.
H.B. 5609, which would prohibit employers from reducing retirement benefits due to an employee receiving workers' compensation benefits.
H.B. 7195, which would require the state Department of Labor to consider specific circumstances when determining whether someone who performs services as a paraeducator is eligible to receive unemployment compensation.
H.B. 5607, which would establish a task force to study eliminating the subminimum wage for people with disabilities.
S.B. 525, which seeks to generate job growth and economic development by requiring the state and its agents to give preference to in-state manufacturers, fabricators and erectors, and
H.B. 7197, which would require employers to create a guide to help employees understand the pay codes used by an employer on employee records of hours worked.