Labor and Public Employees Committee
JOINT FAVORABLE REPORT
Bill No.: SB-212
AN ACT CONCERNING PERMANENT PARTIAL DISABILITY BENEFITS AND
Title: PENSION OFFSETS.
Vote Date: 3/10/2022
Vote Action: Joint Favorable Substitute
PH Date: 3/3/2022
File No.: 74
Disclaimer: The following JOINT FAVORABLE Report is prepared for the benefit of the
members of the General Assembly, solely for purposes of information, summarization and
explanation and does not represent the intent of the General Assembly or either chamber
thereof for any purpose.
SPONSORS OF BILL:
Labor and Public Employees Committee
Rep. Michael D Quinn, 82nd Dist.,
Rep. Michael A. Winkler, 56th Dist.
REASONS FOR BILL:
This bill prohibits municipals or special taxing district pension systems from diminishing or
eliminating certain retirement rights and benefits.
RESPONSE FROM ADMINISTRATION/AGENCY:
None stated.
NATURE AND SOURCES OF SUPPORT:
Connecticut Trial Lawyers Association, Chair, Meghan Lyon; supports this bill stating that
retired employees receiving a pension or retirement benefit from their municipalities or
special taxing district should continue to be paid without an offset or impact to their pensions.
It is stated that workers' compensation benefits are entirely separate from any other pension
and retirement benefits earned by the employee and one should not impact the other.
SEIU, Organizer, Stacey Zimmerman; supports this bill.
Uniformed Professional Fire Fighters Association of Connecticut, Director, Jeff Tomchik;
supports this bill stating that even with significant advances in occupational safety standards,
there still exists adherent risks that may lead to worker injuries. It is stated that the issue
becomes evident when an employee is injured so severely, they are unable to reach
maximum medical recovery and as a result, employees are compelled to retire with a
disability pension. It is stated that when this pension is offset by the corresponding permanent
partial disability payment warranted through and defined by workers' compensation, an act of
garnishing the pension is created and construes as punitive.
NATURE AND SOURCES OF OPPOSITION:
Connecticut Council of Small Towns, Executive Director, Betsy Gara; opposes this bill stating
that this bill is an unfunded mandate that will result in costs to the 140 municipalities that offer
defined benefit plans. It is stated that this bill would also create a mechanism that would
enable a claim to continue indefinitely until a settlement is reached, which is likely to increase
costs for municipal employers. There is concern that some provisions in the bill which would
invalidate collective bargaining agreements between municipal employees and employers if
the claimant is unhappy with the settlement.
Town of Guilford, Director of Human Resources, Mitchell R. Goldblatt; opposes this bill
stating that this bill will hasten the demise of pensions in municipal government by putting
even more stress on local finances. It is stated that while municipal pensions can indeed be
high for those who earn them, it is hard to explain and justify the instances when someone
earns more in retirement than they do as an employee. There are concerns that this bill
implies that they are incapable of communicating effectively and imposes unnecessary, and
unfunded burdens on Connecticut's towns and cities.
Connecticut Conference of Municipalities, Senior Legislative Associate, Zachary McKeown;
opposes this bill stating that the costs associated with this proposal are incalculable and
unpredictable. There are concerns that this would create a system where claimants receive
greater compensation while they are out of work than when they were employed. It is also
stated that this bill would establish a precedent that would enable future legislative action to
invalidate components of collective bargaining agreements if any stake holder is unhappy
with the agreed upon result.
Reported by: Alex Koshgarian, Assistant Clerk Date: 3/22/2022
Page 2 of 2 SB-212


Statutes affected:
Raised Bill: 7-450c
LAB Joint Favorable Substitute: 7-450c
File No. 74: 7-450c