Substitute Senate Bill No. 1415 establishes minimum wage requirements for nursing home workers providing direct care and certain group home employees. Starting July 1, 2025, nursing homes must ensure that all direct care employees earn at least $22.50 per hour by January 1, 2026, and $25.00 per hour by January 1, 2027. Medicaid-funded nursing homes are exempt from these requirements unless state payment rates are adequate to cover the wage increases. Additionally, nursing homes that receive rate adjustments for wage increases but do not raise employee salaries may face a rate decrease from the Commissioner of Social Services. The bill also repeals and substitutes certain provisions in section 19a-491a of the general statutes, including the addition of wage data compliance requirements for nursing home licensing.

The bill extends similar wage increase requirements to nonprofit employers operating group homes for individuals with intellectual or developmental disabilities, mandating a minimum wage of $22.50 by January 1, 2026, and $25.00 by January 1, 2027. Employees earning between the minimum wage and $30 per hour will receive a maximum 5% salary increase for the fiscal years ending June 30, 2026, and June 30, 2027. Nonprofit employers receiving state funds must document their wage increase schedules and report on the impact of these increases on employee retention and service quality by December 31, 2026. The Office of Policy and Management is responsible for transferring funds to support these wage increases, and the OPM secretary must report on the funding and its effects by the end of 2026.