Labor and Public Employees Committee
JOINT FAVORABLE REPORT
Bill No.: SB-904
AN ACT CONCERNING THE LABOR DEPARTMENT'S EXECUTIVE
Title: DIRECTOR.
Vote Date: 3/23/2021
Vote Action: Joint Favorable
PH Date: 3/4/2021
File No.:
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
REASONS FOR BILL:
This position has been vacant for a long time and it is expected that many trained /qualified
DOL employees will be lost to retirement.
RESPONSE FROM ADMINISTRATION/AGENCY:
KURT WESTBY, COMMISSIONER, DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
They support the proposed bill because it would make an essential position in the agency a
classified position instead of unclassified. The law provides the Executive Director is
appointed by the Labor Commissioner subject to the Governor's approval. This job has been
vacant for quite some time and it is critical it be made permanent in preparation for significant
challenges facing the agency. Many DOL retirements are expected in mid-2022 and a lot of
institutional knowledge will be lost. This will move the UI technology forward, therefore it is
necessary to make this position classified to ensure continuity.
NATURE AND SOURCES OF SUPPORT:
None submitted.
NATURE AND SOURCES OF OPPOSITION:
BRIAN ANDERSON, LEGISLATIVE COORDINATOR, COUNCIL 4 AFSCME
The Department of Labor doesn't need more management. A new position, while AFSCME
members struggle to catch up on a backlog and process claims is not something that should
be considered. Resources should be spent directly on serving the pubic by hiring people to
process claims, hold hearings and answer the numerous calls and emails. This position has
been vacant for years which proves it is not necessary to function. With a commissioner and
two deputy commissioners already, adding a new position of executive director is redundant.
They also urge any anticipated savings by not creating this position be used to hire frontline
staff that are desperately needed for conducting business. The contact center has over 100
temporary staff that should be made permanent. Restore the taxes on the richest of our
citizens and go back to the tax system similar to what was in place when our country
prospered.
SAL LUCIANO, PRESIDENT, CT AFL CIO
Since there are already two deputy commissioners, there are a number of career
professionals at the department who collectively possess more institutional knowledge than
any one person could. What they need is a significant investment in hiring frontline staff who
can process unemployment benefits, investigate wage theft claims, enforce workplace health
and safety standards, and perform other core functions. Rather than hiring sufficient staff to
handle application processes related to Pandemic Unemployment Assistance, the
department entered into a no-bid agreement with Maximus Corporation to privatize the work.
The no-bid contract siphoned taxpayer dollars to benefit an out-of-state corporation when CT
residents need jobs. In-house employees, who are accountable to taxpayers, would have
been a much better option. At a time of crisis like this, the state should be investing in their
own people instead of boosting the profits of a billion-dollar corporation.
Reported by: Marie Knudsen, Assistant Clerk Date: March 24, 2021
Page 2 of 2 SB-904


Statutes affected:
Raised Bill: 31-237
LAB Joint Favorable: 31-237
File No. 401: 31-237
Public Act No. 21-98: 31-237, 31-98