Salary Ranges on Ads, Reasonable Accommodations for Menopause, Restrictions on Non-Competes, Service Workers Retention: Workplace Bills Poised for Votes; Warehouse Quota Bill Passed

With just three weeks remaining in this session of the General Assembly, and a scheduled pause to coincide with school spring vacation, legislators will have only 12 days to debate and vote on the more than 600 bills that have advanced out of committee. The legislature adjourns on May 6, 2026.

Below, we provide a summary of the employment bills up for consideration. If passed:

Reasonable Accommodation for Menopause Related Conditions, SB 353

Connecticut employers would be required to provide reasonable accommodations for conditions related to menopause, unless doing so would cause an undue hardship.

SB 353 would amend Connecticut's discrimination law, which currently requires employers to provide reasonable accommodation for pregnancy, to provide them for menopause related conditions as well.

The bill directs the Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities to develop model workplace policies and materials on menopause accommodations for employers.

Effective Date: October 1, 2026.

Public Disclosure of Salary Ranges and Benefits for a Position, HB 5387

This bill would require employers advertising a job opening to include the salary range and a general description of benefits for the position. Significantly, this requirement would apply to both public and internal job postings.     

Current law only requires employers to provide the wage range for a position when making an offer of employment to a prospective employee or when an employee requests it.  

Effective Date: October 1, 2026.

Paycheck Transparency, HB 5386

This would require employers to create a guide for any pay codes used on paychecks and post them on the internet in English, Spanish, and the other most common languages spoken by their employees. This includes pay codes for on call pay, hazard pay, call-back pay, holiday pay, and pay differentials.

Employers would also need to include the website address for the pay code guide on each pay record issued to the employee.

Effective Date: October 1, 2026.

Prohibitions on Non-Disclosure/Non-Disparagement Agreements, SB 355

This bill would restrict workplace confidentiality and non-disparagement provisions by:

• Making it a discriminatory practice for an employer to terminate an employee for disclosing conduct he “reasonably believes” to be a discriminatory employment practice, or requiring an employee to enter into an agreement that prohibits the employee from disclosing this conduct;

• Voiding non-disparagement and non-disclosure provisions that prevent the employee from disclosing conduct the employee reasonably believes to be a discriminatory practice; and

• Voiding non-disclosure provisions in employment agreements that prohibit an employee from disclosing conduct he reasonably believes to be illegal discrimination, harassment, or retaliation; a wage and hour violation; sexual assault; or conduct that is recognized as against a clear mandate of public policy.

An employer who violates these provisions would be liable to the employee for actual damages or statutory damages of $10,000, whichever is more.

Effective Date: October 1, 2026.

Limitations on Non-Compete Agreements, HB 5492

Over the last several years, the Connecticut legislature as introduced bills restricting non-competes, which have so far failed to pass. 

This session’s proposed bill would void any non-competes that:

• Apply to hourly workers making less than two times the minimum wage;

• Apply to independent contractors earning less than five times the minimum wage;

• Apply to geographic areas where the worker did not provide services or have a material presence or influence; or

• Apply to types of work the worker didn’t perform.

The bill would also limit non-competes to a period of not more than one year in most cases. 

Effective Date: October 1, 2026.

Required Retention of Predecessor’s Employees , HB 5003

A provision of HB 5003 could have sweeping implications for businesses that provide, and businesses that use, services such as grounds maintenance, janitorial work, security, housekeeping, food preparation, and healthcare, among others. 

Under current practice, when a contract ends, the outgoing contractor’s employees typically lose their jobs at that job site, and the incoming contractor brings in its own team. HB 5003 would instead require the new contractor to inherit the old contractor’s workforce for 90 days, and then offer them permanent employment if their work is satisfactory. 

Who Would Be Covered Under the Proposed Bill?

• Building service contractors providing services such as janitorial work, groundskeeping, housekeeping, and security at the following “covered entities:”

• Industrial sites

• Banks

• Pharmaceutical laboratories

• Hospitals, nursing homes, and assisted living facilities

• Warehouses and distribution centers

• Residential apartment or condominium buildings or complexes with more than 50 units

• Commercial centers or complexes exceeding 75,000 square feet

• Municipal office buildings or facilities

• Electric or natural gas utility facilities

• Public and private elementary, middle, and high schools

• Cultural centers (including museums, convention centers, arenas, and performance halls)

• Shopping malls

• Airports and train stations

• Colleges and universities

• Contractors providing food preparation/dietary services or healthcare services at the following “covered entities:” Schools, hospitals, nursing homes, and assisted living facilities.

What Would the Bill Require?

When a “covered entity” terminates a service contract:

• The covered entity must provide at least 15 days’ notice of termination to the outgoing contractor.

• The outgoing contractor must supply the incoming contractor with a list of employees who worked at the site.

• The incoming contractor must retain those employees for a 90-day transition period.

• At the end of the 90 days, the incoming contractor must offer continued employment to those employees, provided their performance is satisfactory.

Effective Date: October 1, 2026.

Unemployment for Striking Workers, SB 440

This bill would allow striking workers involved in a labor dispute to collect unemployment after 14 consecutive days on strike. The general assembly passed a similar bill in 2025, which was ultimately vetoed by the Governor. It is being reintroduced this session. 

Effective Date: October 1, 2026.

Employer Indemnification for Expenses Due to Assaults, HB 5003

If a healthcare worker suffers an assault in performing their duties, this bill would require the healthcare employer to cover any expenses not covered by health insurance or workers' compensation. 

Effective October 1, 2026.

Paying Employees for Closures Due to Inclement Weather, HB 5003

Another section of HB 5003 would require employers to pay employees for shifts cancelled due to a workplace closing for inclement weather where their duties cannot be performed remotely.

It would also prohibit employers from requiring the employee to use PTO in the case of cancelled shifts. 

Effective Date: Upon passage.

Advanced Notice of Employee Scheduling, SB 436

This bill generally requires employers with at least 500 employees in retail, food service, hospitality, or certain occupations in long-term health care services establishments to pay non-exempt employees for schedule changes. 

It allows exceptions to these requirements under certain circumstances, such as when an employee makes a written request for leave, employees mutually agree to swap shifts, during power outages or a declared state of emergency.

The bill also prohibits employers from scheduling or requiring an employee to work during the first 11 hours after the (1) employee’s previous regular or on-call shift ended or (2) regular or on-call shift ended, if it lasted more than a day. However, the employee can consent, in writing, to work hours during these rest periods and the employer must pay the employee time and half.

Effective Date: October 1, 2026.

Restrictions on Warehouse Worker Production Quotas

Warehouses will be restricted in their use of employee production quotas beginning July 1, 2026 under Public Act 26-1. The Act was signed by Governor Lamont on March 3, 2026.

The law:

• Restricts the use of employee production quotas;

• Sets quota-related notice requirements, prohibitions and record keeping requirements on employers, and

• Allows aggrieved employees to sue for violations.

Employers Covered by the Law

The law applies to “warehouse distribution centers” with 250 employees at a single location or 1,000 employees at multiple locations across the state. 

A “warehouse distribution center” is a warehouse as defined by specific codes under the North American Industrial Classification System (NAICS).

Among others, these include general warehousing and storage, certain wholesale trade operations, e-commerce, couriers and certain retail and home center operations.

Employees Covered by the Law

The law applies to non-exempt employees at covered warehouse distribution centers. Drivers or couriers traveling to and from a warehouse distribution center are excluded from the law.

Prohibited Quotas

The bill prohibits quotas that:

• Prevent employees from taking a 30 minute meal break after 7.5 hours of work;

• Interfere with employees’ use of bathroom facilities, including reasonable time to travel to and from them;

• Set performance standards that measure an employee’s total output over a time increment shorter than the employee’s workday; or

• Set performance standards based solely on ranking an employee’s performance in relation to other employees’ performance.

Quota Disclosure

The bill requires covered employers to give employees a written description quotas they are subject to, including any potential adverse employment action that could result from failing to meet it by August 1, 2026. 

For new hires, the disclosure must be provided upon hire.

Employers must also provide written notice of any changes to an employee’s quota requirements within 2 days of the change.

Record Retention

Employers must maintain records for 3 years of each employee’s work speed data, aggregate work speed data for similar employees at the same warehouse, and written quota descriptions given to each employee.

From the Employment Lawyer’s Desk

Question: One of our employees said we were supposed to give two ten minute breaks-one in the morning and one in the afternoon. He said he called the Labor Board and was told that’s the law.

Answer: It is highly unlikely that the employee called the “Labor Board” and more unlikely that you need to provide two 10 minute breaks. Neither Connecticut nor federal law requires a break period, with few exceptions (e.g. for truck drivers, pilots). Employers have the obligation to provide a 30 minute unpaid meal break for employees who work 7.5 hours.

Connecticut has a State Board of Labor Relations that addresses labor-management issues, but this would not be one.