2011 LEGISLATIVE SESSION OVERVIEW
Legislators met with: Sen. Prague, Approps.
Chairs: Sen. Harp & Rep. Walker, Sen. Musto
SB 913: AN ACT MANDATING EMPLOYERS PROVIDE PAID SICK LEAVE
TO EMPLOYEES
Senate Vote: 18-17
House
Vote: 76-65
Public Act No. 11-52
Effective Date: January 1, 2012
This bill passed as amended by the strike all Senate Amendment A (LCO 7200) and was signed by Governor
Malloy. This legislation requires most employers that employ 50 or more people in the state to provide certain employees with
paid sick leave accruing at a rate of one hour per 40 hours worked. They must meet the following thresholds before they can
begin using accrued sick leave: (1) have worked for the employer for at least 680 hours and (2) have worked an average of
at least 10 hours a week for the employer in the most recent complete calendar quarter.
Potential Cost & Withholdings Relative to CTHCA
A.
Average hourly wage at Companions and Homemakers = $9.25 (according to documents you shared with us)
B. Cost to the employer of additional wages
for paid sick days = approximately $370 per employee ($9.25 per hour x 40 hours of paid sick leave -- maybe a bit more factoring
in payroll taxes, but not much).
C.
Cost of providing paid sick days when broken down into amount per hour worked = $.18 ($370 / 2040 hours of work)
So if an employer wanted to limit their direct costs from
providing 40 hours of paid sick leave per employee, the employer could establish a payroll deduction system in which $.18/hour
(or about $7.25 per week) is withheld from employee's earnings and set-aside in an account to cover use of paid leave. Paid
sick days could be paid for from that account. If the employee does not use his/her full amount of accrued sick leave the
funds withheld could be carried forward to the following year so the employee could carry-over unused sick time to the following
year at no cost to the employer. Or the employer could pay employees for unused sick leave as a "wellness" bonus
-- though they would still be required to allow the employee to carry over up to 40 hours of unused sick time from one year
to the next.
What most employers will
probably find is that employees won't really use all of their time, so if the payroll witholding is really calculated to cover
100% of the cost based on full utilization (e.g. every employee uses all 40 hours) what is likely to happen is that the fund
into which those witholdings go will actually accumulate over time and employers could make adjustments to how much is actually
withheld based on calculations of how much time is actually used.
SB 911: AN ACT CONCERNING HOMEMAKER SERVICES AND HOMEMAKER-COMPANION AGENCIES
Senate Vote: 34-0
House Vote: 146-1Public
Act No. 11-230
Effective Date: January 1, 2012
This bill passed as amended
by Senate Amendment A (LCO 5512) and was signed by Governor Malloy. This bill requires a homemaker or companion services registry
to provide notice within seven days after service begins, advising consumers that they may be considered an employer and responsible
for applicable taxes or other payments. If the registry maintains an Internet web site, a sample of the notice must be posted
on it.
*Senate Amendment “A” changes when the consumer must receive and sign the notice
and specifies that certain homemaker-companion agencies are considered registries.
The
bill defines “registry” as any person or entity engaged in the business of supplying or referring an individual
to, or placing an individual with, a consumer to provide homemaker or companion services when the individual providing the
services is either (1) directly compensated, in whole or in part, by the consumer or (2) treated, referred to, or considered
by the supplying person or entity as an independent contractor. It also specifies that a homemaker-companion agency that supplies,
refers, or places an independent contractor with a consumer is considered a registry and must meet the bill's notice requirement.
HB 6618: AN ACT CONCERNING VARIOUS REVISIONS TO PUBLIC HEALTH RELATED STATUTES
Senate Vote: 36-0
House Vote:
134-11
Public Act No. 11-242
This bill passed
as amended by House Amendment A (LCO 8423) and was signed by Governor Malloy. The effective date varies
by section. Relative to CTHCA are sections 547, 554, 555-558.
Sec. 547: Strategic Plan
for Long-Term Care Rebalancing
Effective July 1, 2012 This provision requires the DSS commissioner to develop a strategic plan, consistent with the
state’s long-term care plan, to rebalance Medicaid long-term care supports and services, including supports and services
provided in-home, in a community-based setting, and in institutions.
Sec. 554: Criminal History and Patient Abuse Background Search Program
Effective July 1, 2012 This
provision requires DPH to establish a program to facilitate the searches, receive criminal history record check results from
the Department of Public Safety and notify facilities of people with disqualifying offenses. By February 12, 2012, DPH must
submit the plan, including recommendations on whether to include homemaker-companion agencies in the program’s scope,
to the Aging, Appropriations, and Public Health Committees.
Sec. 555-558: Criminal Background Checks for Homemaker Companion Agencies
Effective January 1, 2012 this
provision requires any person applying to the Department of Consumer Protection for a homemaker-companion agency registration
certificate to submit to state and national criminal history record checks. The bill also expands the definition of “homemaker
companion agency” to include registries. It defines “registry” as any person or entity engaged in the business
of supplying or referring an individual to, or placing an individual with, a consumer to provide homemaker or companion services
when the individual providing the services is either (1) directly compensated, in whole or in part, by the consumer or (2)
treated, referred to, or considered by the supplying person or entity as an independent contractor.
SB 297: AN ACT
CONCERNING AN AMENDMENT TO THE MEDICAID STATE PLAN UNDER SECTION 1915(i) OF THE SOCIAL SECURITY ACT TO PROVIDE HOME CARE SERVICES
This bill did
not pass as it was never called in the Senate. This bill would have required
the Department of Social Services commissioner to improve access to home- and community-based services (HCBS) for individuals
eligible for the state-funded portion of the Connecticut Home Care Program for Elders (CHCPE) by seeking a “Section
1915 (i)” amendment to the Medicaid state plan.
SB 620: AN ACT CONCERNING A PLAN TO ENCOURAGE “AGING IN PLACE”
This bill did not pass as it never made it out of Human Services Committee in April. This
legislation would have developed a comprehensive plan to foster a change in Connecticut culture toward aging in place
SB 775: AN ACT INCREASING ELIGIBILITY FOR THE CONNECTICUT HOME-CARE PROGRAM FOR
THE ELDERLYThis bill did not pass as it
did not make it out of the Appropriations Committee in March. This legislation would have increased the asset limits for the
state-funded home-care program for the elderly.
SB 1107: AN ACT CONCERNING MICLASSIFICATION IN THE HOMEMAKER-COMPANION AGENCY INDUSTRY
This bill did not pass as it never made it out of the Labor & Public Employees Committee
in March. This bill would have ensured that homemaker-companion agencies that operate as registries or provide referral services
classify persons providing home health care services properly and pay unemployment taxes accordingly.
HB
6486: AN ACT CONCERNING HOME HEALTH CARE SERVICES AND THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A PERSONAL CARE ATTENDANT WORKFORCE COUNCIL
This bill did not pass as it was never called in the House. The bill would have established
a Personal Care Attendant Quality Workforce Council charged with various tasks aimed at improving the recruitment, retention,
and working conditions of PCAs.