Gov. Ned Lamont conducted a ceremonial signing Tuesday of a bill expanding paid sick days that Democrats and Republicans agree offers voters a wedge issue separating the two parties in an election year.
As was the case with a 2019 law raising the minimum wage, not one Republican voted for the law that will transform Connecticut’s limited paid sick days mandate into a nearly universal benefit over the next three years.
Lamont, a former business owner attentive to the state’s business climate, said he was unsympathetic to business interests when they called to lobby against the bill, insisting it would be ruinous to the economy.
“Hold it, dude,” Lamont said. “I think you told me the same thing about the minimum wage. I think you told me the same thing about paid family and medical leave.”
The paid sick days law requires no additional time off at workplaces that already offer 40 hours of paid time off, regardless of whether it is classified as vacation, personal days or sick time.
Senate President Pro Tem Martin M. Looney, D-New Haven, said the law sets an important standard of protection that most employers already exceed, undermining complaints of a heavy-handed government.
“The same arguments were used when there was an effort to pass child labor laws, when there was an effort to pass workplace safety laws and the creation of OSHA,” Looney said. “There was always a whining and a hand wringing about the effect on business — how terrible it will be. And all that — it was a fraud and a lie then. It’s the same now.”
The leaders of the Republican minorities in the House and Senate agreed the issue defines the parties but disagreed on the Democrats’ assessment of its impact.
Senate Minority Leader Stephen Harding of Brookfield said the GOP is sensitive to worker needs.
“But to implement this type of small-business regulation on every single operation in the state of Connecticut is just a significant deterrence to the economy. It would be crippling to middle-class small-business owners,” Harding said.
House Minority Leader Vincent J. Candelora of North Branford said the Democrats crafted a bill that requires a tracking of the hours of part-time workers to see if they reach the thresholds necessary for earning paid time off.
“I just think that this is yet another government mandate that is not workable,” Candelora said. “Democrats like to spend other people’s money and give everything away.”
All 187 seats in the General Assembly are up for election this fall. The governor is not.
Lamont began his day with a hastily arranged event in Bridgeport to show solidarity with a city rocked by five non-fatal shootings over the Memorial Day weekend, three at the P.T. Barnum apartments.
Police said Tuesday that the P.T. Barnum shootings were related but declined to comment further. One of the victims was in critical but stable condition, but all are expected to survive, police said.
The ceremonial bill signing in New Haven was arranged last week.
The original paid sick days law passed in 2011 was limited, applying only to certain employers with 50 or more workers on a list of specific retail and service occupations. Seasonal workers were exempt.
The update expands coverage in three phases by lowering the threshold from companies with 50 or more employees to those with 25 or more on Jan. 1, 2025; to 11 in 2026; and to one in 2027.
Sen. Julie Kushner, D-Danbury, lobbied for passage of the original bill as a UAW officer and leader of the Working Families Party. She was elected to the Senate in 2018 and co-chairs the Labor and Public Employees Committee.
In her first year in office, she helped pass laws resulting in the minimum wage going from $10.10 to its current $15.69, as well as creation of a paid family and medical leave program funded by mandatory worker contributions.
While Looney was the first to make a note of the partisan nature of the sick days law, Kushner expanded on it.
“I think it’s important to note that the same thing happened when we passed paid family medical leave, and there wasn’t a single vote in either the House or the Senate by the Republican legislators. And it was a huge mistake on their part,” Kushner said.
At a ceremony in the New Haven offices of The Narrative Project, an anti-racist and social justice communications agency, Kushner accepted a pen and copy of the signed bill.
She and Looney are at odds with Lamont over another labor bill — a measure that would have created a fund intended to provide state aid to striking workers. Lamont intends to veto the bill.
On Tuesday, they ignored their differences and focused on the paid sick days expansion, which Lamont has supported for two years.
“Governor, we couldn’t have done this without you,” Kushner said. “From the very beginning, when we started talking about this bill last year very seriously, your team came to the table. And you were very easy to work with on this one.”
She smiled when saying “this one.”