October Roundup: Connecticut’s New Workplace Laws to Keep in Mind Heading into 2027, by Andrea Strain, Esq., 10-19-26

* This is the first in a series of articles that will address Connecticut employer’s obligations related to recently enacted laws. 

As employers enter the fourth quarter and the holiday season, with year-end hiring, budgeting and handbook updates under way and the new year just around the corner, it is a good time to confirm that Connecticut’s newest workplace laws have made it into policies and practice. Several public acts took effect on October 1, 2026. Most of the changes come from Public Act 26-12, An Act Concerning Workforce Development and Working Conditions in the State. The first hard deadline falls just after the holidays: by January 29, 2027, every employer must give its existing employees written notice of the right to reasonable accommodation for a disability.

Pay ranges and benefits in every job posting

Every Connecticut employer must now disclose the wage or wage range, and a general description of benefits, in every internal and public job advertisement (Public Act 26-12, Section 2, amending Conn. Gen. Stat. § 31-40z). “Benefits” includes health insurance, retirement benefits, fringe benefits, paid leave and any other compensation other than wages. For a position that has not been advertised, the applicant must receive the range and benefits description on request, or before any discussion of compensation, whichever comes first. Current employees receive the same information at hire, upon a change in position and upon their first request.

Two changes deserve particular attention. First, the wage range must be one the employer “sets in good faith” for the position, so employers should be able to explain how each posted range was set. Second, the law now reaches positions performed outside Connecticut when the employee reports directly to a supervisor, office or worksite in Connecticut. Applicants and employees may sue for compensatory damages, attorney’s fees and costs within two years. The act removes punitive damages as an available remedy.

Written notice of the right to disability accommodation

Employers must give written notice of an employee’s right to reasonable accommodation for a disability under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) to new employees when they start work, to existing employees by January 29, 2027, and to any employee who notifies the employer of a disability within ten days of that notification (Public Act 26-12, Section 31). The Department of Labor has published an “Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA): Employers’ Written Notice to Employees” in English and Spanish on its labor regulation posters page and displaying the Labor Commissioner’s notice in a conspicuous place satisfies the requirement. The ten-day clock starts when the employee tells the employer about a disability, not when the employee asks for an accommodation, so supervisors should know to route those conversations to human resources promptly.

Lactation breaks in addition to scheduled breaks

Employers with one or more employees must now provide reasonable break time to express breast milk or breastfeed on site in addition to the employee’s scheduled breaks (Public Act 26-12, Section 32, amending Conn. Gen. Stat. § 31-40w). Prior law contemplated using meal or break periods. The existing duty to make reasonable efforts, absent undue hardship, to provide a private space near the work area, other than a toilet stall, with access to an outlet and refrigeration or cold storage, remains. The act does not address whether the additional break time is paid. Federal law also governs lactation breaks, and employers should confirm that their pay practices satisfy both.

Training repayment agreements banned for all employers

Connecticut has long voided “employment promissory notes,” which require an employee to pay the employer if the employee leaves before a stated period, including agreements framed as reimbursement for training. That ban previously applied only to employers with twenty-six or more employees. It now applies to employers of every size, public and private (Public Act 26-12, Section 4, amending Conn. Gen. Stat. § 31-51r). Agreements to repay sums advanced, to pay for property sold or leased to the employee, governing sabbaticals for educational personnel, or negotiated with a collective bargaining representative remain permitted.

Pay code guides for employers with 100 or more employees

Employers with 100 or more employees must prepare a guide to the pay codes used for overtime and their most common pay differentials, post it on their website in English, Spanish and the other most common languages of the workforce, give employees the web address at hire, and print the on every pay statement (Public Act 26-12, Section 38, amending Conn. Gen. Stat. § 31-13a). An employer without a website may instead give each new hire a written copy in English and the employee’s primary language. A payroll vendor that provides a compliant guide satisfies the The guide must be updated each time the employer adds a new pay code for overtime or a pay differential.

Electronic monitoring and employee lounges

Employers that monitor employees electronically must now disclose the specific locations where monitoring occurs, post the notice in those locations, and give each new hire a plain-language written statement before the first day of work (Public Act 26-73). The Department of Labor has issued a revised Electronic Monitoring poster, Form DOL-100 (Rev. 10-1-2026), with spaces for the employer to list the types and locations of monitoring. Separately, a vendor operating a self-service kiosk in an employee lounge may now use a video-only camera covering the checkout and display areas, but the employer may not request or use the footage in discipline unless the vendor reports an alleged employee theft (Public Act 26-89). These changes are discussed in more detail in our companion alert on electronic monitoring.

Health care employers

Health care workers who are injured in an assault on the job now receive workers’ compensation at 100 percent of their average weekly earnings, without the usual cap, and their employers must continue their full salary during the absence, offset by any award, without charging their sick, vacation or personal leave (Public Act 26-12, Section 1). Assisted living services agencies serving managed residential communities must also provide all employees with annual training on residents’ fear of retaliation (Public Act 26-44). Our companion alert for health care employers covers both laws.

For municipal employers and boards of education

Workers’ compensation now covers employees of a state or municipal public works department traveling directly between home and duty when they are subject to emergency calls while off duty, are responding to a direct order to report while nonessential employees are excused, or are reporting after two or more mandatory overtime shifts on consecutive days (Public Act 26-12, Section 7, amending Conn. Gen. Stat. § 31-275(1)(A)). The new rule mirrors the coverage already provided to emergency telecommunicators.

Boards of education face two further changes. Effective July 1, 2026, when a tenured teacher requests a hearing on a proposed termination, the hearing must be held before an impartial hearing officer whose written decision is binding on both the board and the teacher, with costs shared equally and court review available to either side under the statutes governing arbitration awards (Public Act 26-12, Section 8, amending Conn. Gen. Stat. § 10-151). Effective October 1, 2026, board members, teachers and other board employees injured in an assault on the job receive workers’ compensation at 100 percent of their average weekly earnings, without the usual cap, and Conn. Gen. Stat. § 10-236a has been repealed (Public Act 26-12, Sections 1 and 75). Our companion alert for boards of education covers both changes.

Coming in 2027

• January 1, 2027. Connecticut’s minimum wage increases to $17.48 per hour.
• January 1, 2027. General contractors on private construction contracts entered into on or after this date become jointly and severally liable for their subcontractors’ unpaid wages. Our separate alert addresses what contractors should change in their 2027 contract forms now.
• July 1, 2027. Successor contractors and new owners at covered locations, including large residential and commercial buildings, schools, warehouses and municipal facilities, must retain the prior contractor’s building service employees for at least ninety days.

Year-end checklist

• Add a wage range and general benefits description to every open posting, including those placed by recruiters and job boards, and document how each range was set.
• Download the Department of Labor’s ADA notice, post it or distribute it to all current employees by January 29, 2027, and add it to onboarding.
• Fill out and post the revised Electronic Monitoring poster (DOL-100) if you monitor employees.
• Update payroll for the $17.48 minimum wage on January 1, 2027.
• Update lactation, onboarding and electronic monitoring policies in the 2027 handbook.
• Retire any training repayment or stay-or-pay agreements used as a condition of employment.
• If you have 100 or more employees, confirm a compliant pay code guide is posted and the web address with the pay code guide is printed or linked on pay statements.
• Boards of education should update tenured teacher termination procedures to reflect binding hearing officer decisions.
• Brief human resources and supervisors on the new notice triggers before the new year.

Author: Andrea Strain, Westchester and Connecticut Of Counsel