Connecticut 2026 Legislative Session End

This blog post is to inform you that Connecticut has completed its 2026 legislative session. The following enacted bills may or may not affect posting requirements.

CT S 298 Reallocation of Certain State Funds

Effective July 1, 2026, employers operating warehouse distribution centers must disclose productivity quotas to employees who are not exempt from the minimum wage and overtime requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act. A quota is defined as a performance standard where an employee is required to perform at a specified productivity speed, meet a quantified number of tasks, or produce a quantified amount of material within a defined time period; where employee actions are measured between time performing and not performing tasks; where increments of active or inactive time are tallied; or where an employee’s performance is ranked in relation to their peers. These quotas may not interfere with an employee’s legally mandated meal breaks or their use of bathroom facilities, including reasonable travel time. Employers must provide detailed written notice of each productivity quota (including potential adverse employment actions for failing to meet them) to current employees no later than August 1, 2026, and to new hires immediately upon hire. Additionally, employers are prohibited from taking adverse actions against employees for failing to satisfy non-disclosed or non-compliant quotas, and they must maintain accurate records of individual and aggregate employee work speed data, along with copies of the written quota descriptions, for a minimum of three years.

CT S 90 Crimes Statutes

Under the law, it is a hate crime if someone commits a discriminatory public accommodation practice with the specific intent to intimidate or harass another person. The statute prohibits the denial of equal accommodations in any place of public accommodation because of race, creed, color, national origin, ancestry, sex, gender identity or expression, marital status, age, lawful source of income, intellectual, mental or physical disability, status as a veteran, or status as a victim of domestic violence. A violation categorized as a hate crime by discriminatory public accommodations practice is classified as a class D misdemeanor. The law goes into effect October 1, 2026.

CT S 5 Online Safety

The law applies to employers’ use of automated employment decision technologies (AEDT). Automated employment-related decision technology is defined as “any technology that processes personal data and uses computation to generate any output, including, but not limited to, any prediction, recommendation, classification, ranking, score or other information, that is a substantial factor used to make or materially influence an employment-related decision.” Employment-related decision is defined as “any decision, made based on any individual’s personal data, to hire, promote, discipline or discharge such individual, to renew such individual’s employment, to select such individual for any training or apprenticeship or with respect to such individual’s tenure or terms, privileges or conditions of employment, and (B) does not include any such decision that (i) results in any nonmaterial change in such individual’s job tasks, work responsibilities, hours or work assignments, or (ii) is made with respect to workplace health and safety, scheduling and planning or productivity monitoring.”

The law integrates AEDT into Connecticut’s anti-discrimination statute by providing that the use of AEDT shall not be a defense against a complaint alleging a discriminatory practice. Employers cannot avoid liability by asserting that AEDT made or materially influenced the employer’s decision. Evidence of anti-bias testing or similar proactive efforts to avoid discriminatory practices, the results of the testing or efforts, and the response to those results may be considered. Employers are required to provide plain-language disclosures when individuals directly interact with AEDT, as well as prior written notice to any applicant or employee whose career status will be materially influenced by an automated tool’s output. The law goes into effect October 1, 2026.

CT S 439 Electronic Surveillance Devices

Third-party vendors managing self-service kiosks may utilize surveillance devices provided the equipment does not record sound or voice, and its visual recording filed is strictly confined to the immediate checkout and product display areas. Self-service kiosk is defined as “an interactive stand-alone terminal that allows individuals to independently scan and purchase items for sale.” The third-party vendor must maintain sole custody of the gathered video footage and is barred from sharing it with the employer unless the vendor explicitly reports an incident of alleged employee theft. The law goes into effect October 1, 2026.

CT S 472 Electronic Surveillance of Employees

Any employer engaging in electronic monitoring must provide advanced written notice to all affected employees, detailing the types of tracking utilized, such as computer, telephone, camera, or data system surveillance, and specifying the exact locations on the premises where this monitoring occurs. Employers must satisfy this requirement by posting a conspicuous notice in a readily accessible area, which must explicitly include the specific physical locations under surveillance. For any individual hired on or after October 1, 2026, employers must provide a written, plain-language statement prior to the start of employment that explicitly outlines which workplace activities are strictly prohibited and details the circumstances under which tracking may occur without prior written warning. The requirement to disclose the specific location where electronic monitoring may occur does not apply to airports, or when an employer has reasonable grounds to conduct monitoring for security and employee safety purposes. The law goes into effect October 1, 2026.

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