“It is a distinct pleasure to stand here among labor and legislative leaders and celebrate the power of workers,” CEA President Kate Dias told the crowd assembled today at the Hector J. Figueroa 32BJ Labor Center in Hartford for a news conference and bill signing with Governor Ned Lamont.
The governor signed HB 5003, An Act Concerning Workforce Development and Working Conditions in the State into law, ensuring that serious disciplinary and termination decisions about teachers are made through a fair, consistent, and objective process—based on facts, not politics, pressure, or personal bias. The legislation also safeguards Workers’ Compensation benefits for teachers and healthcare professionals who are injured while on the job and among its many provisions, addresses wage theft in the building trades; job protections for services workers; and requires employers to disclose position wage ranges and general benefit descriptions in job postings.
On behalf of CEA’s 43,000 members, Dias thanked the chairs of the legislature’s Labor Committee and all of the lawmakers who supported the bill.
“It’s with a great sigh of relief that teachers now go to work, knowing that if they are faced with unfair termination—that might come at them simply because they don’t agree with their employer—they now have a fair path to fight back and hold management accountable.”
Dias said that she and other labor leaders faced a lot of pushback on the bill and had to engage in tireless advocacy with lawmakers to get it over the finish line.
“These are not simple, easy wins. This is not just something that happens because of goodwill; it is not something that happens because we know it is right. This bill passed because unions fight for their people. It passed because we made an incredible amount of phone calls. We stand together, we fight for the fact that people in this state deserve good wages, and they deserve to be protected.”
Labor Committee Co-Chair Senator Julie Kushner thanked labor union leaders, members, and staff for their advocacy that helped the bill to pass.
AFT Vice President John Brady lauded another provision of the bill that also affects teachers.
“This bill provides full wage replacement to any education employee or health care employee who is assaulted in the line of duty. It’s the least we can do, but it is not the best we can do. We shouldn’t need laws on things like workplace violence or say, staffing or captive audience, and yet, we do. We do because not enough employers do the right thing without being forced, and the only way to force them is through our collective voices. We will never solve workplace shortages until we improve workplace conditions, so, I want to thank everybody that worked on this bill.”
“At its core House Bill 5003 is about dignity. It’s about safety and fairness for workers across our state,” Labor Committee Co-Chair Rep. Manny Sanchez said. “This historic workforce development legislation strengthens protections for people on the job, making sure no one has to face unsafe conditions or go without support if they are subject to harm or mistreatment at work. It brings fairness and transparency to the workplace by cracking down on unjust practices and making sure workers understand their pay and opportunities. It invests in people, expanding training, opening doors to good jobs, and connecting workers to real opportunities that match today’s economy.”
He added, “This isn’t symbolic. It’s a real step toward building a stronger economy that works for everyone.”
“It was incredible, the number of you in this room that worked on this from your leadership to all of the staff to the members that were there reminding us every day how important this bill is,” Labor Committee Co-Chair Senator Julie Kushner said. “Every section of this bill is important, and there’s 75 of them. Every single one of them was important, and they all happened because of you. Everything that we do—it’s never just about the leaders. It’s always about all of us together.”
“I am proud that Connecticut is a state that stands by its workforce to defend workers against labor violations and ensure that they are treated fairly, and this legislation extends those protections to include a number of commonsense safeguards on behalf of those who keep our state and our economy running,” Governor Lamont said.
The fair termination section of the legislation goes into effect July 1, 2026, and the Workers’ Compensation language becomes law on October 1, 2026.
