§ 31-49h — Implementation of Paid Family and Medical Leave Insurance Program. Written procedures. Paid Family and Medical Leave Authority. Board of directors. Requests for proposals.

Connecticut § 31-49h

• Jurisdiction: Connecticut
• Title 31: Labor
• Ch. 557: Employment Regulation

Text

(a) The board, on behalf of the authority, and for the purpose of implementing the Paid Family and Medical Leave Insurance Program established in section 31-49g , shall adopt written procedures in accordance with the provisions of section 1-121 for the purposes of: (1) Adopting an annual budget and plan of operations, including a requirement of board approval before such budget or plan may take effect; (2) Adopting bylaws for the regulation of the affairs of the board and the conduct of its business; (3) Hiring, dismissing, promoting and compensating employees of the authority and instituting an affirmative action policy; (4) Acquiring real and personal property and personal services, including requiring board approval for any nonbudgeted expenditure in excess of five thousand dollars; (5) Contracting for financial, legal and other professional services, and requiring that the authority solicit proposals not less than every three years for each such service used by the board; (6) Using surplus funds to the extent authorized under sections 31-49f to 31-49t , inclusive, or any other provisions of the general statutes; (7) Establishing an administrative process by which grievances, complaints and appeals regarding employment at the authority are reviewed and addressed by the board; and (8) Implementing the provisions of sections 31-49e to 31-49t , inclusive, or other provisions of the general statutes, as appropriate. (b) The Paid Family and Medical Leave Authority may: (1) Adopt an official seal and alter the same at the pleasure of the board; (2) Maintain an office at such place or places in the state as the board may designate; (3) Sue and be sued, and plea and be impleaded, in its own name; (4) Establish criteria and guidelines for the Paid Family and Medical Leave Insurance Program to be offered pursuant to this section, sections 31-49f and 31-49g and sections 31-49i to 31-49t , inclusive; (5) Employ staff, agents and contractors as may be necessary or desirable and fix the compensation of such persons; (6) Design, establish and operate the program to ensure transparency in the management of the program through oversight and ethics review of plan fiduciaries; (7) Design and establish a process by which employees and self-employed individuals or sole proprietors who have enrolled in the program pursuant to section 31-49m shall contribute a portion of their subject earnings to the trust; (8) Evaluate and establish a process by which employers may credit employee contributions to the trust through payroll deposit; (9) Ensure that contributions to the trust collected from employees and self-employed individuals or sole proprietors who have enrolled in the program pursuant to section 31-49m shall not be used for any purpose other than providing compensation to covered employees, educating and informing persons about the program and paying the operational, administrative and investment costs of the program; (10) Establish and maintain a secure Internet web site that displays all public notices issued by the authority and such other information as the authority deems relevant and necessary for the implementation of the program and for the education of the public regarding the program; (11) Establish policies, or written procedures in accordance with the provisions of section 1-121 , as appropriate, including, but not limited to, policies or procedures: (A) Establishing a process to determine whether an individual meets the requirements for compensation under this section, including the certification required for establishing eligibility for such compensation; (B) Establishing methods by which any books, records, documents, contracts or other papers relevant to the eligibility of a covered employee shall be examined, or caused to be produced or examined; (C) Establishing methods by which witnesses who provide information relevant to a covered employee's claim for family and medical leave compensation may be summoned and examined under oath; (D) Ensuring the confidentiality of records and documents relating to medical certifications, recertifications and medical histories of covered employees and covered employees' family members pursuant to section 31-51oo ; (E) Establishing the percentage of subject earnings each employee and self-employed individuals or sole proprietors who have enrolled in the program pursuant to section 31-49m shall contribute to the Family and Medical Leave Insurance Trust Fund, provided such percentage shall not exceed one-half of one per cent; (F) Certifying the ongoing solvency of the Family and Medical Leave Insurance Trust Fund and adjusting the compensation offered to covered employees as necessary to ensure the solvency of the fund as provided in subdivision (3) of subsection (c) of section 31-49g , provided the contribution percentage established by the Authority pursuant to subdivision (5) of this section has reached the statutory maximum; and (G) Determining whether an employer meets the requirements for the administration of a private plan, including the approval, oversight and termination of such private plan, and developing any potential alternate measure of subject earnings for the purposes of calculating compensation under such plans; (12) Notwithstanding any provision of the general statutes, and to the extent consistent with federal law, (A) use state administrative data collected by any agency for the purposes of carrying out and implementing such program, including, but not limited to, eligibility determination, benefit calculation, program planning, recipient outreach and continuous improvement and program evaluation, including assessment of longitudinal impact; and (B) share user data and other data collected through program administration with other state agencies for purposes, including, but not limited to, improving delivery of benefits and services to program participants and other persons, streamlining eligibility determination for programs administered by other agencies, recipient outreach and continuous improvement and program evaluation, including assessment of longitudinal impact. Expenses incurred for activities undertaken pursuant to this subdivision, as well as compensation paid to other state agencies for any associated costs, shall be considered appropriate administrative expenses of the program. (13) Enter into agreements with any department, agency, office or instrumentality of the United States or this state to carry out the purposes of the program, including, but not limited to: (A) Memoranda of understanding with the Labor Department and other state agencies regarding (i) the gathering or dissemination of information necessary for the operations of the program, subject to such obligations of confidentiality as may be agreed or required by law, (ii) the sharing of costs incurred pursuant to the gathering and dissemination of such information, and (iii) the reimbursement of costs for any enforcement activities conducted pursuant to section 31-49r . Each state agency may also enter into such memoranda of understanding; (B) Memoranda of understanding with the Department of Revenue Services and the Labor Department for (i) the collection of employee contributions, and (ii) the reimbursement of costs by the authority for any costs incurred related to the collection of employee contributions. The Department of Revenue Services and the Labor Department shall also enter into such memoranda of understanding; and (C) Memoranda of understanding with the Labor Department for (i) the adjudication of claims by covered employees aggrieved by a denial of compensation under the Family and Medical Leave Insurance Program, and (ii) the reimbursement of costs by the authority for any costs incurred by the Labor Department related to the adjudication of contested claims or penalties imposed pursuant to section 31-49r . The Labor Department shall also enter into such memoranda of understanding. (14) Make and enter into any contract or agreement necessary or incidental to the performance of its duties and execution of its powers. The contracts and agreements entered into by the authority shall not be subject to the approval of any other state department, office or agency, provided copies of all such contracts shall be maintained by the authority as public records, subject to the proprietary rights of any party to such contracts. No contract shall contain any provision in which any contractor derives any direct or indirect economic benefit from denying or otherwise influencing the outcome of any claim for benefits. The standard criteria for the evaluation of proposals relating to claims processing, web site development, database development, marketing and advertising, in the event the authority seeks the services of an outside contractor for such tasks, and for the evaluation of proposals relating to all other contracts in amounts equal to or exceeding two hundred fifty thousand dollars shall include, but need not be limited to: (A) Transparency, (B) cost, (C) efficiency of operations, (D) quality of work related to the contracts issued, (E) user experience, (F) accountability, and (G) a cost-benefit analysis documenting the direct and indirect costs of such contracts, including qualitative and quantitative benefits that will result from the implementation of such contracts. The establishment of additional standard criteria shall be approved by a two-thirds vote of the board after such criteria have been posted on a public Internet web site maintained by the authority for notice and comment for at least one week prior to such vote. (15) Do all things necessary or convenient to carry out the provisions of sections 31-49e to 31-49t , inclusive.

Legislative History

(P.A. 19-25, S. 4; 19-117, S. 234.) History: P.A. 19-25 effective June 25, 2019; P.A. 19-117 amended Subsec. (b)(14) by deleting reference to Subsec. (c), and adding provision re criteria for evaluation of certain proposals, deleted former Subsec. (c) re board of directors issuance of requests for proposals, and made technical changes, effective June 26, 2019.