(a) As used in this section:
(1) ”Eligible applicant” means any person who (A) (i) worked during the entire period of the public health and civil preparedness emergency declared by the Governor on March 10, 2020, or any extension of such declaration, up until May 7, 2022, and (ii) was in a category recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, as of February 20, 2021, to receive a COVID-19 vaccination in phase 1a or 1b of the COVID-19 vaccination program, (B) is not a federal, state or municipal employee, (C) was not employed in a capacity where the employee worked or could have worked from home, and (D) meets the income criteria established in subsection (b) of this section;
(2) “Administrator” means an employee of the office of the Comptroller, or a third-party administrator;
(3) “Full-time” means any eligible applicant who worked thirty hours or more per week;
(4) “Part-time” means any eligible applicant who worked less than thirty hours per week; and
(5) “Premium pay” means moneys payable by the Comptroller from the Connecticut Premium Pay program, established pursuant to subsection (b) of this section, to recognize and compensate eligible applicants for their service pursuant to this section.
(b) (1) There is established the Connecticut Premium Pay program. The program shall provide payment to each full-time eligible applicant that applied prior to or on October 1, 2022, according to the following formula: (A) One thousand dollars to each worker whose individual income was less than fifty thousand dollars; (B) eight hundred dollars to each worker whose individual income was greater than or equal to fifty thousand dollars and less than sixty thousand dollars; (C) seven hundred fifty dollars to each worker whose individual income was greater than or equal to sixty thousand dollars and less than seventy thousand dollars; (D) five hundred dollars to each worker whose individual income was greater than or equal to seventy thousand dollars and less than eighty thousand dollars; (E) two hundred fifty dollars to each worker whose individual income was greater than or equal to eighty thousand dollars and less than ninety thousand dollars; (F) two hundred dollars to each worker whose individual income was greater than or equal to ninety thousand dollars and less than one hundred thousand dollars; and (G) one hundred dollars to each worker whose individual income was greater than or equal to one hundred thousand dollars and less than one hundred and fifty thousand dollars. No payment shall be made to any full-time eligible applicant whose income is one hundred fifty thousand dollars or more. The program shall provide two hundred dollars to each part-time eligible applicant. No assistance shall be paid to any eligible applicant after June 30, 2024. The program shall be administered by the office of the Comptroller, or a third party under contract with said office to act as an administrator.
(2) The administrator shall accept applications for assistance on and after May 7, 2022. For the purposes of this section, the administrator shall be authorized to: (A) Determine whether an eligible applicant meets the requirements for eligibility for compensation under this section; (B) summon and examine under oath such witnesses who may provide information relevant to the eligibility of an eligible applicant; (C) direct the production of, and examine or cause to be produced or examined, such books, records, vouchers, memoranda, documents, letters, contracts or other papers in relation to any matter at issue as the administrator may find proper; and (D) take or cause to be taken affidavits or depositions within or without the state.
(c) There is established an account to be known as the “Connecticut premium pay account” which shall be a separate, nonlapsing account within the General Fund. The account shall contain any moneys required by law to be deposited in the account. Moneys in the account shall be expended by the Comptroller at the direction of the administrator for purposes of: (1) Compensation provided under the Connecticut Premium Pay program; and (2) costs and expenses of operating the program, including hiring of necessary employees and the expense of public outreach and education regarding the program and account. Not more than five per cent of the total moneys received by the account shall be used for any administrative costs, including hiring of temporary or durational staff or contracting with a third-party administrator, or other costs and expenses incurred by the administrator or Comptroller in connection with carrying out the provisions of this section. The administrator shall make all reasonable efforts to limit the costs and expenses of operating the program without compromising eligible applicants' access to the program.
(d) To apply for compensation from the Connecticut Premium Pay program, an eligible applicant shall submit a claim to the administrator, in such form and manner as required by the administrator, not later than October 1, 2022. Any such claim shall include: (1) Proof of employment as an eligible applicant from March 10, 2020, to May 7, 2022, as determined by an eligible applicant's proof of earnings; and (2) any additional information as requested or required by the administrator. An eligible applicant may submit, as proof of employment, official payroll records or another form of proof including, but not limited to, a letter from an employer stating the eligible applicant's dates of work, or a declaration from an individual with personal knowledge of the eligible applicant's employment.
(e) The administrator shall promptly review all applications for compensation submitted pursuant to this section. The administrator shall evaluate each application and determine, on the basis of the information provided by the eligible applicant, or additional information provided at the request of the administrator, whether or not such application shall be approved. The administrator shall provide such determination, in writing, to each applicant not later than sixty business days after the date the application is submitted, or, if the administrator requested additional information, not later than ten business days after the administrator receives such additional information from the applicant. If such claim is approved, the administrator shall direct the Comptroller to pay the full-time or part-time eligible applicant in accordance with subsection (b) of this section not later than ten business days after such approval.
(f) An eligible applicant may request that a determination made pursuant to subsection (e) of this section be reconsidered by filing a request with the administrator, on a form prescribed by the administrator, not later than twenty business days after the mailing of the notice of such determination. The administrator shall, not later than three business days after receipt of such request for reconsideration, designate an individual to conduct such reconsideration and shall submit to such designated individual all documents relating to such eligible applicant's application and request for reconsideration. The administrator's designee shall reconsider each determination requested by an eligible applicant pursuant to this subsection. Such review shall consist of a de novo review of all relevant evidence and shall be completed not later than twenty business days after such individual's request for reconsideration. Such designee shall issue a decision affirming, modifying or reversing the decision of the administrator not later than twenty business days after the designee's reconsideration of the determination and shall submit such decision, in writing, to the administrator and the applicant. The decision shall include a short statement of findings that shall specify if premium pay shall be paid to the applicant in accordance with subsection (e) of this section.
(g) Any statement, document, information or matter may be considered by the administrator or, on reconsideration, by the administrator's designee, if, in the opinion of the administrator or designee, it contributes to a determination of the claim, whether or not the same would be admissible in a court of law.
(h) Notwithstanding sections 4-183 and 51-197b, there shall be no right of appeal by any applicant following the final decision of the administrator's designee issued pursuant to subsection (f) of this section.
(i) If a payment is made to a program applicant erroneously, or as a result of wilful misrepresentation by such applicant, the administrator may seek repayment of benefits from the applicant having received such payment and may also, in the case of wilful misrepresentation, seek payment of a penalty in the amount of fifty per cent of the benefits paid as a result of such misrepresentation. Any person, including an employer, who intentionally aids, abets, assists, promotes or facilitates the making of, or the attempt to make, any claim for payment or the receipt or attempted receipt of payment by another person in violation of this subsection shall be liable for the same financial penalty as the person making, or attempting to make, such claim or receiving, or attempting to receive, benefits from the program.
(j) On or before July 31, 2022, and monthly thereafter, and any other time at the request of the administrator, the Comptroller shall submit a report to the administrator indicating the value of the Connecticut premium pay account at the time of the report.
(k) On or before September 1, 2022, and at least quarterly thereafter, the administrator shall submit a report, in accordance with the provisions of section 11-4a, to the joint standing committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to labor on the financial condition of the Connecticut premium pay account. Such report shall include: (1) An estimate of the account's value as of the date of the report; (2) the effect of scheduled payments on the account's value; (3) an estimate of the monthly administrative costs necessary to operate the program and the account; and (4) any recommendations for legislation to improve the operation or administration of the program and the account.
(P.A. 22-118, S. 143; Nov. Sp. Sess. P.A. 22-1, S. 3.)
History: P.A. 22-118 effective May 7, 2022; Nov. Sp. Sess. P.A. 22-1 amended Subsec. (b)(1) to adjust payment amounts, corresponding salary ranges and applicable application dates, effective November 29, 2022, and applicable to applications submitted on or after May 7, 2022, and prior to or on October 1, 2022.
Structure Connecticut General Statutes