The state has awarded just 1.1% of the $34 million budget for the Essential Workers COVID-19 Assistance Program since it launched.
Robyn Porter
Lamont, labor headed for a showdown over ‘hero pay’
Labor leaders say staffing shortages will become a pandemic unto themselves if essential workers aren’t properly compensated.
Connecticut’s COVID labor law gets quick test in court
Workers laid off from a highway service plaza McDonald’s filed suit in an early test of a labor rights law.
CT lawmakers call on state to forgive unemployment overpayments for thousands
The lawmakers say the burden of correcting the overpayments shouldn’t be on people who filed their applications in good faith.
Prisoners’ families, others pressure Lamont to sign solitary confinement bill
Former UConn star and NBA coach Caron Butler was among those pressing Lamont to sign the bill
A labor agenda picks up speed in Connecticut
The labor agenda’s advance is delighting social-justice warriors energized by the tumult of the times — but is rattling conservatives.
Connecticut House joins national civil rights campaign over Black hair styles
The Connecticut House voted for a bill intended to protect Black women from discrimination over their hair.
Judiciary Committee hears testimony on changes to last summer’s police accountably bill
One police chief said they need more time to train officers on new use-of-force rules.
Pandemic eases, and complicates, legislating
The legislature’s Labor and Public Employees Committee co-chairs skipped the masks, but they were very socially distant.
Proposals to ease post-prison transitions en route to lawmakers this session
Housing, employment and research subcommittees released their recommendations to reduce barriers faced by people with criminal convictions.
Council gets input from incarcerated people about discrimination
Inmates expressed concerns about housing and employment discrimination, and fear over licensure and life insurance for people with criminal records.
Those with criminal records should help decide their fate, member says
Rep. Robyn Porter, co-chair of the Council on the Collateral Consequences of a Criminal Record, said she is open to the idea: “The people closest to the problems are closest to the solutions. That’s why people closest to the pain need to be closest to the power.”
Council begins study of discrimination against people with criminal records
Connecticut residents with criminal records face 559 barriers that can limit their ability to lead successful lives after they’ve been released from prison.
Picking up the baton: criminal justice reform moves slowly forward
Lawmakers passed several bills in the first legislative session of Gov. Ned Lamont’s tenure that build on his predecessor’s landmark criminal justice reforms.
Bill that would make prison phone calls free sent to the House
Advocates for a proposal that would allow inmates to make free telephone calls were heartened when the bill was endorsed Tuesday by the legislature’s Appropriation Committee and forwarded to the House of Representatives.