(a) There is established a Paid Family and Medical Leave Insurance Authority which shall be a body politic and corporate and shall constitute a public instrumentality and political subdivision of the state created for the performance of an essential public and governmental function. The authority shall not be construed to be a department, institution or agency of the state.
(b) The powers of the authority shall be vested in and exercised by a board of directors, which shall consist of thirteen voting members, as follows: (1) The Labor Commissioner, or his or her designee, who shall serve as an ex-officio voting member; (2) the Secretary of the Office of Policy and Management, or his or her designee, who shall serve as an ex-officio voting member; (3) the Commissioner of Administrative Services, or his or her designee, who shall serve as an ex-officio voting member; (4) the Commissioner of Economic and Community Development, or his or her designee, who shall serve as an ex-officio voting member; (5) one appointed by the speaker of the House of Representatives, who shall have skill, knowledge and experience in the interests of employees; (6) one appointed by the majority leader of the House of Representatives, who shall be an attorney advocating for the rights, benefits and opportunities of employees; (7) one appointed by the minority leader of the House of Representatives, who shall have skill, knowledge and experience in the interests of disability insurance plans; (8) one appointed by the president pro tempore of the Senate, who shall be an impacted individual who has personal knowledge and experience with economically distressed and underserved communities and is reflective of the ethnic and economic diversity of such communities; (9) one appointed by the majority leader of the Senate, who shall have skill, knowledge and experience in the interests of small business employees; (10) one appointed by the minority leader of the Senate, who shall have skill, knowledge and experience in the interests of employees of large businesses; and (11) three appointed by the Governor, one of whom shall have skill, knowledge and experience in modern software practices, and two of whom shall have skill, knowledge and experience in family and medical leave programs. The State Treasurer, or his or her designee, and the State Comptroller, or his or her designee, shall serve as ex-officio nonvoting members. Each member appointed pursuant to subdivisions (5) to (11), inclusive, of this subsection shall serve an initial term of four years. Thereafter, said members of the General Assembly and the Governor shall appoint members of the board to succeed such appointees whose terms have expired and each member so appointed shall hold office for a term of three years from July first in the year of his or her appointment. Members shall hold office until a successor member has been duly appointed. Any member who fails to attend three consecutive meetings or who fails to attend fifty per cent of all meetings held during any calendar year shall be deemed to have resigned from the board.
(c) All initial appointments to the board shall be made not later than July 1, 2019. Any vacancy shall be filled by the appointing authority not later than thirty calendar days after the office becomes vacant. Any member previously appointed to the board may be reappointed.
(d) The Governor shall select a chairperson of the board from among the members of the board. The board shall annually elect a vice-chairperson and such other officers as it deems necessary from among its members. The board may appoint an executive director, who shall not be a member of the board and who shall serve at the pleasure of the board. The executive director shall be an employee of the authority and shall receive such compensation as prescribed by the board.
(e) (1) On and after January 1, 2022, the employees of the authority shall be considered state employees for the purposes of sections 5-270 to 5-280, inclusive. To the extent such employees are performing jobs which would normally be within a current executive branch bargaining unit, such jobs shall be added to the unit descriptions of such bargaining units and employees in those jobs shall be deemed part of such units. Managerial employees and other employees not covered by a collective bargaining agreement shall be exempt from the classified service. With regard to unclassified positions, the authority shall not be required to comply with personnel policies and procedures of the Department of Administrative Services and the Office of Policy and Management with regard to approval for the creation of new positions, the number of such positions, the decision to fill such positions or the time for filling such positions. The authority, not the executive branch, shall have the power to determine whether an individual is qualified to fill an unclassified position at the authority. The authority shall determine the qualifications and set the terms and conditions of employment of employees not covered by a collective bargaining agreement, including the establishment of compensation and incentive plans, subject to such bargaining obligation as may be created if any such employees elect an exclusive bargaining agent pursuant to the provisions of sections 5-270 to 5-280, inclusive.
(2) The executive branch shall be authorized and empowered to negotiate on behalf of the authority with employees of the authority covered by collective bargaining and represent the authority in all other collective bargaining matters. The authority shall be entitled to have a representative present at all such bargaining.
(3) In any interest arbitration regarding employees of the authority, the arbitrator shall take into account the purpose of this section as a factor, in addition to those factors specified in section 5-276a.
(f) The officers and all other employees of the authority shall be state employees for the purposes of group welfare benefits and retirement, including, but not limited to, those provided under chapter 66 and sections 5-257 and 5-259. The authority shall reimburse the appropriate state agencies for all costs incurred by such designation.
(g) The members of the board shall serve without compensation but shall, within available appropriations, be reimbursed in accordance with the standard travel regulations for all necessary expenses that they may incur through service on the board.
(h) (1) Each member of the board shall, not later than ten calendar days after his or her appointment, take and subscribe the oath of affirmation required by article XI, section 1, of the Constitution of the state. The oath shall be filed in the office of the Secretary of the State.
(2) Each officer or member of the board authorized by resolution of the board to handle funds or sign checks for the program shall, not later than ten calendar days after the date the board adopts such authorizing resolution, execute a surety bond in the penal sum of fifty thousand dollars or procure an equivalent insurance product or, in lieu thereof, the chairperson shall obtain a blanket position bond covering the executive director and each member of the board and other employee or authorized officer of the authority in the penal sum of fifty thousand dollars. Each such bond or equivalent insurance product shall be (A) conditioned upon the faithful performance of the duties of the chairperson or the members, executive director and other authorized officers or employees, as the case may be, and (B) issued by an insurance company authorized to transact business in this state as surety. The cost of each such bond shall be paid by the authority.
(i) An authorized officer or the executive director, if one is appointed by the board pursuant to subsection (d) of this section, shall supervise the administrative affairs and technical activities of the program in accordance with the directives of the board. Such authorized officer or executive director, as the case may be, shall keep a record of the proceedings of the program and shall be custodian of all books, documents and papers filed with the program, the minute book or journal of the program and its official seal. Such authorized officer or executive director, as the case may be, may cause copies to be made of all minutes and other records and documents of the program and may give certificates under the official seal of the program to the effect that such copies are true copies, and all persons dealing with the program may rely upon such certificates.
(j) A majority of the voting members of the board shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of any business or the exercise of any power of the authority. Except as specified in section 1-121 and subdivision (14) of subsection (b) of section 31-49h, the affirmative vote of a majority of voting members present at a meeting of the board shall be sufficient for action taken by the board.
(k) (1) No member of the board or any officer, agent or employee of the authority shall, directly or indirectly, have any financial interest in any corporation, business trust, estate, trust, partnership or association, two or more persons having a joint or common interest, or any other legal or commercial entity contracting with the authority. As used in this section, “financial interest” does not include an interest of a de minimis nature or an interest that is not distinct from that of a substantial segment of the general public.
(2) Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivision (1) of this subsection or any other section of the general statutes, it shall not be a conflict of interest or a violation of the provisions of said subdivision or any other section of the general statutes for a trustee, director, officer or employee of a bank, insurance company, investment advisor, investment company or investment banking firm, to serve as a member of the board, provided, in each case to which the provisions of this subdivision are applicable, such trustee, director, officer or employee of such a firm abstains from discussion, deliberation, action and vote by the board in specific respect to any undertaking pursuant to sections 31-49f to 31-49t, inclusive, in which such firm has a direct interest separate from the interests of all similar firms generally.
(l) The authority shall continue as long as the program remains in effect and until its existence is terminated by law. Upon termination of the existence of the authority, all its rights and properties shall pass to and be vested in the state of Connecticut.
(m) The provisions of this section and section 1-125 shall apply to any member, director or employee of the authority. No person shall be subject to civil liability for the debts, obligations or liabilities of the authority as provided in this section and section 1-125.
(P.A. 19-25, S. 2; 19-117, S. 233.)
History: P.A. 19-25 effective June 25, 2019; P.A. 19-117 amended Subsec. (b) by replacing “fifteen” with “thirteen” re voting members of the authority, deleting former Subdivs. (3) and (4) re State Treasurer and State Comptroller, respectively, as members, redesignating existing Subdiv. (5) as new Subdiv. (3) and amended same by replacing “, at the commissioner's designation, the Chief Information Officer” with “his or her designee”, redesignating Subdivs. (6) to (13) as Subdivs. (4) to (11), adding provision re State Treasurer and State Comptroller to serve as ex-officio nonvoting members, replacing “six” with “three” re term of certain members, adding provision re member who fails to attend 3 consecutive meetings or 50 per cent of all meetings, and making a conforming change, amended Subsec. (d) by deleting references to speaker of the House of Representatives and president pro tempore of the Senate re selection of chairperson, amended Subsec. (j) by replacing “members” with “voting members” re quorum, and adding provision re affirmative vote of majority of voting members present at meeting sufficient for action by board, amended Subsec. (k) by adding provision re “financial interest” in Subdiv. (1), and made technical changes, effective June 26, 2019.