Balancing Act: Crafting Employment Law

Creating effective employment law that balances the needs of both employers and employees is a process that requires open dialogue among all parties involved—before, during ,and after laws are enacted.

That was the message two of the state legislature’s Labor and Public Employee Committee leaders clearly agreed on during CBIA’s 2025 Employment Law Conference Oct. 21 in Bristol.

Several hundred human resource and labor law professionals attended the half-day event, which kicked off with an open discussion between committee co-chair Sen. Julie Kushner (D-Danbury) and ranking member Rep. Steve Weir (R-Hebron).

“This is a great opportunity to get some real inside perspective about how these decisions are made and how employment law is created here in Connecticut,” said CBIA’s Chris Davis, who moderated the discussion.

“As you can imagine, CBIA is representing employers’ interests at the state Capitol and we have worked hard on both sides.”

Agenda Setting

Davis told both legislators that CBIA and its members were “very appreciative of your open-door policy and willingness to have these conversations.”

“We may not always agree, but we can always have that respectful conversation and hear each other out,” he said.

So how does the committee decide which issues to tackle during annual legislative sessions?

“What we want to do is talk about what motivates a lot of the decisions that are made ad how those decisions are made,” CBIA’s Chris Davis discusses the legislative process with @CTSenateDems' Sen. Julie Kushner and @cthousegop's Rep. Steve Weir. #employmentlaw pic.twitter.com/empG68LOOV

— CBIA (@CBIANews) October 21, 2025

In addition to working with groups like CBIA, chambers of commerce and labor unions, Kushner said the committee sets its agenda after looking at a variety of different sources.

“We look at national trends, and we’re always looking at what other states are doing—what’s been successful and what’s having problems,” she said.

“We also look back at bills that we thought were going to be really important and good for the state, but haven’t yet made it across the finish line, and that happens a lot.”

Employer’s Voice

Davis asked both lawmakers how employers can “let their voices be heard on a lot of these issues that come up before the Labor Committee.”

Both lawmakers said engaging with committee members and “being persistent” on important issues was the best way to be heard—through in-person, virtual, or written testimony, phone calls, emails, or face-to-face meetings.

“First and foremost, it’s doing what you’re doing today—by being members of CBIA, your local chamber or other business organizations,” Weir said.

“If we’re not hearing from you, we’re going on assumptions of what you want.”

Rep. Steve Weir

“I think being present in front of us, asking for those meetings and letting us know what’s important, whether positive or negative for you, having that input, putting a name to the face, is super important.

“If we’re not hearing from you, I think we’re going on assumptions of what you want.”

Davis noted that since the pandemic, testifying at the Capitol is no longer an all-day affair.

“You can actually sign up online from your office or from your home,” he said. “They post the order now when you’d be able to testify and you can testify right from home.”

Employee-Employer Balance

“So how do you balance the needs of employees and employers—and what’s expected of both—when you pass legislation, maybe specifically in regard to changes in paid sick leave?” Davis asked.

“A lot of employers were already providing paid sick leave, but about 12% weren’t,” Kushner replied.

“It was really about insisting that it was every employer’s responsibility. It was also good public policy in terms of public health.”

Weir had a different perspective.

“A lot of workers in our state are living paycheck to paycheck.”

Sen. Julie Kushner

“I think we should take more of a neutral stance,” he said. “Oftentimes when we pass regulations, there are unintended consequences that we haven’t even thought of.”

Davis noted that one of the concerns for employers with paid sick leave legislation was the removal of language requiring advance notice for taking paid sick leave.

“Yes, that was very intentional,” Kushner replied. “A lot of workers in our state are living paycheck to paycheck.

“Being forced to take a half a day when all you need is an hour for a doctor’s appointment at the end of the day—that was really the scenario we were trying to address.”

“By not being more clear about the change, I think we’ve made it more adversarial,” Weir countered.

Paid FMLA

Davis asked the lawmakers for their thoughts on the state’s Paid Family and Medical Leave Authority, which began paying benefits in January 2022.

“I think this has been an incredible program for Connecticut,” Kushner said, adding that 49% of those who currently use it are men staying home with their newborns or adopted children.

While overall fund utilization is expected to increase, Kushner said she didn’t see any need to make financial changes to the program “for an extended period of time.”

“I will tell you right now, Hartford is not Washington. Sen. Kushner and I have a great working relationship.”

Weir

“Ironically, this was the piece of legislation, one of the few at the time, that caused me to run for office as a small business owner,” Weir said.

“I will tell you right now, Hartford is not Washington. Sen. Kushner and I have a great working relationship. It doesn’t mean we agree, and sometimes we get prickly, but I think there’s some love in there.

“I would just like to leave you all with this—every time government, when the legislature puts our hands on something, it gets more expensive for everybody.”