HARTFORD, CT – Governor Ned Lamont applauded the passage of legislation his administration negotiated that strikes a proper balance in the ongoing issue of wages owed by restaurants to their employees. The legislation was approved by the legislature today during a special session of both chambers of the Connecticut General Assembly.

“This legislation is the result of collaborative discussions between our administration, lawmakers, and representatives of both sides, and it strikes the appropriate balance to protect the wages fairly earned by restaurant workers while providing relief to restaurant owners who may have complied with unclear or conflicting guidance from the prior administration’s Department of Labor,” Governor Lamont said. “Importantly, it should be noted that the legislation enacted today avoids the constitutional pitfalls of the prior proposal, which I vetoed. It may have taken us a little bit to get to this moment, but in the end we were able to find a compromise to reform a complex area of law governing restaurant workers and do so with a fair result. I thank stakeholders on all sides of the issue, as well as the bipartisan group of legislative leaders who worked with my administration to come to a solution that I could sign it into law.”

The legislation is House Bill 7501, An Act Concerning the Workforce Training Needs in the State and Revisions to and Regulation of Gratuities Permitted or Applied as Part of the Minimum Fair Wage.

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