CHCC Government Relations Article - November 2019
CHRO Issues Free Online Training For Employers – Most Businesses Have To Comply With New Workplace Sexual Harassment Prevention Requirements
As previously reported in the last edition of CHCC’s Comfort Connections, new laws pertaining to workplace sexual harassment prevention in Connecticut took effect on October 1st. Public Acts 19-16 and 19-93, which together constitute Connecticut’s “Time’s Up Act”, outline new and expanded sexual harassment prevention training and education requirements for nearly all supervisory employees and all employers with three or more employees in Connecticut. In order to assist businesses in complying with the new requirements, the state’s Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities (CHRO) recently launched a new “Sexual Harassment Prevention Resources” webpage. Most importantly, this webpage hosts links for a free online training and education video(s) developed by CHRO to help employers comply with the new law. Business owners, human resources personnel, and others should review the website and take any actions necessary to ensure compliance with the new law. Notably, the new law requires employers to provide all existing employees with two hours of training by October 1, 2020; however, new employees hired after October 1st of this year must be training within 6 months of their hiring. All of these training requirements can be fulfilled via CHRO’s free online training videos.
DEEP Integrated Resource Plan Available For Review And Comment
Recently the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) published a “Notice of Revised Scope, Updated Schedule, and Opportunity for Public Comment” regarding the Integrated Resource Plan (IRP), which is an assessment of and plans for the future electric needs of the state. The IRP is “integrated” in the sense that it considers both demand side resources like energy efficiency measures, as well as supply side resources like power generation and fuel sources, etc. Section 4 of the IRP will consider establishing a Thermal Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) for Connecticut. While “traditional” RPS programs focus solely on electricity generation, a thermal RPS would incorporate renewable thermal power for heat generation into the RPS, which would likely include solar thermal and geothermal, among other technologies. Per their notice, DEEP is contemplating several opportunities for input, review and public comment on the various aspects of the IRP, including the potential for a thermal RPS, and anticipates releasing a final complete IRP in Fall of 2020.
Connecticut Ranks #10 in Energy Efficiency
According to a recent report an analysis by the popular financial site WalletHub, Connecticut ranks #10 in Energy Efficiency. This overall ranking was comprised of measures of Home Energy Efficiency (#16), Vehicle-Fuel Efficiency (#15), and Transportation Efficiency (#8). The analysis for Home Energy Efficiency was done by calculating the ratio of consumption to heating degree days. Neighboring New York, Massachusetts and Rhode Island all also ranked within the top 10, while Alabama, Louisiana and South Carolina were among the bottom 10. The U.S. Department of Energy estimates that adopting energy-efficiency measures in the home can have a measurable reduction in a family’s utility costs. As part of DEEP’s ongoing work on the 2018 Integrated Resources Plan (IRP) for Connecticut, potential pathways to a goal for a zero-carbon electric grid include considerations and assessment of energy efficiency measures. This was a goal recently outlined by Governor Lamont as part of Executive Order Number 3.
How to Find and Contact Your State Legislators
Have a question? Want to express your opinion? Just want to know who represents you in Hartford? Go to the website below and enter your home and/or business address to look up your state legislators. All it takes is a few quick clicks and you can visit their official webpage, email them, or get their office phone number to make a call. As a CHCC member, your voice matters!
https://www.cga.ct.gov/asp/menu/cgafindleg.asp
As always, if you have questions on legislation or regulations or if you would like more information on an issue, please feel free to contact the CHCC Office or CHCC’s Lobbyist Andy Markowski of Statehouse Associates at: (860) 707-3620 or aem@statehouseassociates.com.