State Employees in Connecticut Granted 2.5% Increases by Legislators
Legislators are advancing a proposal to increase the pay of tens of thousands of Connecticut state employees by an overall of 2.5 percent. As a result, these employees may receive a compensation increase.
A 2.5% wage increase for an estimated 46,000 state employees was reached in negotiations earlier this year between the State Employees Bargaining Agent Coalition, which represents unionized workers, and the administration of Governor Ned Lamont. On Friday, the Legislature’s Appropriations Committee approved a proposal to authorize the increase.
The Lamont administration estimates that the pay adjustments, which would be in addition to regular step pay increases for some state employees, will cost the state $190 million.
Legislators from the Republican Party, who argued that the state is grappling with revenue deficiencies and therefore cannot afford the higher labor costs, opposed the approval of the committee, which is controlled by the Democrats.
Democratic lawmakers, including State Senator Jeff Gordon of Woodstock, cast their votes against the raises. Gordon, who represents Woodstock, stated that his dissent had “nothing to do” with his personal stance on public sector unions or state employees.
He stated that administration officials at Lamont have not provided sufficient information regarding the funding of the pay increase.
In the interim, a number of Democratic legislators expressed disapproval of the proposed salary increase, citing its failure to provide adequate supplementary funding to assist public universities and colleges in mitigating the effects of the increased costs.
Co-chair of the Higher Education Committee of the House of Representatives Gregg Haddad, D-Mansfield, bombarded Lamont administration budget writers with inquiries regarding the means by which the University of Connecticut and other publicly funded institutions will be able to finance the pay raises’ estimated $70 million funding shortfall. According to him, schools have exhausted all of their “levers” in an effort to compensate for budget cuts and cost increases.
Labor unions and Lamont reached a four-year contract agreement in 2022, which authorized a 2.5% general wage increase and step increases for the initial three fiscal years. As announced in March, the agreement stipulated that the contract would be reopened this year.
According to the nonpartisan Office of Fiscal Analysis, the most recent round of pay increases, which included a 2.5% general raise on July 1, 2025, and a step increase on January 1, 2025, would cost the budget $121.2 million.
The plan calls for state employees without step classifications to receive supplemental funding equivalent to approximately 2% of the salaries of their members.
Next week, the Legislature is anticipated to consider the proposed pay raises, which require approval by the conclusion of the legislative session on May 8.
