New Business Laws Detailed By CBIA

HARTFORD — The General Assembly enacted many laws this year affecting Connecticut businesses, which took effect October 1. Measures include those on identity theft and confidentiality, health care, business law, the environment, and the workplace.

Here is a brief list of the most significant of these laws for Connecticut’s business community:

Business law. PA 08-167 (HB-5658), “An Act Concerning the Confidentiality of Social Security Numbers,” mandates that those who collect Social Security numbers must adopt a privacy protection policy, which must be displayed publicly, addressing how the confidentiality of the data will be protected.

Environment. PA 08-98 (HB-5600), “An Act Concerning Global Warming Solutions,” imposes aggressive, enforceable caps on statewide emissions of greenhouse gases. The bill makes the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection the primary authority for adopting regulations to achieve the reductions.

Health care. PA 08-80 (SB-464), “An Act Concerning Stem Cell Research,” amends Connecticut’s stem cell research law to comply with the National Academies’ Guidelines for Human Embryonic Stem Cell Research. Connecticut will follow the National Academies’ ethics rules regarding oversight of stem cell research and rules governing the use of embryonic stem cell lines created in another state provided such lines were created in conformance with those same Federal/National Academies’ guidelines.

Transportation. PA 08-101 (HB-5746), “An Act Concerning the Department of Transportation,” among other things, authorizes the DOT commissioner to initiate harbor improvement projects on behalf of the state, creates a special account to fund the projects, and removes limits on state grants-in-aid to municipalities for harbor improvement projects.

Workplace. PA 08-103 (HB-5918), “An Act Concerning Jurors,” strengthens employees’ rights concerning jury duty and requires employers to treat jury duty as time worked under existing wage and hour laws. So, an employee who serves eight hours or more of jury service in one day cannot work an additional shift in the workplace.

PA 08-60 (HB-5628), “An Act Concerning Electronic Unemployment Compensation Tax Payments,” allows employers to pay their unemployment compensation taxes electronically beginning the first quarter of the calendar year 2009.

PA 08-108 (SB-216), “An Act Concerning Minors in the Workplace,” makes permanent an expired law regarding the employment of 14- and 15-year-old minors as cashiers, baggers, stock clerks and golf caddies, with certain limitations.

For more complete descriptions, view or download CBIA’s 2008 Summary of Major Business Legislation at www.cbia.com/gov/finalreport-2007.pdf.

CBIA is the state’s largest business organization, with 10,000 members. For more information, call 860-244-1957 or click on cbia.com.