Connecticut Senate Bill 298 (SB 298) establishes new requirements governing productivity quotas and the collection and use of warehouse “work‑speed data.” The law imposes notice, recordkeeping, and operational limits on covered employers and creates enforcement and litigation risks for noncompliance.

This update applies to Connecticut private‑sector employers operating covered warehouse distribution centers and takes effect on July 1, 2026.

What Employers Need to Do

• Determine Coverage: Confirm whether you meet the size thresholds: at least 250 employees at a single Connecticut warehouse distribution center or 1,000 employees across one or more Connecticut warehouse distribution centers in the prior 12 months; coverage includes control via agents or staffing providers.

• Map NAICS (North American Industry Classification System) Scope: Identify which sites fall under the covered industries (e.g., NAICS Codes: 493110, 423, 424, 454110, 492110, 452311, 452319, 444110) referenced for “warehouse distribution centers” and related operations.

• Prepare Written Quota Notices: Provide a written description of each quota that applies to the employee, including any potential adverse action for failing to meet it. For changes that create a new quota, notify us as soon as practicable before they take effect and deliver the written description within two business days. Delivery may be in person or by email.

• Rebuild Prohibited or Risky Standards: Remove quotas that interfere with meal periods or bathroom use, that measure total output over less than a full workday, or that are based solely on ranking employees against one another. Do not discipline employees for failing to meet a prohibited or undisclosed quota.

• Stand up Data Systems and Retention: Maintain contemporaneous, true, and accurate records for three years of each employee’s personal work‑speed data, aggregate data for similar employees at the same center, and the quota notices provided. If you do not use quotas and do not collect or interpret work‑speed data, these record duties do not apply.

• Fulfill Employee Data Requests: When requested by a current employee (or once by a former employee for the 90 days before separation), provide quota descriptions, personal work‑speed data (last 90 days), and aggregate 90‑day data for similar employees at the same center as soon as practicable and within 10 calendar days, in English and the employee’s primary language.

• Train Managers and Update Policies: Add procedures for quota changes, data requests, and anti‑retaliation protections; align onboarding packets and handbooks with the new notice and records rules.

Overview

• Who is Covered: Employers that, in the prior 12 months, employed or controlled 250 or more employees at a single covered warehouse distribution center in Connecticut, or 1,000 or more employees across Connecticut warehouse distribution centers. Coverage includes workers supplied through staffing agencies.

• Who is Protected: Non-exempt employees working in covered warehouse distribution centers. Drivers and couriers traveling to or from a center are excluded.

• What is a “Quota”: A work standard that measures speed, volume, counts, rankings, time-on-task, or productivity within a defined time period.

• Notice Deadlines: Provide written quota notices to current employees by August 1, 2026; to new hires upon hire after that date, and for any quota change, give advance notice as soon as practicable and confirm the new quota in writing within two business days.

• Operational Limits: Quotas cannot interfere with meal or bathroom breaks; employers cannot set standards that measure total output over periods shorter than a full workday or base a standard solely on rankings.

• Work‑speed Data: Includes task counts, items handled, rates or speeds of work, metrics measured against a quota, and time classified as on‑task or not‑on‑task. Certain qualitative information and unrelated data are excluded.

• Recordkeeping: Keep contemporaneous quota notices and individual and aggregate work‑speed data for three years.

• Employee Access: Provide requested records within 10 days, in English and the employee’s primary language.

• Enforcement: Private right of action and Attorney General enforcement; available relief includes damages, injunctive relief, attorneys’ fees and costs, plus civil penalties.

Why this matters

• Health and Safety Focus: The law explicitly aims to prevent musculoskeletal injuries, preserve legally required breaks, and strengthen safety by placing guardrails on quota use and by increasing transparency through notices and data access.

• Transparency and Accountability: Employers must disclose what the quota is, how it will be used, and possible consequences, and must retain and produce work‑speed data quickly upon request—driving system and process changes.

• Litigation Exposure: With private lawsuits, AG actions, fee shifting, and civil penalties, failure to meet notice, limits, or records obligations can create immediate legal and reputational risk.

Key Risks for Employers

• Using Prohibited or Undisclosed Quotas: Disciplining for failing to meet a prohibited or undisclosed quota can trigger liability and penalties.

• Insufficient Data Systems: Inability to produce accurate, contemporaneous work‑speed data and quota notices within 10 days risks claims and fee exposure.

• Retaliation Presumption: Adverse action within 90 days of a protected request or suit creates a rebuttable presumption of a violation; employers must rebut with clear and convincing evidence.

• Coverage Misclassification: Misreading NAICS coverage or employee‑count thresholds (including counts via staffing agencies) can lead to missed compliance.

Additional information

• Line‑item Veto Context: SB 298 is an omnibus enacted with line‑item vetoes of certain appropriations; the warehouse protections were among the “important provisions” preserved.

• Public Reporting: State coverage and purpose have been publicly highlighted as Connecticut joins other states placing limits on warehouse quotas and expanding worker protections.

• NAICS References: Covered operations include general warehousing and storage, and specified categories in wholesale trade, retail, e‑commerce/mail order, and couriers/express delivery—use NAICS tools to verify classification.

Source Reference

• Connecticut SB 298 – An Act Concerning The Reallocation Of Certain State Funds And Various Provisions Relating To Education, Public Safety, General Government, Elections, Intermediate Care Facilities And Warehouse Distribution Centers (§§ 50-57 — WAREHOUSE WORKERS)
• Connecticut §§ 50-57 — WAREHOUSE WORKERS (SB 298 OLR Bill Analysis)

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