Our State Workers' Victories
Leading for Quality Since 1941
It has been said that our organization's history is the history of public sector employment in our state. We have made a positive difference in the quality of life enjoyed by today's public service workers as well as those who have retired.
Since 1941, we have made many significant opportunities a reality for Connecticut's workers and their families. From winning rights to overtime pay, to gaining political freedom on the job, to improved compensation, our many advances for our State workers have set the high standard we now are striving to achieve for all public service workers in Connecticut.
We have made a positive difference in the quality of life enjoyed by today's state workers and those who have retired from state service. We wrote the statutes establishing:
overtime pay;
annual increments;
personal leave days;
longevity payments;
the 35-hour workweek;
recall rights if laid off;
political freedom;
group life insurance, and;
legal immunity from personal liability
In the area of Workers' Compensation, we wrote - and successfully lobbied into law - the bill which allows state employees to supplement their workers compensation benefit to a full paycheck using their accumulated sick leave. This legislation, first passed in Connecticut, has been copied nationally.
The State Retirement Act was virtually rewritten by our organziation. Our efforts brought about:
combining of Social Security and the state pension plan, if the employee chose to do so;
annual cost-of-living adjustments to retiree pensions;
vested retirement rights;
retirement credit: for prior state service, while out on sick -leave or during educational leave (another CSEA achievement!).