Frontline essential state workers sacrificed their health and safety throughout COVID-19 to ensure that the critical public services our 3.6 million Connecticut residents rely on remained accessible.

While the state can never fully repay frontline essential workers - private, municipal and state- the state can certainly take a step to respect these workers. Pandemic pay is that step.

While the budget adjustment includes funding for pandemic pay for private sector frontline workers, state workers will be seeking pandemic pay through the collective bargaining process. SEBAC expects to be in arbitration this summer to resolve this if an agreement is not reached before then.