Connecticut general contractors will answer for subcontractors' unpaid wages starting Jan. 1

The construction rule is one section of a 124-page labor bill that also changes pay transparency and workers' compensation. The trigger is the contract date. Littler says the law applies to contracts entered from Jan. 1 onward, and Harris Beach Murtha notes that renewals signed after that date count as well.

A subcontractor's employee who is owed pay can sue the sub, the GC or both. Before naming the GC, the worker has to give it 30 days' notice describing the claim in general terms, unless the worker already raised the same violation or an earlier one by that sub. Writing in the National Law Review, Robinson+Cole attorney Anand Gupta said the liability covers employees of subcontractors at any tier.

Public works are excluded because a separate payment bond system already applies, and Harris Beach Murtha says home improvement and small residential jobs fall outside the law. GCs may add subcontract terms that pay a sub's unpaid wages out of retainage. No clause can waive the GC's liability or limit a worker's right to sue, according to the law firms. New York adopted a similar rule in 2022.

Robinson+Cole flagged two weak spots. Workers can file wage claims two or sometimes three years after the work, which makes the retainage remedy harder to use. And a GC has few practical ways to check what a sub actually paid, since private jobs usually have no state-set wage rates to compare against.