Yesterday marked the second and final day of the arbitration hearing between SEBAC and the State of Connecticut over the amount of pandemic pay due to frontline essential state employees.

At the hearing, the arbitrator heard directly from workers who were not able to “stay safe, stay home” about the risks they faced at the job site to ensure that critical state services continued. Workers also submitted affidavits about their experiences on the frontlines during a time when we didn’t have treatments, we didn’t have a vaccine, and in some cases, we didn’t even have required PPE. These sacrifices were necessary in order to ensure that 3.5 million Connecticut residents continued to benefit from the critical state services they rely on. Simply put, without these frontline essential workers, our state would not have been able to lift up our communities during this difficult time.

We are so grateful to the frontline workers who re-lived for the arbitrator their stories of risk, and fear, and sometimes devastating loss. Both parties will now file briefs before the arbitrator will make a ruling, at which point we will update members immediately on the decision. In the meantime, please keep an eye on the SEBAC website (CTStateEmployees.org) and your local website for updates.