Personal care workers in Connecticut could receive a 26% raise in the minimum wage if the state General Assembly approves a three-year agreement reached between the Connecticut Personal Care Assistant Workforce Council and SEIU District 1199 New England. 

Gov. Ned Lamont (D) asked the state legislature earlier this month to consider approving the deal, which his administration submitted.

The deal would bring the minimum wage for the job to $23 per hour by the 2025-26 fiscal year. The minimum wage would be set at $20 per hour within 45 days after ratification by the General Assembly and would increase to $20.50 on July 1; to $21.50 on Jan. 1, 2025; $22 on July 1, 2025; and $23 on Jan. 1, 2026.

The new agreement also would provide two additional paid holidays, Juneteenth and Labor Day, and provide personal care workers with an additional 10 hours of paid time off per year. Additionally, the contract would expand workers’ access to health premium assistance and support tuition assistance.

“This historic agreement shows our commitment to address the worker shortages experienced by some of Connecticut’s most vulnerable Medicaid participants through the creation of a package of wage and benefit enhancements that will support recruitment and retention in the home care workforce and ongoing education and training to promote quality service delivery,” Lamont stated. 

“It will ensure consumers’ preference to receive care in their own home and community for as long as possible and helps delay or avoid more costly institutional care,” the governor added.

Rob Baril, president of the union, noted that the majority of the home care workers are Black, Latina and white working-class women.

“They provide love and care at home for our elderly and disabled, but they keep struggling to cover their family’s essential needs,” Baril said.