The Connecticut Department of Labor (DOL) has joined a multistate worker protection alliance with the labor departments of Delaware, New Jersey, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and New York. This regional partnership is designed to enhance collaboration among member states by sharing data, intelligence, and enforcement insights to better protect workers and ensure employers adhere to labor and employment laws.
According to Connecticut Labor Commissioner Dante Bartolomeo, this alliance strengthens Connecticut’s ability to track and hold accountable “bad actors,” particularly businesses that have a history of shutting down operations in one state to evade compliance only to restart in another state.
This initiative builds on a prior regional cooperative model. The first iteration emerged in 2019 when the labor departments of Delaware, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania signed an agreement to share information and coordinate enforcement actions. That reciprocal arrangement expanded the states’ ability to conduct interstate referrals, joint investigations, and strategic data-sharing on issues including wage claims, worker misclassification, and workplace safety enforcement. The new initiative will expand this three-state cooperative to six states.
What This Means for Employers
Whether this alliance results in a meaningful shift in enforcement will depend on the extent to which the participating states devote sustained time and resources to the effort. While the Connecticut DOL’s announcement offers few operational details, it signals an increased emphasis on multistate coordination and information-sharing. In theory, formal partnerships of this kind can significantly expand enforcement reach, particularly against repeat or mobile violators that operate across state lines and evade scrutiny by moving from one jurisdiction to another.
That said, similar cooperative initiatives in the past have often produced limited, and sometimes difficult-to-measure, impacts. Notably, no published data currently demonstrates that the 2019 three-state alliance resulted in a material increase in investigations, penalties, or compliance rates.
Conclusion
Whether this expanded six-state coalition will mark a turning point—either in the region or as a model for a broader national trend—remains to be seen. We will continue to monitor developments and provide updates as more concrete enforcement activity and outcomes emerge.
Brody and Associates regularly advises management on compliance with the latest local, state and federal employment laws. If we can be of assistance in this area, please contact us at info@brodyandassociates.com or 203.454.0560.
