Senate Leadership
April 17, 2006
Williams, Looney, Attorney General Blumenthal Announce Hartford May Impose Living Wage on Adriaen's Landing Facilities
State Sen. President Donald E. Williams, Jr. (D-Brooklyn), and Sen. Majority Leader Martin M. Looney (D-New Haven) joined Attorney General Richard Blumenthal today as he released a legal opinion saying that state law presents no barrier to the City of Hartford applying its Living Wage Ordinance to the operations of the Marriott Hartford Downtown Hotel at Adriaen's Landing.
During the development, design and construction of Adriaen's Landing, state law preempted local ordinances in the licensing, permitting, approval and other administrative action related to the project.
This preemption-which overrode Hartford's Living Wage Ordinance-no longer applies to the post-construction activities at the Marriott.
Hartford's Living Wage Ordinance requires companies that receive city property tax benefits or grants to pay their employees at least a "living wage," which is defined in the city ordinance.
"The City of Hartford may seek to apply its Living Wage Ordinance without fear of interference or impediment from the state," Blumenthal said. "When construction concluded at this Adriaen's Landing facility, so did state preemption of Hartford's Living Wage Ordinance. The decision as to when and whether to seek enforcement is the city's, not the state's. No state law trumps the ordinance or the city's discretion."
Sen. Williams said, "At a time when we are seeing runaway energy prices and as much as $3 a gallon for gasoline, it is not too much to ask to have our hard-working men and women be paid a decent wage. It is the fair way to do business."
Sen. Looney said, "This is a very important issue as it pertains to the rights of workers in the City of Hartford. This enlightened ordinance allows workers to be compensated at a level that will allow them to continue to support their families."
Under the city's ordinance, a company must pay an employee a salary that is at least 110 percent of the federal poverty level for a family of four, and provide comprehensive health benefits at a cost of no more than 3 percent of the employee's annual wages. Alternatively, in lieu of health benefits, the company must make additional payments to the employee an amount based on the average cost of comprehensive health insurance in the state.
Under Hartford's living wage formula, an employee must earn approximately $10.23 per hour and receive comprehensive family health insurance at a cost of no more than $638.35 annually.
This compares to the state's current $7.40 per hour minimum wage requirement.
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Senator Williams’ Larry Cook |
Listing of Leadership’s recent press releases. |
Senator Looney’s Larry Cook |
