Up to $1,000 in pandemic pay is available for eligible private sector essential workers in Connecticut who were employed during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic and a new application website is now live.
Workers must have earned $149,999 a year or less to be eligible. The Premium Pay program $30 million will officially kick off next week, following a preview release this weekend.
“Connecticut’s essential workers have done everything they can during the pandemic to keep our state safe and running.” State Comptroller Natalie Braswell said in a statement. “This new payment program is another way to pay them back.”
Funding for the initiative was included in the new state budget approved by the Democratic-controlled General Assembly and Gov. Ned Lamont earlier this year.
Sometimes referred to as “hero pay,” the funds will be distributed to critical workers such as grocery store employees and non-government medical personnel who were on the job between March 10, 2020 and May 7, 2022 and have been unable to work since House.
Union officials in Connecticut have said more money is needed to compensate all essential workers who have put their lives on the line during the pandemic. The Connecticut AFL-CIO, an umbrella federation of unions, voted last year to recommend that approximately $218 million in unearmarked federal pandemic funds be spent on pandemic payments.
The Premium Pay Program is one of two state initiatives created to help essential workers. A $34 million Connecticut Essential Workers COVID-19 Assistance Fund is also available to help those who lost wages and faced out-of-pocket medical expenses and burial costs due to COVID-19.
Nearly $560,000 has been distributed so far, as state officials try to get the word out about the program.
A link is available on the Premium Payment Program website.