CT Hero Pay Program Hits 360k Claims: 5 Things To Know

CONNECTICUT — About 360,000 claims were made for Connecticut’s “Hero Pay” bonus program for pandemic essential workers.

Applications for Connecticut’s hero pay program closed Oct. 1, and the state and its administrative vendor are working to verify information and request additional documentation if necessary.

Here are the basics of the program, and five things to know going forward:

What are the payment amounts?

Full-time employees are eligible to receive up to $1,000 if they earned less than $100,000. That comes with a big caveat.

The state General Assembly approved only $30 million for the program. Bonus amounts will be reduced proportionately depending on the final number of approved applications. It appears almost certain some kind of reduction will have to occur considering the large amount of claims.

Hero pay is also taxable income, and recipients will receive a 1099 tax form.

Here’s the rest of the payment scale, which is also subject to reduction:

• $800 between $100,000 - $109,999
• $600 between $110,000 - $119,999
• $400 between $120,000 - $129,999
• $200 between $130,000 - $149,999

Part-time employees will receive $500.

How many claims were made?

About 360,000 claims were submitted as of the deadline, according to the Office of the State Comptroller.

There were 190,000 complete submissions, which include all document upload and attestations. Another 169,000 provided identity information, but didn’t complete document uploads and/or attestations, comptroller spokesman Tyler Van Buren said.

What are the next steps?

All 360,000 submissions will be verified for identity, income and employment information through state systems. Public Consulting Group, the administrative vendor for the program, will contact workers who need to submit additional information. They will be contacted via email over the next several weeks.

When will payments go out?

The comptroller’s office anticipates that payments will go out in early 2023 once final payment amounts are determined.

Could more money be added to the program?

Some politicians, including Rep. Sean Scanlon (D-Guilford), called on the state to expand the program’s budget, according to CT Insider. Scanlon is running for state comptroller in November.

House Speaker Matt Ritter and Senate President Pro Tempore Martin Looney indicated they would be open to a special session after the November election in order to add more funding to the program.

Putting more money in the hero pay program would mean less somewhere else, such as reducing the amount of money that goes toward paying down state pension obligations, Gov. Ned Lamont said during a September WNPR interview.

“That’s always a debate we’ve had, I’ve tried to strike the right balance,” Lamont said.

The state also had a child tax rebate and large investments in child care and schools this year, he said.

Recently, Lamont announced a $70 million appreciation bonus program for child care workers. Bonus amounts are $1,000 for full-time workers and $400 for part-time workers.