Retired employees of Connecticut’s probate system cannot include dependents on the state’s retiree healthcare plan, according to a declaratory ruling by the Office of the Comptroller.
Although retired state employees can typically include dependents on their retirement health plans, Probate Court employees and their benefits are governed under a different statute that includes only spouses and makes no mention of dependents, despite the statute saying the state must provide access to health insurance equivalent to that of state employees.
“The Petitioner is a retired employee of the Connecticut Probate Court system and is therefore a state employee. She is only eligible, however, for retirement and benefits specific to probate court employees under the conditions set forth in statute,” Comptroller Sean Scanlon wrote in the ruling. “The OSC must provide retired probate employees access to health insurance benefits equivalent to those benefits provided to retired state employees and their surviving spouses. There is no statutory requirement, however, to provide access to health care coverage to other dependents of retired probate employees, such as dependent minor children.”
“According to current state law, the dependent minor child of a retired employee of the probate court system is not eligible for the State Health Plan,” said Madi Csejka, director of communications for the Comptroller’s Office. “Any change to that policy would require legislative action.”
The comptroller’s ruling notes that probate employees are considered state employees, but only eligible for the benefits outlined in statute, rather than typical state employee benefits, which are outlined in an umbrella contract between the state and the State Employees Bargaining Agent Coalition (SEBAC), which negotiates pay and benefits on behalf of most state employees.
For the past ten years, there has been an effort in the General Assembly to allow probate court employees to unionize with labor leaders from SEIU and AFSCME testifying that probate employees should be allowed to unionize if they choose, and claiming such a move could lead to better pay and benefits.
“Probate court workers’ wages, benefits and working conditions are all determined by the Probate Court Administrator,” said Connecticut AFL-CIO President Ed Hawthorne in support of Senate Bill 913 in 2023. “They are paid less than other state employees in similar jobs, they pay more for their health insurance and are entirely at-will employees, despite being directed by a state employee. It’s past time that we recognize Probate Court Employees as state employees and grant them the right to bargain.”
Chief Clerk for the Derby Probate Court, Kay Jeanette, pointed out in testimony that employees of the Probate Court Administrator are allowed to collectively bargain and have therefore seen raises and bonuses, while “clerks went without raises and the increase in healthcare set us back in our annual income.”
Despite years of similar legislation being passed through the General Assembly’s Labor and Public Employees Committee, it never made it to the House or Senate for a vote. The legislation has been opposed by the Probate Court Administrator, who worried about potential cost increases, and by some probate court employees who expressed concerns about disrupting their work environment.
“We are a small system that work very well together at this time and I really hope you do not allow this bill to pass, as I truly believe that this would cause many problems within the probate system,” Chief Clerk for the Madison-Guilford Probate Court Karen Parzych wrote in testimony. “I would much rather speak for myself rather than pay someone else to speak for a collective group which may not represent my voice.”
The Comptroller’s Office was petitioned for a ruling in September of 2025 to determine whether the minor child of a retired Probate Court System employee is eligible for health care coverage under the state’s retirement system.
“Consequently, due to the lack of statutory authority to offer health insurance for a dependent minor child of a retired employee from the Probate Court System, Petitioner’s dependent minor child is not deemed eligible for health care coverage in the State Health Plan,” Scanlon wrote.
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