The Connecticut paid sick leave law was the first state-mandated paid sick leave in the United States, dating back to 2012. In 2024, the state passed a major Connecticut sick leave expansion that begins in 2025.
Do you have to pay your employees for sick days in CT? If so, how many days do you have to provide?
Read on for details about the Connecticut paid leave act and 2024 expansion.
What is the PTO law in CT?
Connecticut’s paid sick leave law is known as An Act Mandating Employers Provide Paid Sick Leave to Employees (Public Act No. 11-52).
The 2024 paid sick leave expansion is called An Act Expanding Paid Sick Days in the State (Public Act No. 24-8).
Connecticut paid sick leave (at a glance)
Connecticut’s sick leave law requires that certain employers give employees paid sick leave. Employees can use paid sick leave for qualifying reasons, such as illness or medical diagnoses.
Employees accrue paid sick leave hours throughout the year as they work. At year-end, employees can carry over a certain number of unused sick leave to the following year.
What is the CT paid leave expansion?
On May 28, 2024, Connecticut’s governor signed legislation expanding the Connecticut sick pay law. The expanded sick leave rules will apply beginning January 1, 2025.
According to Connecticut’s Governor Lamont:
“Our existing paid sick days laws include important protections for certain workers; however there are broad categories left unprotected, and this update will expand this coverage to help ensure that people do not have to choose between going to work sick and sacrificing a day’s wage.”
The CT paid leave expansion will:
- Open up paid sick leave to workers in nearly every occupation
- Increase the number of employers the law applies to
- Adjust the accrual rate so employees can accrue paid sick leave faster
- Expand the definition of a family member
- Expand reasons employees can use paid sick leave
- Require that employers display earned and used paid sick leave hours on pay stubs
- Require that employers provide written notice about paid sick leave to each employee
Check out Public Act No. 24-8 for complete information on the expansion.
Does everyone get CT paid leave?
Not everyone in Connecticut receives paid sick leave. The current sick leave law only applies to “service workers.”
Service workers are employees in specific retail and service occupations (e.g., food service and health care workers).
Also, the paid sick leave law currently does not apply to all employers. Only covered employers must provide paid sick leave.
Which employers must provide sick leave?
Covered employers—those with 50 or more “service workers” (e.g., retail and service occupations)–must follow the state-mandated paid sick leave law.
Beginning January 1, 2025, the law expands to employees in nearly every occupation, not just service workers. And, the employer threshold of 50 or more employees drops in 2025, 2026, and 2027.
The CT paid leave expansion will drop to the following thresholds on the following dates:
- January 1, 2025: All employers with 25 or more employees must provide paid sick leave.
- January 1, 2026: All employers with 11 or more employees must provide paid sick leave.
- January 1, 2027: All employers with 1 or more employees must provide paid sick leave.
How much sick leave can employees accrue?
Under Connecticut’s paid sick leave law, employees immediately accrue one hour of paid sick leave per 40 hours worked.
Employees can accrue up to a maximum of 40 hours per year.
Beginning January 1, 2025, employees accrue one hour of sick time for every 30 hours worked, up to a maximum of 40 hours per year. This change allows employees to accrue paid sick leave more quickly.
What are qualifying reasons for taking CT paid sick leave?
Paid sick leave usage applies to certain situations. Currently, employees can use paid sick leave for the following reasons:
- Illness, injury, or health condition (the employee or their spouse or child)
- Medical diagnosis or preventative medical care (the employee or their spouse or child)
- Care or treatment of physical or mental illness (the employee or their spouse or child)
- Domestic violence or sexual assault (the employee or their child)
- Mental health wellness day (the employee)
Beginning January 1, 2025, employees will also be able to use paid sick leave to care for other family members beyond a spouse and child. And, employees will be able to use paid sick leave in case of a declaration of a public health emergency.
The CT paid leave expansion defines “family members” as spouses, siblings, children, grandparents, grandchildren, parents, and individuals whose association with the employee is equivalent to family relationships.
When can employees use paid sick leave?
Employees begin accruing paid sick leave immediately, but they cannot use sick time until they have worked 680 hours.
Beginning January 1, 2025, employees can use their accrued time off on and after 120 calendar days of employment.
What are the Connecticut paid sick leave carryover rules?
Employees are entitled to carry over up to 40 unused, accrued hours of paid sick leave from one year to the next.
Beginning January 1, 2025, employers who frontload employee hours at the beginning of the year do not have to let employees carry over unused sick time to the following year.
Do employers have to give a notice to employees?
Yes, employers must notify eligible employees of their right to paid sick leave. Currently, displaying an English and Spanish poster in a conspicuous place satisfies this requirement.
Beginning January 1, 2025, employers must display the poster and begin providing written notices to employees about their right to paid sick leave.
Do employers have to provide sick leave information on pay stubs?
Beginning January 1, 2025, employers must display the following information on each employee’s pay stub:
- Accrued paid sick leave hours
- Used paid sick leave hours
Keep records of your employees’ accrued and used sick leave hours for three years.
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This is not intended as legal advice; for more information, please click here.