CT Paid Sick Leave Mandate for 2012

Effective January 1, 2012, Connecticut requires paid sick leave.

Covered Employers

The law applies to companies with 50 or more employees that do not already offer at least five paid days off for full-time workers.

Covered Employees

The law defines service workers as individuals employed in dozens of specific occupations defined by the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics Standard Occupational Classification system, who are paid on an hourly basis and not exempt from the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938's minimum wage and overtime requirements. It requires companies to give full-time workers covered by the law 40 hours of paid sick leave per year, accrued on a weekly basis. Individuals eligible for paid sick leave include certain specified hourly service employees who worked at least 520 hours within the 12 months preceding the request for leave. Day or temporary workers are not eligible for sick leave benefits. Examples of some of the 68 different categories of eligible hourly service workers include food service managers, dental assistants, fast food workers, medical assistants, waiters, child care workers, data entry and information processing workers, and retail salespersons. Several types of workers are exempt, including manufacturing workers, salaried employees, temporary workers and workers at nationally chartered nonprofit organizations. The law allows employees to file complaints with the Connecticut Department of Labor, but not private lawsuits.

Notice requirements

Connecticut employers will be required, as of January 1, 2012, to provide notice, at the time of hiring, regarding the entitlement to sick leave, and to specifically advise eligible employees that employers are prohibited from retaliating against them. Employers may comply with their notice obligations by posting a notice in a conspicuous location incorporating these requirements. Click here for link to Poster.

Anti-Retaliation Provision

An anti-retaliation provision forbids employers from taking retaliatory personnel actions against any service worker or any other employee who requests or uses paid sick leave under the law or the employer’s own policy, or who makes a complaint to the Labor Commissioner alleging a violation of the paid sick leave law. Retaliatory personnel action is defined broadly to include termination, constructive discharge, suspension, demotion, denial of promotion, unfavorable reassignment, disciplinary action, or any other adverse employment action