For information purposes only. Employers should consider seeking the assistance of experienced employment law attorneys before implementing policy changes.

Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont signed into law H.B. 5005, which incrementally expands the number of employers subject to the state's paid sick leave requirement and extends the benefit to virtually all private-sector employees starting in 2025.

Current law

Under current law, most Connecticut employers with 50 or more employees are required to provide service workers up to 40 hours of paid sick leave each year. Service workers accrue one hour of paid sick leave for each 40 hours worked and are not entitled to paid leave until they have worked at least 680 hours for their employer.

The requirement does not apply to (1) manufacturers (i.e., businesses classified in sectors 31 32, or 33 of the North American Industrial Classification System) or (2) nationally chartered, nonprofit, tax-exempt 501(c)(3) organizations that provide recreation, childcare and education services.

Service workers are defined as employees primarily engaged in a certain type of occupation (see Table 1 of the Legislative Research Report on the new law) and are either (1) paid on an hourly basis or (2) subject to the minimum wage and overtime requirements under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act. Service workers do not include those who work on either a per diem basis or an occasional or irregular basis or for only the time needed to complete the work.

Qualifying reasons for receiving paid sick leave include:

• The employee, or their child or spouse's, illness, injury or health condition
• To obtain professional medical diagnosis, care or treatment for the employee, or their child or spouse's, mental or physical illness, injury or health condition
• To obtain preventative care for the employee or their child or spouse
• A day during which the employee attends to their emotional and psychological well-being instead of working their regularly scheduled shift
• Time off for certain qualifying purposes such as obtaining services from a victim services organization or participating in a related civil or criminal proceeding if the employee is a victim of family violence or sexual assault, or the parent or guardian of a child who is a victim of family violence or sexual assault

New law

Covered employers. The requirement to provide paid sick leave will be extended to nearly all private-sector employers based on the size of their workforce:

• Effective January 1, 2025, all employers with 25 or more employees
• Effective January 1, 2026, all employers with 11 or more employees
• Effective January 1, 2027, all employers with at least one employee

Covered employees. Employees eligible for paid sick leave is expanded to cover all private-sector employees except for seasonal employees and certain unionized construction workers.

The new law also expands the qualifying reasons for receiving paid sick leave and the definition of family member.

Ernst & Young LLP insights

Connecticut's paid sick leave law was first enacted in 2011 and made it the first state to require that employers provide employees with up to 40 hours per year of paid sick leave. (Press release, Governor Ned Lamont, 5-28-2024.)