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Connecticut - First State to Mandate Paid Sick Leave
Connecticut’s Governor Dan Malloy signed legislation that makes Connecticut the first state to mandate paid sick leave for certain hourly service workers. The law, which becomes effective on January 1, 2012, applies to employers of 50 or more persons within the State of Connecticut. While many Connecticut employers with 50 or more employees likely already provide paid leave to their employees, the Paid Sick Leave Act (the “Act”) provides a minimum level which employers must abide.
It initially appears as if the law applies to any employer that has 50 or more employees within the State of Connecticut. The Act specifically exempts manufacturers and nationally chartered 501(c)(3) organizations that provide recreation, child care and educational services.
Eligible individuals are hourly service employees who worked at least 520 hours within the 12 months preceding the leave request. 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.
Beginning January 1, 2012, eligible employees will be entitled to accrue at a rate of one hour for each 40 hours worked, up to a maximum of 40 hours of paid sick leave for each calendar year. Employees who do not use paid sick leave benefits in one calendar year may carry over up to 40 accrued hours to the next calendar year. Employers are not required to let employees use more than 40 hours in any calendar year. An employer is not obligated to pay accrued sick leave benefits upon an employee’s termination unless the employer provides for such payment in its policies or in a collective bargaining agreement.
An employer will be deemed fully compliant if they already offer a leave benefit that meets or exceeds the minimum paid leave under the Act. For these purposes, leave might include paid vacation, personal days or other paid time off.
Qualifying reasons for using the paid leave include illness, injury, or for preventative medical care, for the employee or the employee’s spouse or child. An employee who is the victim of family violence or sexual assault may also take paid leave for medical care and for other reasons related to the family violence or sexual assault.
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.