Governor Ned Lamont signs bill expanding paid sick days | Photo via YouTube
HARTFORD, CT — Governor Ned Lamont has signed legislation, Public Act 24-8, “An Act Expanding Paid Sick Days,” strengthening the state’s laws regarding paid sick days protection by expanding them to ensure that more workers are covered and have access to them.
Connecticut’s existing paid sick days laws require employers with more than 50 employees who are primarily in specific retail and service occupations (such as food service workers, health care workers, and others) to provide their employees with up to 40 hours of paid sick leave annually.
The legislation expands this coverage to include more workers in two ways:
- Beginning January 1, 2025, these laws will apply to workers of nearly every occupation, not just those in retail and service jobs. (Seasonal employees and other certain temporary workers are exempt.)
- The threshold for coverage will be lowered in three phases, beginning with employers with at least 25 employees on January 1, 2025; those with at least 11 employees starting January 1, 2026; and those with at least one employee beginning January 1, 2027.
Additionally, the legislation broadens the definition of who qualifies as a family member when a worker wants to use their paid sick days to care for a loved one and also to include those other than that person’s own minor children, as limited under the current law. It also expands the reasons why an employee may use paid sick leave, including instances related to declaring a public health emergency.
“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,” Lamont said.
–With Jay Domingo/PDM
