Connecticut

Below you will find any recent or upcoming changes to the family and medical leave and/or leave income replacement benefit law(s) within this state.

Last Updated: 01/19/2023

CT Paid leave and the Connecticut Family and Medical Leave Act (CFMLA)

What is the Update?

CT Paid Leave

The CT Paid Leave benefit is employee funded and employee contributions began on January 1, 2021, at a rate of 0.5% up to social security wage limit(remains the same in 2022 and 2023). Employees in the state who earn $2,325 in the base period are eligible for up 12* weeks of paid leave to care for a new child, care for one’s own or a family member’s serious health condition, to deal with an exigency arising out of a family member’s call to active duty in the armed services, to care for a military family member injured during active duty, or to donate an organ or bone marrow. Additionally, an employee experiencing family violence can apply for up to 12 days of benefits. *Those incapacitated due to pregnancy or childbirth may receive up to 2 additional weeks of paid leave benefits during pregnancy.

Eligible employees can receive up to 95% of their average weekly wage, based on prior quarters, to a maximum weekly benefit of $780 beginning January 1, 2022, with the maximum increasing to $840 on July 1, 2022, and $900 on June 1, 2023.

 Connecticut Family and Medical Leave Act (CFMLA)

The job protected leave law in Connecticut has the following major changes effective January 1, 2022:

  • Employers are covered under the law in 2022, if they have just 1 employee in Connecticut (in 2021 employers needed 75 employees in the state to be covered under the law)
  • Previously (in 2021), employees needed to work for their employer for at least 12 months to be eligible for CFMLA. As of 2022, employees must work for their employer for just 3 months (12 weeks) prior to their leave to be eligible. In 2022, there are no specific hours of service required (even part time employees will qualify).
  • The amount of leave available under CFMLA was 16 weeks in a 24-month period. This changed in 2022, to 12 weeks in a 12-month period, with an additional 2 weeks of leave available for those incapacitated due to pregnancy. Military caregivers will still have 26 weeks in a 12-month period.

Employers will still be able to require employees to use accrued paid time off while on leave, however, they must allow employees to keep up to 2 weeks of accrued paid time off (starting in 2022).

Handbook/Policy Updates

Update 08/16/22: Information about CT FMLA was previously required to be included within your employee handbooks. However, following a recent update, the state now allows employers to provide a notice of the law to new hires, instead of including the information within the company handbook. The CT Paid Leave Law specifically requires employers to notify new hires about CT Paid Leave. The state has developed an employee notice with combined information on CT Paid Leave and CT FMLA. The Larkin Company recommends employers provide this notice to new hires (see “Notice Requirements”). This will ensure employers meet the obligations under both laws. If you, then, also wish to include CT FMLA and CT Paid Leave in your handbook, you may do so.

Reminder – CT Paid Leave still requires that employees are notified yearly about the benefit also.

Notice Requirements

This notice must be provided to employees by July 1, 2022, then annually to employees thereafter. In addition, employers must provide this to each new hire in CT. A link to the notice can be found here.

Larkin Action

The Larkin Company will consider any law changes carefully, and update our internal resources and processes, as well as our employee leave information packets, if necessary.

Further Company Considerations

Please be sure to adjust your contributions (i.e., aligned with the new 2023 Social Security wage cap), effective 2023.

Resources

Learn the Basics About Connecticut’s Paid Leave Join the CTPL mailing list (scroll to bottom of website and enter your email address).
CT Paid Leave HR Toolkit

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Disclaimer

The Larkin Company has taken reasonable steps to ensure the accuracy of the information on this page, however we make no representation or warranty of any kind as to its accuracy or completeness. These resources should not be construed or substituted for legal advice. Accordingly, before taking any actions based upon such information provided herein, we encourage you to seek competent legal advice from a licensed attorney or appropriate professionals.