Connecticut’s Paid Sick Leave Law:What to Expect and How to Plan Ahead

James F. Shea

Jackson Lewis LLP

July 15, 2011

sheaj@jacksonlewis.com

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What Are The Basics?

• Effective January 1, 2012• Connecticut will be the first state in the

U.S. to mandate paid sick leave for employees

• Provides 40 hours paid leave per calendar year for covered absences

• Prohibits retaliation against employees who request or use sick leave

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Which Employers Are Covered?

• Public and private employers:• With 50+ employees in the state in any

one quarter in the previous calendar year• Exemptions:

– Manufacturers (as defined in the North American Industrial Classification System)

– Any nationally-chartered non-profit which provides recreation, child care and education (e.g., YMCA)

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Which Employees Are Entitled To Leave?• “Service workers”• Defined as hourly and salaried employees

not exempt from the federal Fair Labor Standards Act

• Who are primarily engaged in any one of a number of listed occupations– Range from “Miscellaneous Office and

Administrative Support Workers” to “Waiters and Waitresses” to “Home Health Aides”

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How Is Leave Accrued?

• Beginning January 1, 2012 (or on employee’s date of hire)

• One hour leave for each 40 hours worked by the service worker

• Up to 40 hours total per calendar year

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How Is Leave Used?

• Eligible to use accrued paid leave after working 680 hours starting January 1, 2012 (or 680 hours from date of hire)

• Part time employees accrue paid sick leave but cannot use accrued leave if they have not worked average of 10+ hours per week in the preceding quarter

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Can Leave Carry Over?

• Service workers are allowed to carry over up to 40 unused hours of paid sick leave to the next year

• But cannot use more than 40 hours in any year

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What If My Company Already Has A PTO Policy?• Safe harbor provision: company would be

in compliance with the paid sick leave mandate if it offers other forms of paid leave, such as paid vacation time, personal time or paid time off (“PTO”) to service workers that:

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Accrue at a rate equal to or greater than the rate under the law

May be used for the reasons allowed by the lawMay be used as necessary by the employee, without

regard to any minimum increment requirements (although there is some suggestion in the legislative history that perhaps the minimum increment is one hour)

Can be carried over up to forty hours to the next calendar year and

Satisfy the employer’s notice requirements under the paid sick leave law

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• Thus, it appears that the 40 hours mandated by the law need not be made available solely for reasons of illness, injury, medical treatment, and the like, so long as the service worker is permitted to take it for those purposes.

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What Are Covered Reasons For Leave?• Illness, injury or health condition• Medical diagnosis, care or treatment of

mental or physical illness, injury or health condition

• Preventative care • For service worker or their child or spouse• Leave related to family violence or

sexual assault is also covered11

Must Employee Provide Notice or Documentation?• If foreseeable up to 7 days notice • If unforeseeable as soon as practicable • If leave is three or more consecutive days,

may require that employee provide documentation that leave is being taken for a covered purpose

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Anti-Retaliation Provision

• No employer shall take retaliatory personnel action or discriminate against an employee because the employee:– Requests or uses paid sick leave under the

act or under company sick leave policy– Files a complaint with the DOL alleging a

violation of the paid sick leave law

• This provision applies for all employees, not just “service workers”

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Penalties

Labor Commissioner may impose:• Civil fine of $500 per violation of anti-

retaliation provision• Civil fine of $100 per violation of any other

provision• Potential award to employee of “all

appropriate relief”

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Poster Requirement

• Employer must provide notice to service workers at time of hire of:– The entitlement to sick leave, including the

amount available and terms of use– That retaliation is prohibited– That the service worker has the right to file a

complaint with the Labor Commission

• May comply by displaying a poster in both English and Spanish

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Issues You Will Likely Encounter

• Are you a covered employer? • Do you have service workers?• Will your PTO/sick policy comply with the law?• Are you permitted to request documentation to

support use of sick leave time?• Are your part-time workers covered?• What is the minimum increment of leave an

employer may require?• How will this leave interact with FMLA?

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Questions?

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THANK YOU

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