Time off - Connecticut

Domestic violence leave

Employees may take leave for reasons related to family violence. The Connecticut family violence leave provisions apply in addition to leave taken under the state or federal family and medical leave. “Family violence” means an incident resulting in physical harm, bodily injury, or assault, or an act of threatened violence that constitutes fear of imminent physical harm, bodily injury, or assault between family or household members. Verbal abuse or argument shall not constitute family violence unless there is present danger and the likelihood that physical violence will occur.

Emergency workers

Employers may not discharge or discriminate against any employee who is an active volunteer firefighter or member of a volunteer ambulance service if the employee is late or absent from work as a result of responding to an emergency outside of the employee's regular work hours.

These employees are required, whenever possible, to notify employers that they will be late or absent because of their emergency responder duties. Employers are allowed to require documentation to verify the need for leave. CT Gen Stat § 7-322c

Jury duty

Connecticut law requires employers to pay full-time employees serving as a juror regular wages for the first five days, or part thereof, of juror service.

Part-time employees are to be reimbursed by the state for necessary out-of-pocket expenses incurred during the first five days, or part thereof, of juror service.

Leave for victims

Under Connecticut law, employers are prohibited from depriving employees of employment, penalizing, threatening, or otherwise coercing employees because of the following:

• Employees obey legal subpoenas to appear in court as witnesses,
• Employees attend a court proceeding or participate in an investigation,
• A restraining order has been issued on the employees’ behalf, or
• Employees are victims of family violence.

The law does not specify a limit on the quantity of time off to which employees may be entitled, nor does it provide for employer coverage or employee eligibility criteria.

Paid sick and safe leave

Businesses in the service industry with 50 or more employees must allow service workers to accrue one hour of paid sick time for every 40 hours worked.

The determination of whether an employer has 50 or more employees is based annually on the organization’s payroll for the week containing October 1.

For purposes of this law, “service worker” means “an employee primarily engaged in an occupation with one of the following broad or detailed occupation code numbers and titles, as defined by the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics Standard Occupational Classification system.” The list includes bank tellers, bus drivers, cashiers, child care workers, computer operators, food service workers, home health aides, nurses, retail salespersons, administrative assistants, restaurant servers, and a host of other occupations.

Service workers who receive at least five paid days per year in another form (i.e., vacation, personal days, paid time off) are not covered by the law if they are allowed to use those days for sick leave.

Workers accrue paid time off in one-hour increments up to a maximum of 40 hours per the 365-day period used by the employer to calculate employee benefits.

To be eligible to take leave, employees must complete 680 hours of service after being hired.

Eligible employees may take such leave for the following reasons:

• For their own illness, injury, health condition, treatment, or preventive care;
• For the injury, illness, health condition, treatment, or preventive care of the employee’s child or spouse; or
• For care, counseling, relocation, or to participate in proceedings if an employee is a victim of family violence or sexual assault.

Effective 10/1/2023, employees may take the leave for the following additional reasons:

• To take a “mental health wellness day,” to attend to emotional and psychological well-being instead of working their regularly scheduled shift; or
• For care, counseling, relocation, or to participate in proceedings if the employee is a parent of a child who is a victim of family violence or sexual assault.

Employers may require employees to provide seven days’ prior notice of the need to take leave if the need is foreseeable. If the need is unforeseeable, employees are to provide notice as soon as practicable. If an employee is out for three or more consecutive days, the employer may require reasonable documentation supporting the need for leave.

Covered employers will need to give new hires a notice of the provisions or post a notice in both English and Spanish.

If employers already provide other forms of paid leave, they may already be in compliance with the new provisions, as long as the other forms of paid leave are at least as generous as those now required by law.

Paid time off (PTO)

Connecticut law does not require vacation pay. However, if an employer chooses to provide paid time off benefits, it must follow the terms and conditions established in its policy.

Pregnancy accommodations

Employers with three or more employees must provide reasonable accommodations for pregnancy, childbirth, or a related condition, including lactation. Reasonable accommodations include, but are not limited to:

• Being allowed to sit while working,
• Taking more frequent or longer breaks,
• Periodic rest,
• Help with manual labor,
• Job restructuring,
• Light duty,
• Modified work schedules,
• Temporary transfers to less strenuous or hazardous work,
• Time off to recover from childbirth, or
• Break time and appropriate facilities for expressing breast milk.

If the employee takes time off, she is entitled to be reinstated to her original job or to an equivalent position, unless the company’s circumstances have changed so much as to make it impossible or unreasonable to reinstate the employee to her original or equivalent position.

The employee must give written notice of her pregnancy, and must be informed of this requirement.

Employers are not, however, required to provide an accommodation that would pose an undue hardship — an action requiring significant difficulty or expense when considered in light of factors such as:

• The nature and cost of the accommodation;
• The overall financial resources of the employer;
• The overall size of the business with respect to the number of employees;
• The number, type, and location of the facilities; and
• The effect on expenses and resources or the impact on the company’s operation.

Employees may not be required to take leave if a reasonable accommodation can be provided in lieu of leave. Employers must provide written notice of these rights to employees, and can meet this by posting such a notice in English and Spanish.

Voting

Effective from June 23, 2021 to June 30, 2024, employers must give employees at least two hours of unpaid time off from the employee’s regularly scheduled work day during the polling hours to vote as follows:

• For state election, or
• For any special election for United States senator, representative in Congress, state senator, or state representative.

Employees are to request the time off at least two working days before the election.

SB 1202