Client Alert
Connecticut Becomes First State to Mandate Paid Sick Leave for Service Workers
July 07, 2011
Patrick W. Shea & Shaira Nanwani
Connecticut became the first state in the nation to mandate a paid sick leave policy for service workers. An Act Mandating Employers Provide Paid Sick Leave to Employees (Paid Sick Leave Act) goes into effect on January 1, 2012 and requires employers with fifty or more employees to pay service workers for sick leave, accruing at a rate of one hour per 40 hours worked. To whom does the Paid Sick Leave Act Apply?
The Paid Sick Leave Act only applies to employers with fifty or more employees within Connecticut in any one quarter in the previous year. Manufacturers and certain tax exempt organizations are excluded from coverage, however. Additionally, employers with pre-existing policies that allow at least as much coverage as that prescribed by the Act are deemed to be in compliance with the Act.
Eligible employees include service workers who primarily work in one of 68 Standard Occupational Classifications. The following workers, however, are not eligible under this Act: (1) day or temporary workers; (2) non-hourly workers; and (3) salaried employees. The Act defines day or temporary worker as an individual who works on a per diem basis or who works on an occasional or temporary basis for only the time required to complete such work.
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