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Previous Updates
Sexual Assault and Human Trafficking Victims Protections
Bill Text: CT HB07236 | 2025 | General Assembly | Chaptered | LegiScan
Paid Sick Leave Law Expansions
- Jan. 1, 2025 – Employers employing 25 or more individuals in the state.
- Jan. 1, 2026 – Employers employing 11 or more individuals in the state.
- Jan. 1, 2027 – Employers employing 1 or more individuals in the state.
Paid Sick Leave Expansion
- Jan. 1, 2025 – Employers employing 25 or more individuals in the state.
- Jan. 1, 2026 – Employers employing 11 or more individuals in the state.
- Jan. 1, 2027 – Employers employing 1 or more individuals in the state.
- The accrual of 40 hours and carryover of 40 hours will not change, but the rate of accrual will accelerate to 1 hour per 30 hours work (currently 1 hour per 40 hours worked).
- Employers may provide a bank of paid sick leave at the beginning of a calendar year in lieu of providing carry over, provided that the leave meets the requirements of the law and is immediately available for employee use.
- Sick leave can be provided through PTO programs if accessible for all purposes.
- Eligibility begins at hire and the employee can use accrued time at 120 calendar days after their date of hire.
- An employer may not require an employee to provide documentation that leave is being taken for a permitted purpose.
- Neither the current law nor the new law requires employers to pay out accrued unused paid sick leave at the time of termination of employment.
PFML Act Amended
Family Violence Victim Leave Law
Voting Leave
Paid Leave Contribution Rate
New PSL Poster
Paid Sick and Safe Leave Law Amendment
Personal Data Privacy and Online Monitoring Act
- Provides consumers (i.e., residents of the state) the right to access, correct, and delete their personal data and to opt out of the processing of personal data under certain circumstances.
- Imposes an affirmative obligation upon businesses to:
- Safeguard personal data;
- Provide clear, understandable, and transparent information to consumers about how their personal data are used; and
- Strengthen compliance and accountability by requiring data protection assessments in the collection and use of personal data.
Minimum Wage Increases to $15
Effective June 1, 2023, the minimum wage in Connecticut increases from $14.00 to $15.00.The maximum tip credit increases from $7.62 to $8.62 for service employees and from $5.77 to $6.77 for bartenders.
Clean Slate Law
Effective January 1, 2023, Connecticut's clean slate law, which requires certain criminal history information to be erased, prohibits employers from requiring current or prospective employees to disclose the existence of any erased criminal history record information. The law also prohibits an employer from denying employment to a prospective employee or terminating or otherwise discriminating against an employee solely because of the person's erased criminal history record information.
In addition, any employment application that contains a question about the applicant's criminal history must contain a notice explaining that the applicant is not required to disclose erased criminal history information.
Protections to Domestic Violence Victims
Effective October 1, 2022, the Connecticut Fair Employment Practices Act (CFEPA) is amended to:
- Cover employers with one or more employees (previously was three or more).
- Prohibit employers from discriminating based on an individual's status as a domestic violence victim.
- Require employers to provide a reasonable leave of absence for reasons related to domestic violence.
- Require an employee who has a physical or mental disability resulting from domestic violence to be treated in the same manner as an employee with any other disability.
- Require an employer with three or more employees to post domestic violence information and available resources in Connecticut.
Employees in Captive Audience Meetings
Effective July 1, 2022, the Act Protecting Employee Freedom of Speech and Conscience (the Act) prohibits employers from disciplining, discharging, or threatening to discharge or discipline an employee for refusing to attend a meeting or listen to a speech whose primary purpose is to convey the employer's opinions concerning political or religious matters.
The Act defines political matters to include matters relating to labor organizations, including the decision to join or support a union.
Voting Leave Law
Effective July 1, 2022, employees are entitled to two hours of unpaid time off to vote in any special election for a probate judge (in addition to a US senator, representative in Congress, state senator or state representative).
Recreational Marijuana
Employment-related provisions of the Responsible and Equitable Regulation of Adult-Use Cannabis Act (the Act) take effect on July 1, 2022. The provisions address an employer's right to:
- Prohibit an employee's possession and use of marijuana;
- Accommodate an employee's possession and use of marijuana;
- Take adverse action against an employee for using marijuana; and
- Conduct testing for marijuana.
Employers are not required to allow employees to work while under the influence of cannabis or to possess, use or otherwise consume cannabis while working or on the employer’s premises, except for possession of palliative cannabis by qualifying patients.
The Act also allows employees and prospective employees to bring a civil action in state court within 90 days of a purported violation by an employer of any provisions of the law.
Paid Family and Medical Leave Notices
Under the Paid Family and Medical (PFML) Act, beginning July 1, 2022, an employer must provide written notice of PFML rights to each new employee at the time of hiring and annually after that. Every employer is required to provide its employees with written notice describing job-protected leave provided under the Connecticut Family & Medical Leave Act; the opportunity to apply for income-replacement benefits from the CT Paid Leave Authority; the retaliation protections provided by the CT Family & Medical Leave Act; and the employee's right to file a complaint with the Labor Commissioner. The CT Paid Leave Authority encourages employers to share the CT Paid Leave Employee Fact Sheet with their employees.
Click here for additional information and guidance.
Paid Family and Medical Leave
Under the Paid Family and Medical Leave (PFML) Act, eligible employees may access paid leave benefits starting January 1, 2022. PFML benefits are available for leave taken under the Connecticut Family and Medical Leave Act (CFMLA).
The PFML Act amends the CFMLA, effective January 1, 2022. Amendments include:
- Dropping the employee threshold for employer coverage from 75 or more employees to one or more employees;
- Eliminating the hours-worked requirement for employee eligibility and dropping the months-worked requirement from 12 to three;
- Allowing up to 12 weeks of leave in any 12-month period (from 16 weeks in a 24-month period), and allowing an additional two weeks of leave for incapacitation during pregnancy;
- Broadening the list of covered family members to include grandparents, grandchildren, siblings and individuals whose close association is equivalent to a covered family relationship, and amending the definitions of parent, son or daughter and next of kin; and
- Allowing employees to retain at least two weeks of accrued paid leave that the employee may elect, or the employer may require the employee, to otherwise substitute for unpaid CFMLA.
PFML benefits are funded solely through employee contributions that began starting January 1, 2021. FrankCrum withholds the required employee contributions and submits to the CT Paid Leave Authority on the client’s behalf.
To learn more about PFML click here.
For the poster click here.
Pay Range Disclosure Guidance
Connecticut has released guidance for the Disclosure of Salary Range for a Vacant Position Act (noted back in August FranklyHR). It clarifies definition of applicant, what must be included in the wage range, disclosures, and civil action an applicant may take. Learn more here.
Connecticut FMLA Guidance
The Connecticut Department of Labor (DOL) has released guidance on how employers should assess leaves that cross from 2021 to 2022. If an employee starts Connecticut FMLA (CTFMLA) CTFMLA leave prior to January 2022, the duration of the CTFMLA leave would be capped at 12 weeks in the applicable 12-month period as of January 1, 2022, even if they were approved for, and commenced, 16 weeks of CTFMLA leave in 2021. Learn more here.
Unpaid Time Off to Vote
The Governor has signed into law a requirement for employers to provide all employees with two hours unpaid time off to vote. This is effective until June 30, 2024.
The key provisions are:
- Eligibility for leave:
- any employee in the case of a state election
- any employee who is an elector in the case of any special election for United States senator, representative in Congress, state senator or state representative
- Leave entitlement: two hours unpaid time from an employee’s regularly scheduled work on the day of any covered election during voting hours
- Conditions for approval: employee must request the time off not less than two working days prior to the election
Effective October 1, 2021, Connecticut amends its sexual harassment prevention training requirements with respect to the timing of the required training. Specifically, if an employee has received in-person training provided by the Commission or has taken the no-cost online training provided by the Commission while employed by a different employer within the two years preceding the date of hire, an employer may consider the prior training to satisfy the training requirements.
As a reminder, a Connecticut employer with three or more employees must provide a minimum of two hours of harassment training to:
- All existing employees.
- All nonsupervisory employees within six months of hire.
If an employer has fewer than three employees, all supervisors must receive two hours of training. Periodic supplemental training must be provided not less than every ten years. The Connecticut Commission of Human Rights and Opportunities (CHRO) recommends that training for supervisors be offered every three years for employers having 50 or more employees.
Learn more and view training resources here.
Effective October 1, 2021, the state smoking law is amended to require each employer to prohibit smoking and the use of electronic nicotine and cannabis delivery systems and vapor products in any area of any business facility under its control. Under the current law, the prohibition only applies to employers with five or more employees and does not apply to the use of electronic nicotine and cannabis delivery systems and vapor products.
In addition, several definitions are added or amended, including those regarding:
- Smoke or smoking;
- Electronic nicotine delivery system; and
- Electronic cannabis delivery system.
Want to know more if you have employees who smoke? Check out our recent blog here.
Pay Range Disclosure
Effective October 1, 2021, Connecticut employers are required to disclose the wage range for a position to an applicant for the position at the applicant's request or before making an offer of compensation to the applicant, whichever is earlier.
In addition, employers are required to provide the wage range for an employee's position:
- Upon hiring;
- Upon a change in the employee's position with the employer; or
- At the employee's first request for a wage range.
Wage range means the range of wages an employer anticipates relying on when setting wages for a position.
In addition, Connecticut's equal pay law is amended to specify that credentials, skills and geographic location are included in the definition of bona fide factors other than sex upon which an employer may rely when attempting to justify a pay differential.
Age on Employment Applications
Effective October 1, 2021, it is a prohibited employment practice for an employer in Connecticut to request or require the following information on a prospective employee's initial employment application:
- Age,
- Date of birth, or
- Dates of attendance at or graduation from an educational institution.
Exceptions apply if the information is:
- Sought because of a bona fide occupational qualification or need; or
- Required for compliance with a state or federal law.
Lactation Accommodations
Effective October 1, 2021, Connecticut's lactation accommodation law is amended to specify that unless an employer can demonstrate undue hardship, a room or other private location provided to an employee for the purpose of expressing breast milk must:
- Be free from intrusion and shielded from the public while the employee expresses breast milk;
- Include or be situated near a refrigerator or employee-provided portable cold storage device for storage of breast milk; and
- Include access to an electrical outlet.
New Recall and Retention Obligations for Certain Employers
The CT Gov. signed into law an Act imposing stringent recall and retention obligations on hotels, lodging houses, food service contractors, and building services enterprises that have 15 or more employees in Connecticut. This new law establishes recall rights to certain laid off employees.
“Laid-off employee" means any employee:
- who was employed by the employer for six months or more in the twelve months preceding March 10, 2020,
- and whose most recent separation from active service or whose failure to be scheduled for customary seasonal work by that employer occurred after March 10, 2020, and before May 1, 2022, and was due to lack of business or a reduction or furlough of the employer's workforce due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Learn more here.
Minimum Wage Increase
Effective August 1, 2021, the minimum wage in Connecticut increases from $12.00 to $13.00.
The maximum tip credit increases from $5.62 to $6.62 for service employees and from $3.77 to $4.77 for bartenders.
Sexual Harassment Prevention Training Deadline Extended
The October 1, 2020 original deadline for training has been pushed again.
By July 20, 2021, employers must provide compliant sexual harassment prevention training as follows:
- All employers must provide the training to supervisors; and
- Employers with three or more employees must provide the training to all employees in addition to supervisors.
Employers that have provided compliant training and education to covered employees after October 1, 2018, are not required to provide the training and education a second time.
Legalization of Recreational Marijuana
Recreational use of marijuana will be legal in Connecticut as of July 1, 2021, with retail sales of cannabis projected to begin by the end of 2022. With the passage of the bill, Connecticut joins 18 other states and the District of Columbia in legalizing recreational marijuana.
Employers will not be required to allow employees to work while under the influence of cannabis or to possess, use or otherwise consume cannabis while working or on the employer's premises, except for possession of palliative cannabis by qualifying patients.
In addition, employers remain free to implement drug-free workplace policies that prohibit employee possession, use and consumption of cannabis. Such policies must be in writing and made available to employees prior to enactment. An employer must make its written cannabis policy available to prospective employees when making an offer of employment and may not discharge or take any other adverse action against an employee for off-duty cannabis use unless done in keeping with such a policy.
The law also prohibits an employer from taking adverse action against a prospective or current employee based on the individual's prior cannabis use outside the workplace before being employed by that employer unless failing to do so would cause the employer to violate a federal contract or lose federal funding. A number of positions and industries are exempt from this provision, including law enforcement, emergency response and many safety- or security-sensitive roles.
Learn more here.
CROWN Act
Connecticut has passed the Create a Respectful and Open Workplace for Natural Hair Act (CROWN Act) which amends the Connecticut Fair Employment Practices Act to make clear that hairstyle discrimination is included in the existing prohibition on race-based discrimination. This amendment follows similar amendments passed within the past few years among other states and jurisdictions.
Sexual Harassment Training Deadline
For those who missed the January 1 and then the February 9 deadlines to train employees hired after October 1, 2019, the training deadline has been extended again to April 19, 2021. Click here for resources and to review ongoing requirements.
Sexual Harassment Training Deadline
The January 1, 2021 training deadline has been extended to February 9, 2021. Click below to access FAQs and online training.
CT Sexual Harassment Prevention
December 2020
Paid Family and Medical Leave
As a reminder, beginning January 1, 2021 employers who have one or more employees must participate in Connecticut Paid Family and Medical Leave. The CT Paid Family and Medical Leave Act (PFMLA) offers Connecticut’s workforce income replacement benefits for qualifying life events, including childbirth and seeking treatment for serious health conditions for themselves or their families.
Employees will have contributions of ½ of 1% deducted from their total wages up to the defined Social Security wage base and done so through payroll deduction. These payroll deductions are capped at 0.5% and there is no employer match.
Beginning January 1, 2022 the Connecticut Paid Leave Authority can pay up to 12 weeks of benefits in connection with the approved reasons for leave.
If employers offer a private Paid Family and Medical plan, they may apply to the CT Paid Leave Authority for an exemption to the program if the private program is found to be comparable and a majority of the employer’s employees have agreed to the plan.
FrankCrum will withhold the required employee contributions and submit on your behalf.
Next Steps
Register Your Business
Employers may now begin registering with the Paid Leave Authority. If you plan to offer a private plan to your employees, you can indicate that during registration. Please let us know if you intend to offer a private plan by December 18th by sending an email to Tax_Group@frankcrum.com.
Click here for a how to guide to register your business.
1. Create your account
2. Register your business (choose Employers/Company Administrators).
Communicate with Employees
The Connecticut Paid Leave program is funded solely through employee payroll deductions – let employees know this will begin on January 1, 2021 and they should expect their paychecks to reflect these withholdings. Below are links to information to share with employees, including a Poster, and a Contribution Estimator Tool to help employees determine how much may be deducted each pay period.
Informational Card for Employees
Employee Video Guide and Contribution Estimator Tool
Submit Employee Contributions/Quarterly Reports
When the Paid Leave program’s employee contributions begin on January 1, 2021, employers will be required to remit payments to the CT Paid Leave Authority on a quarterly basis. FrankCrum will submit on your behalf. You will be able to view online the reports that are filed.
Additional Resources for Employers
October 2020
Paid Family and Medical Leave
Beginning January 1, 2021 employers who have one or more employees must participate in Connecticut Paid Family and Medical Leave. If employers offer a private Paid Family and Medical plan, they may apply to the CT Paid Leave Authority for an exemption to the program if the private program is found to be comparable and a majority of the employer’s employees have agreed to the plan. CT anticipates starting to accept applications for private plan approval in December 2020.
Employees will have contributions of ½ of 1% deducted from their total wages up to the defined Social Security wage base and done so through payroll deduction. These payroll deductions are capped at 0.5% and there is no employer match.
Beginning January 1, 2022 the Connecticut Paid Leave Authority can pay up to 12 weeks of benefits in connection with the approved reasons for leave.
Stay tuned for further information from FrankCrum in November.
Click below for an employer reference guide:
CT Paid Family and Medical Leave
September 2020
Sexual Harassment Training
Pursuant to Executive Order 7DDD, as amended by Executive Order 9A, the October 1st Sexual Harassment Prevention Training deadline has been extended to January 1, 2021 due to the COVID-19 Pandemic. This is a blanket extension and does not require a request to be made. If there are any questions, please contact CHRO.Questions@ct.gov.
CT Sexual Harassment Prevention
August 2020
Sexual Harassment Training
As noted in a previous FranklyHR newsletter, the Connecticut Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities (CHRO) has authorized employers to apply for a 90 days extension to complete training for employees who were hired after October 1, 2019. Employers may request an extension for reasons relating specifically to the COVID-19 pandemic by emailing the CHRO at CHRO.questions@ct.gov. Requests should be submitted by September 9, 2020. Requests received after that date may not be granted.
This does not apply to employees hired before October 1, 2019 – training for those employees must be completed on or by October 1, 2020. Click the below link for training resources.
CT Sexual Harassment Prevention
July 2020
Connecticut Minimum Wage Increase
Effective September 1, 2020, the minimum wage in Connecticut increases from $11.00 to $12.00 per hour. The maximum tip credit increases to $5.62 for service employees and $3.77 for bartenders, as long as the employee makes at least minimum wage with tips.
As the minimum wage increases in subsequent years, the amount of allowable tip credit will correspondingly increase to make up the difference between the employer's share (frozen at the $6.38 and $8.23 for hotel and restaurant staff and bartenders, respectively) and the new minimum wage.
The subminimum training wage is effectively repealed.
