Policy Resource

Connecticut Is First State to Mandate Paid Sick Leave

Nov 13, 2017

In June 2011, Connecticut became the first state to pass paid sick leave legislation

The law, which went into effect on January 1, 2012, requires businesses with 50 or more employees to provide certain workers with one hour of paid sick leave for every 40 hours worked. To accrue the benefit, employees must be classified as service workers and have worked at least ten hours per week during the previous quarter. Leave can be taken if the worker is ill or injured, or for the worker to care for a child or spouse. Employers that already offered at least five days of paid time off a year were not affected by the new law. Manufacturers and some nonprofit organizations are also exempt.

As of January 2016, 7 states and Washington, DC (California, Oregon, Massachusetts, Arizona, Vermont, and Washington) and many cities have joined Connecticut in enacting paid sick leave. See a list of paid sick leave legislation here.

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