Following the states of New York and Massachusetts, Connecticut has passed the CT Paid Leave Law that will become effective January 1, 2022. To fund this benefit, employers will begin withholding 0.5% from each covered employee’s paycheck beginning January 1, 2021. While many questions need to be answered by the state, we believe organizations should start getting educated. To start, here is a snapshot of what this new law means to your business and some strategies to consider.

What does this new law mean?

• Requires virtually all employees in CT to contribute 0.5% of their wages to fund the program beginning January 1, 2021. If you have employees that earned $2,325 from one or more employers during the last 5 quarters and are currently employed or was employed within the last 12 weeks, you must withhold the contribution.
• Employees are eligible to begin taking the paid leave as of January 1, 2022.
• Payout is 95% of current wages capped at 60X the minimum wage.
• Maximum leave is 12 weeks per year or 14 weeks for serious issues related to pregnancy.
• Leave may be taken in four (4) hour increments.
• After July 1, 2022, an employer must provide notification to all employees at the time of hire and annually thereafter.
• If you already offer this exact leave you can apply for exemption from the program.
• The following types of businesses need not comply: State or municipalities, sole proprietors.

Things to Think About

• How will the deduction of 0.5% affect your employees and how will you explain why this is happening?
• All employees must contribute to the fund, no exceptions, even if they don’t use the benefit. Be prepared to explain this to employees.
• Once 2022 rolls around, how will you mitigate the potential impact paid time off will have to your organization’s productivity?

Checklist

• Become educated on this new law.
• Determine if your organization is covered by this new law.
• Set up a deduction with your payroll company for the 0.5% (January 2021).
• Create a communication for your employees to explain this benefit.
• Create a new policy for your handbook or update your current policy.
• Review how this policy and other paid leave policies will overlap.

The State of Connecticut passed several new laws in 2019 and this may be daunting. If you need some help navigating your way through the new laws, please feel free to contact KardasLarson so that we can assure that you will be totally compliant with the new Connecticut Paid Leave Law.