Connecticut’s sick time law requires most private-sector employers to give employees up to 40 hours of paid sick leave each year, earned at one hour for every 30 hours worked. The rules changed significantly under Public Act 24-8, which took effect January 1, 2025, and coverage keeps expanding to smaller employers through 2027.1Connecticut General Assembly. Public Act No. 24-8 – An Act Expanding Paid Sick Days in the State
Who Is Covered
The old law only applied to certain “service workers” at companies with 50 or more employees. Public Act 24-8 threw that limit out and replaced it with a broad definition covering nearly all private-sector employees, regardless of job title or industry.2Connecticut General Assembly. Office of Legislative Research – Connecticut’s Paid Sick Leave Law Coverage phases in by employer size:
- January 1, 2025: employers with 25 or more employees
- January 1, 2026: employers with 11 or more employees
- January 1, 2027: employers with 1 or more employees
Employer size is measured by the payroll for the week containing January 1 of each year. Self-employed individuals are not considered employers under the law.3FindLaw. Connecticut Code 31-57r – Definitions
Two groups stay outside the law. Seasonal employees who work 120 days or fewer per year are not covered. Neither are construction trade workers in a union with a multiemployer health plan maintained under a collective bargaining agreement.3FindLaw. Connecticut Code 31-57r – Definitions Everyone else in the private sector is covered once their employer hits the size threshold.
How Hours Accrue and When You Can Use Them
Employees earn one hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours worked, capped at 40 hours per year. Accrual starts on day one. Using the time is a different matter: you generally cannot draw on your accrued hours until your 120th calendar day on the job.4Justia Law. Connecticut Code 31-57s – Paid Sick Leave Accrual Requirements If you were already past 120 days with a covered employer when the law first applied to your workplace, you skip the waiting period and can use leave as it accrues.5Connecticut Department of Labor. Paid Sick Leave Q&A
Unused hours carry over from year to year, up to 40 hours. Even with carryover, you cannot use more than 40 hours in any single year. Employers can also front-load the full 40 hours at the start of the year instead of tracking accrual hour by hour, and a front-loading employer does not have to allow carryover.4Justia Law. Connecticut Code 31-57s – Paid Sick Leave Accrual Requirements
The statute sets a floor. Employers can always offer faster accrual or more total hours.
What You Can Use Sick Leave For
You can use paid sick leave for your own illness, injury, or health condition, for medical diagnosis and treatment, and for preventive care.6FindLaw. Connecticut Code 31-57t – Permitted Uses for Sick Leave The amended law explicitly recognizes mental health wellness days, meaning a scheduled shift taken off to attend to emotional and psychological well-being.3FindLaw. Connecticut Code 31-57r – Definitions
The same leave is available to care for a family member, and the 2024 expansion widened that circle considerably. Family member now includes a spouse, child of any age (biological, adopted, foster, stepchild, or legal ward), parent (including in-laws and stepparents), sibling, grandparent, and grandchild. It also covers anyone related to you by blood or affinity whose close association is the equivalent of those family relationships.3FindLaw. Connecticut Code 31-57r – Definitions That last category is intentionally broad.
Two other situations count. You can use leave when a public official orders your workplace closed for a public health emergency, or when a health authority finds that you or a family member poses a risk to others because of communicable illness exposure. Safe leave is also covered when you or a family member is a victim of family violence or sexual assault, including counseling, victim services, relocating, and related court proceedings.6FindLaw. Connecticut Code 31-57t – Permitted Uses for Sick Leave
No Notice or Documentation Required
This is the biggest practical change from the old law. Employers used to be able to require up to seven days’ advance notice for foreseeable leave, same-day notice for unexpected absences, and a doctor’s note for absences of three or more consecutive days. Public Act 24-8 struck all of that.2Connecticut General Assembly. Office of Legislative Research – Connecticut’s Paid Sick Leave Law
As of January 1, 2025, employers cannot require documentation showing that you used sick leave for a purpose allowed by the law. No doctor’s notes, no signed statements, no court records. The formal advance-notice requirements are gone too.2Connecticut General Assembly. Office of Legislative Research – Connecticut’s Paid Sick Leave Law
When an Existing PTO Policy Is Enough
Employers with a paid time off policy already in place do not necessarily need a separate sick leave bank. The law treats an employer as compliant if the existing policy allows time off for all the same reasons the statute allows and accrues at the same or a greater rate.2Connecticut General Assembly. Office of Legislative Research – Connecticut’s Paid Sick Leave Law A general PTO bank that accrues at one hour per 30 hours worked and can be used for illness, family care, and safe leave qualifies. A vacation-only policy limited to scheduled time off does not.
Retaliation Protections and Penalties
An employer cannot fire, demote, suspend, or otherwise retaliate against you for requesting or using paid sick leave, or for filing a complaint with the Labor Commissioner. Sick leave usage also cannot be a negative factor in performance reviews, attendance policies, or promotion decisions.7Justia Law. Connecticut Code 31-57v – Retaliatory Personnel Action Prohibited
If you believe your employer retaliated, you can file a complaint with the Labor Commissioner. After a hearing, the Commissioner can order reinstatement, back wages, and reestablishment of lost benefits.7Justia Law. Connecticut Code 31-57v – Retaliatory Personnel Action Prohibited
Penalties come in two tiers. Retaliation carries a civil penalty of $500 per violation. Other violations, such as failing to provide proper accrual or denying leave for a covered purpose, carry a civil penalty of up to $100 per violation.7Justia Law. Connecticut Code 31-57v – Retaliatory Personnel Action Prohibited
Posting the Notice
Employers must display a poster about paid sick leave rights in the workplace. If there is no physical worksite or the employee works remotely, the notice must go out through electronic communication or be posted conspicuously on a web-based or app-based platform the employee uses.2Connecticut General Assembly. Office of Legislative Research – Connecticut’s Paid Sick Leave Law This is a common oversight for smaller businesses entering coverage in 2026 and 2027.
Paid Sick Leave Is Not the Same as CT Paid Leave
Connecticut runs two separate leave programs, and employees regularly confuse them. Paid sick leave, described above, gives you up to 40 hours a year for short-term illness, routine medical care, mental health wellness days, and similar needs. It is paid by your employer and administered through the Department of Labor.8Connecticut Paid Leave Authority. CT Paid Leave vs Paid Sick Days
CT Paid Leave (CTPL) is a state insurance program that provides up to 12 weeks of partial wage replacement for serious health conditions, bonding with a new child, and other qualifying events. It is funded by employee payroll contributions and run by the CT Paid Leave Authority.8Connecticut Paid Leave Authority. CT Paid Leave vs Paid Sick Days A serious health condition under CTPL involves inpatient care or continuing treatment and does not cover everyday illnesses. Someone home with the flu uses paid sick leave. Someone recovering from surgery might qualify for both.