Connecticut Governor Daniel Malloy recently signed Public Act No. 14-128 to amend the state’s Paid Sick Leave law.  Under the Connecticut Paid Sick Leave law, which took effect January 1, 2012, an eligible “service worker” is entitled to accrue one hour of paid sick leave for every forty hours worked, up to a maximum of forty hours of sick leave per year.  This post highlights the key amendments to the law, effective January 1, 2015.

The new amendments:

• Modify the test for calculating whether an employer is exempt from the law.  Connecticut’s Paid Sick Leave law only applies to employers with fifty or more employees in the state.  Previously, an employer was required to provide paid sick leave if it met the fifty-employee threshold in any single quarter in the prior calendar year. Under the law as recently amended, an employer will be covered under the law only if it has fifty or more individuals on the payroll for the week containing October 1^st, annually.
• Prohibit taking an adverse action to avoid meeting the fifty-employee threshold. Under the amended law, an employer is precluded from terminating, dismissing or transferring an employee for the sole purpose of avoiding the law’s coverage, as described above.
• Expand the definition of “service worker.” The amendment adds radiologic technologists to the robust list of occupational categories that may be eligible to receive paid sick leave.
• Allow an employer to flexibly define “year” for sick leave accrual and use. The amended law removes references to a “calendar year” and now defines “year” as any 365-day period that is used by the employer to calculate employee benefits.

Connecticut employers should review their sick leave policies to ensure compliance with the Paid Sick Leave law. If you have any questions or concerns about the law or the recent amendments, please contact your Proskauer lawyer.