American Staffing Association (01/04/12) Dwyer, Stephen

Connecticut’s paid sick leave law went into effect Jan. 1. The law requires certain employers to provide paid sick leave to service employees. “Day or temporary workers” are excluded from the law, however.

The law defines a day or temporary worker as an individual who performs work for another on a per diem basis, or on an occasional or irregular basis for only the time required to complete such work, whether such individual is paid by the person for whom such work is performed or by an employment agency or temporary help service.

Under the new law, hourly service workers, such as waiters, cashiers, fast food chefs, and others, will earn one hour of paid sick leave for every 40 hours that they work, up to a maximum of 40 hours of paid sick leave a year. It is estimated that 200,000 to 400,000 workers will be covered under the law.

The law applies only to businesses with 50 or more employees. Along with day or temporary workers, the bill excludes manufacturing companies, nationally chartered nonprofit organizations, and independent contractors.

Connecticut joins the District of Columbia and San Francisco as the only U.S. jurisdictions to impose a paid sick leave mandate on employers.