If you run a business with even one worker in Connecticut, complying with the Connecticut paid family leave requirements for employers means five things: register with the CT Paid Leave Authority, withhold 0.5% of each employee’s wages, file wage reports and remit contributions every quarter, give employees written notice of their rights, and return the employment verification form when a worker files a claim. The program is codified at Connecticut General Statutes §§ 31-49e through 31-49u.1Justia. Connecticut Code 31-49e – Paid Family and Medical Leave Definitions
Who Has to Comply
Coverage turns on headcount in the simplest way possible: one employee in Connecticut is enough.2Connecticut Paid Leave. For Businesses and Employers The statute defines “employer” as any person or entity engaged in any activity, enterprise, or business that employs at least one person.3Connecticut General Assembly. Chapter 557 – Employment Regulation A one-person shop has the same obligations as a company with a thousand workers.
A few employers sit outside the program. The federal government and railroad employers are absolutely excluded.4Connecticut Paid Leave. Coverage and Eligibility The state, municipalities, local and regional boards of education, and nonpublic elementary and secondary schools are generally not covered employers, but any of them can become one for specific workers designated as “covered public employees” through collective bargaining or other arrangements.3Connecticut General Assembly. Chapter 557 – Employment Regulation If your business is private and has Connecticut employees, assume you are covered.
Register with the CT Paid Leave Authority
Registration happens through the Authority’s online portal. You will need your Federal Employer Identification Number (FEIN) and your Connecticut Tax Registration Number, and you should designate someone in the organization to manage the account and receive communications.5Connecticut Paid Leave. How to Register as an Employer with CT Paid Leave
The portal asks whether you run payroll in-house or use a third-party administrator. If you use a TPA, authorize them inside the portal so they can submit wage data and process payments on your behalf.5Connecticut Paid Leave. How to Register as an Employer with CT Paid Leave Getting this authorization right from the start saves you from scrambling before your first quarterly filing is due.
Withhold the 0.5% Employee Contribution
The program is funded entirely by employee contributions. Employers do not put in their own money. You withhold and remit.6Connecticut Paid Leave. Contributions
The rate is 0.5% of each employee’s wages, applied to the same earnings base that Social Security uses. Once a worker’s year-to-date earnings reach the Social Security wage cap, you stop withholding. For 2026, that cap is $184,500,7Social Security Administration. Contribution and Benefit Base so the most any single employee can pay in 2026 is $922.50.
Two details trip employers up. First, contributions apply to all compensation subject to Social Security tax, which includes bonuses and commissions, not just base salary. Second, if a worker holds more than one job, each employer withholds independently against that cap until the employee hits it with that specific employer.6Connecticut Paid Leave. Contributions You do not coordinate with other employers; you track your own payroll against the cap.
File and Remit Every Quarter
Wage reports and the contributions you withheld are due the last day of the month after each calendar quarter closes:8Connecticut Paid Leave. Remit Contributions
- Q1 (January–March): due April 30
- Q2 (April–June): due July 31
- Q3 (July–September): due October 31
- Q4 (October–December): due January 31
You submit wage files through the portal showing total compensation and the corresponding deductions. The Authority requires correctly formatted files, so confirm your payroll system or TPA produces the accepted format before your first filing.
If you had no employees during a quarter, file anyway. A $0.00 wage statement keeps you compliant; skipping the filing triggers a notice of noncompliance with interest and penalties.2Connecticut Paid Leave. For Businesses and Employers Keep the confirmation receipt the portal generates after each submission. The Authority’s guidance does not specify exact penalty amounts for late filings, so treat the deadlines as hard cutoffs.
Give Employees Written Notice
Covered employers must give every employee written notice of their rights under CT Paid Leave at the time of hire and again on an annual basis. The notice should explain the right to file a claim, the process for applying through the Authority, and the prohibition on retaliation for exercising program rights.
A standardized workplace poster in a common area, combined with the written notice, is a common way to satisfy the requirement. Keep records of when notices went out so you can show compliance if the question comes up later.
Respond When an Employee Files a Claim
Employees apply for benefits directly through the Authority, not through you. Your role begins when the Authority sends you an Employment Verification Form.9Connecticut Paid Leave. I am an Employer The form is how the Authority confirms eligibility, verifies the worker’s normal schedule, and determines whether other income sources such as accrued PTO or short-term disability payments affect the benefit amount.10Connecticut Paid Leave. Employment Verification Form Job Aid
Fill the form out based on the information as of the date you receive it, or the first date of leave, whichever is earlier. Slow responses hold up the employee’s benefits and create avoidable friction. Assign someone in HR or payroll who can turn these around quickly.
How Paid Leave Interacts with FMLA and PTO
CT Paid Leave is income replacement. It is not job protection. Job protection comes from the Connecticut Family and Medical Leave Act (which applies to employers with one or more employees) or federal FMLA (50 or more employees within 75 miles). When an employee qualifies for both paid benefits and FMLA, the programs run concurrently, but the employee has to apply to each one separately: to you for FMLA leave, and to the Authority for paid benefits.11Connecticut Paid Leave. CT Paid Leave and FMLA
An employee who is not FMLA-eligible can still receive CT Paid Leave benefits, and they may still have job-protection rights under other laws such as the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Pregnancy Discrimination Act, or the Connecticut Fair Employment Practices Act.11Connecticut Paid Leave. CT Paid Leave and FMLA Retaliating against a worker for filing a claim or using the program is prohibited.
The PTO question is unsettled right now. Connecticut law lets employers require employees to use accrued PTO concurrently with CT Paid Leave, as long as total compensation does not exceed the employee’s regular pay and the employee keeps at least two weeks of accrued PTO.11Connecticut Paid Leave. CT Paid Leave and FMLA A January 2025 U.S. Department of Labor opinion letter, however, took the position that employers may not require employees to use accrued leave while they are receiving state-sponsored paid leave benefits. That is a direct conflict between the state statute and federal guidance. Review your PTO coordination policy with counsel before enforcing it.
Private Plan as an Alternative
You do not have to use the state-administered plan. Connecticut allows employers to apply for a private plan, but the standard is strict: the plan must offer benefits equal to or better than the state plan, and an off-the-shelf short-term disability policy will not qualify.12Connecticut Paid Leave. Private Plans
A majority of your Connecticut employees must approve the private plan in a vote before you can apply, and the application is reviewed by the Authority for compliance.13Connecticut Paid Leave. How To Apply for a Private Plan If you later sell or close the business and the private plan does not transfer to a successor, you can be held responsible for unpaid contributions and penalties.2Connecticut Paid Leave. For Businesses and Employers Most employers stay with the state plan; a private plan makes sense only when you have both the volume and the appetite to administer benefits yourself.