CT PFML: Eligibility, Benefit Amounts, and Filing a Claim

Connecticut’s Paid Family and Medical Leave program replaces part of your paycheck when you take time off for your own serious health condition, to care for a family member, to bond with a new child, or for a handful of other qualifying reasons. In 2026, benefits run up to $1,016.40 per week for as long as 12 weeks in a 12-month period, with two extra weeks available for pregnancy-related health complications.¹²³

Who Can File a Claim

Two things have to be true. You need to work for a covered employer, and you need enough recent earnings to qualify.

Nearly every private-sector employer with at least one employee working in Connecticut is covered. What matters is where you do the work, not where you live. Someone who commutes from Massachusetts or New York into a Connecticut job site is covered; a Connecticut resident whose job is entirely out of state generally isn’t.⁴ Interstate truck drivers who work in Connecticut but live elsewhere may be excluded. The federal government, the state of Connecticut, municipalities, and local or regional boards of education are not covered employers by default, though some state employees in non-union positions are in the program, and bargaining units can opt in.⁵

On earnings, you need to have made at least $2,325 in your highest-earning quarter during the base period, which is the first four of the five most recently completed calendar quarters.⁵ You also need to be currently employed by a covered employer, or to have worked for one within the 12 weeks before your leave began.⁴ The threshold is low, so part-time and seasonal workers often qualify.

What You Can Take Leave For

You can file a claim for any of these reasons:⁶

Your own serious health condition — an illness, injury, or impairment requiring inpatient care or continuing treatment by a medical provider.
Caring for a family member with a serious health condition.
Bonding with a newborn, newly adopted, or foster child.
Serving as a living organ or bone marrow donor.
A military qualifying exigency tied to a spouse’s, parent’s, or child’s active-duty deployment.
Caring for a service member who is your next of kin and was seriously injured or became ill during active duty.
Family violence, for up to 12 days to handle medical care, counseling, legal proceedings, or safety planning.

Connecticut’s definition of family is wide. It covers spouses, children, parents, parents-in-law, siblings, grandparents, and grandchildren, and also anyone whose close relationship with you is the equivalent of a family relationship.⁶ You are not limited to blood or legal relatives.

The standard allowance is 12 weeks within a 12-month period. If a serious health condition during pregnancy leaves you unable to work, you qualify for two additional weeks, bringing you to 14.⁷ You don’t have to take leave in one continuous block. It can be used intermittently in increments as small as 15 minutes, which fits recurring medical appointments, chemotherapy, or chronic conditions with unpredictable flare-ups. Hours used are deducted from your 12-week bank.

How Much You’ll Receive

Your weekly benefit is tied to Connecticut’s minimum wage, which is $16.94 per hour in 2026.⁸ The formula has two tiers:⁹

If your average weekly earnings are $677.60 or less (40 hours at minimum wage), you receive 95% of them.
If you earn more, you receive 95% of the first $677.60 plus 60% of each dollar above that.

The total is capped at 60 times the state minimum wage, which puts the 2026 maximum at $1,016.40 per week.¹ You hit that cap at roughly $1,208 per week in wages, or about $62,800 a year. Earn more than that and you still receive $1,016.40.

Payments come by direct deposit or a state-issued debit card. Your benefit start date doesn’t have to match the first day of your leave. If you’re using employer-provided paid time off at the start of your absence, you can delay the CT Paid Leave benefits until that runs out.

Stacking with Employer Benefits

You can collect CT Paid Leave on top of employer-provided benefits like disability insurance, sick pay, or vacation pay, but the combined total cannot exceed your regular wages.¹⁰ Medical insurance, life insurance, long-term care insurance, and pension plan loans don’t count toward that cap. In practice, if your employer’s short-term disability pays 60% of your wages and CT Paid Leave would pay 80%, the program adjusts so you aren’t paid more than you’d ordinarily earn.

Whether Your Benefits Are Taxable

Under IRS guidance issued in early 2025, benefits paid for your own serious health condition, including pregnancy and childbirth, are not taxable income. Benefits for family leave, bonding, or any other qualifying reason are taxable, and the claims administrator, Aflac, will issue a 1099-G for those payments.¹⁰

Nothing is withheld automatically. If you want tax withheld from taxable benefits, submit a W-4 during the application. If your leave is for your own health condition, skip the W-4. The IRS extended the transition period for these rules through 2026, so some reporting details may still shift.

How to File Your Claim

File as soon as the need for leave arises. If the qualifying event happened within the past 45 days, you can apply right away. If more than 45 days have passed since your leave started, you’ll need to show good cause for the delay or risk a denial.¹

Start at ctpaidleave.org or by calling Aflac at (877) 499-8606.¹¹ The online system walks you through your personal and employment information. Once you begin, you’ll get a Notice of Application listing the supporting documents required, many pre-filled with your name and case number.¹²

Expect to provide identity verification, employment verification, and documentation supporting the reason for leave. For health-related claims, your medical provider completes a certification form that specifies the condition, expected duration, and whether intermittent leave is needed. Lost forms can be downloaded again from the CT Paid Leave Aflac Portal.

Once all documents are in, Aflac typically decides within about five business days.¹¹ Check the portal regularly. If the reviewer asks for more information, a quick response keeps your claim moving. Your approval or denial letter is posted to the dashboard.

Job Protection Is a Separate Process

This is the biggest point of confusion. CT Paid Leave only replaces income. It does not require your employer to hold your job. If you want your position protected while you’re out, you need to qualify under the Connecticut Family and Medical Leave Act (CT FMLA) and request that leave directly through your employer, following their standard procedures.¹³

CT FMLA eligibility requires three months of employment with your current employer, with no minimum hours.¹⁴ If you qualify, your employer must return you to the same position with the same pay, schedule, and other terms. Most people file both at once: the paid leave application with the CT Paid Leave Authority, and the job protection request with their employer. The two processes run in parallel.

If Your Claim Is Denied

You can appeal to the Connecticut Department of Labor’s Appeals Division once you have a final denial decision in hand.¹⁵ The quickest route is the online Leave Complaint and Appeals portal, where you file, track status, and receive the decision. The Appeals Division can also be reached at (860) 263-6970 or by mail at 38 Wolcott Hill Road, Wethersfield, CT 06109.

Denials often come down to missing documentation, earnings below the threshold, or filing more than 45 days late without good cause. Read your denial letter closely before appealing. Sometimes the fix is as simple as having your provider complete a medical certification form that was missed the first time around.

1
Connecticut Paid Leave. Before You Apply
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Connecticut Paid Leave. Contributions
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Social Security Administration. Contribution and Benefit Base
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Connecticut Paid Leave. Coverage and Eligibility
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Justia Law. Connecticut Code 31-49e – Paid Family and Medical Leave Definitions
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Justia Law. Connecticut Code 31-51ll – Family and Medical Leave
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Connecticut Paid Leave. I Am Starting or Expanding My Family
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Office of the Governor. Governor Lamont Announces Connecticut’s Minimum Wage Will Increase
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Connecticut General Assembly. Chapter 557 – Employment Regulation
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Connecticut Paid Leave. Frequently Asked Questions
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Connecticut Paid Leave. Applying for Benefits
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Connecticut Paid Leave. Application Document Checklist
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CT Paid Leave Authority. CT FMLA and CT Paid Leave
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Connecticut Paid Leave. CT Paid Leave and FMLA
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Connecticut Department of Labor. CT Paid Leave Appeals