Connecticut Paid Family and Medical Leave is a state insurance program that replaces part of your wages when you need time off work for your own serious health condition, to bond with a new child, to care for a family member, or for certain military or family-violence reasons. In 2026 the benefit pays up to $1,016.40 per week. It is funded by a 0.5% payroll deduction from your paycheck, and you apply through the CT Paid Leave Authority rather than through your employer.
One thing to know up front: this program replaces income, but it does not protect your job. Job protection comes from a separate law, the Connecticut Family and Medical Leave Act (CT FMLA), which you handle directly with your employer. More on that below.
Who Can Get Benefits
Nearly every private-sector worker in Connecticut is covered, including employees of nonprofits, at employers with as few as one employee.1CT Paid Leave. For Businesses and Employers Federal employees, unionized state employees, and workers at municipalities, local or regional boards of education, and non-public K–12 schools are generally not covered, though some of those groups can be brought in through collective bargaining.2Connecticut Paid Leave Authority. CT Paid Leave Employer Toolkit Self-employed Connecticut residents can opt in voluntarily.
Being covered isn’t the same as qualifying. To collect benefits you need to have earned at least $2,325 in your highest-paid quarter during the base period, which is the first four of the five most recently completed calendar quarters before your claim. Earnings from more than one covered employer can be combined to hit that threshold. You also need a current connection to Connecticut employment: either you’re working for a covered employer now, or you were within the twelve weeks before your leave starts.3Justia. Connecticut Code 31-49e – Paid Family and Medical Leave Insurance Program Definitions
If your employer uses an approved private paid-leave plan instead of the state program, you’ll apply through that plan’s administrator rather than the state portal. The benefits must be at least as generous as the state plan.4CT Paid Leave. How to Apply for a Private Plan
What Counts as a Qualifying Reason
Six categories of leave qualify. Your own serious health condition is the most common: anything that keeps you from doing your job, from recovery after surgery to a chronic condition needing ongoing treatment to inpatient care.
On the family side, you can take leave to bond with a newborn, a newly adopted child, or a child placed with you through foster care.5CT Paid Leave. I Am Starting or Expanding My Family You can also take leave to care for a family member with a serious health condition. “Family member” is defined broadly here: spouse, parent, child of any age, sibling, grandparent, grandchild, the in-law version of each, and anyone whose close relationship with you is the equivalent of a family bond, even without a blood or legal tie.6Connecticut Department of Labor. Connecticut Family and Medical Leave Act FAQs
Military families get two more reasons: caring for a service member with a serious injury or illness, and handling urgent matters tied to a family member’s active-duty deployment. Victims of family violence can take up to twelve days of leave in a calendar year to seek medical care, counseling, legal help, or other safety-related services.
How Much You Get and for How Long
Your weekly benefit is tied to Connecticut’s minimum wage, which rises to $16.94 per hour on January 1, 2026.7CT.gov. Governor Lamont Announces Minimum Wage Will Increase The formula has two layers:
- You get 95% of your average weekly wages up to a weekly amount equal to 40 times the state minimum wage (about $677.60 in 2026).
- For wages above that 40× level, you get 60% of the excess.
Total benefits are capped at 60 times the minimum wage, which puts the 2026 maximum at $1,016.40 per week no matter how high your actual earnings are.
Most qualifying reasons give you up to twelve weeks of benefits in a twelve-month period. If a serious health condition causes incapacitation during pregnancy, you can get two additional weeks, for a maximum of fourteen.6Connecticut Department of Labor. Connecticut Family and Medical Leave Act FAQs
How to File
Start by telling your employer. If the leave is foreseeable, such as a scheduled surgery or an expected due date, give at least 30 days’ advance notice. For unexpected needs, notify them as soon as you can.8Connecticut Department of Labor. Notice of Employee Rights Under the Connecticut Family and Medical Leave Act and Connecticut Paid Leave Act This step is also what triggers your request for CT FMLA job protection, which is a separate process from the state application.
Then file for benefits through the CT Paid Leave portal at ctpaidleave.org, or call (877) 499-8606. You’ll create an account, enter your personal and employment details, and upload a medical certification completed by your healthcare provider. Different certification forms apply depending on whether the leave is for your own health, for caregiving, or for a military reason, so pick the right one.
Before you start, gather your Social Security number, employer contact information, recent pay stubs, the last day you worked, and your expected return date. You’ll pick direct deposit or a state-issued debit card for payment, and you’ll get a confirmation number when you submit.
Don’t Skip the Job-Protection Step
CT Paid Leave and CT FMLA are two different things that solve two different problems. CT Paid Leave pays you. CT FMLA requires your employer to return you to the same position with the same pay, schedule, and terms when you come back.9CT Paid Leave Authority. CT FMLA and CT Paid Leave CT FMLA kicks in after three months of employment with your current employer, with no minimum hours or earnings. If you only apply for state benefits and don’t follow your employer’s internal leave procedure for CT FMLA, you can collect the money and still lose your job. Apply for both.
Taxes on Your Benefits
Not every CT Paid Leave payment is taxed the same way federally. Benefits for your own serious health condition, including pregnancy and childbirth, are generally not treated as taxable federal income, and the Authority does not issue a 1099-G for them.
Benefits for the other reasons (bonding, caring for a family member, military-related leave, family violence leave) are federally taxable, and you’ll get a 1099-G. Across the board, these benefits are not treated as wages for Social Security or Medicare, so no FICA comes out.10CT Paid Leave Authority. Frequently Asked Questions
Federal income tax is not automatically withheld from your payments. If your benefits are taxable, consider raising your W-4 withholding on other income or setting money aside so you don’t owe a surprise amount at tax time.
Combining Benefits With Employer Pay
You can receive CT Paid Leave at the same time as employer-provided benefits like accrued sick leave, vacation, group disability insurance, or pension distributions, as long as the combined total doesn’t exceed your regular wages.10CT Paid Leave Authority. Frequently Asked Questions An employer can top up your state benefit with PTO to bring you closer to full pay, provided the combined amount stays under that ceiling.
Some things don’t count toward the cap at all: health insurance, long-term care insurance, life insurance, pension loans, and advanced pay you have to repay in full.10CT Paid Leave Authority. Frequently Asked Questions
If You’re Denied
The most common reasons claims are denied are incomplete medical certification, earnings below the $2,325 threshold, or a leave reason that doesn’t match one of the six qualifying categories. If the fix is simply better documentation, resubmitting is often faster than appealing.
If you have a final denial decision and want to challenge it, you can appeal to the Connecticut Department of Labor’s Appeals Division. You can’t appeal while your application is still under review. File through the DOL’s Leave Complaint and Appeals portal online, call (860) 263-6970, or mail your appeal to the DOL office in Wethersfield.11CT.gov. CT Paid Leave Appeals