The Connecticut sick time law requires most private-sector employers to provide up to 40 hours of paid sick leave each year, earned at one hour for every 30 hours worked. Coverage expanded sharply under Public Act 24-8 and is phasing in by employer size: businesses with 25 or more employees were covered as of January 1, 2025, the threshold drops to 11 employees on January 1, 2026, and reaches all employers with at least one employee on January 1, 2027.1Connecticut General Assembly. Public Act No. 24-8 – An Act Expanding Paid Sick Days in the State
Who the Law Covers
The 2024 rewrite replaced the old “service worker” category with a broad definition that reaches nearly all private-sector employees regardless of job title or industry.2Connecticut General Assembly. Office of Legislative Research – Connecticut’s Paid Sick Leave Law Employer size is counted using the payroll for the week containing January 1 of each year, and self-employed individuals aren’t considered employers under the law.3FindLaw. Connecticut Code 31-57r – Definitions
Two groups stay outside the law. Seasonal employees who work 120 days or fewer per year aren’t covered, and neither are construction trade workers who belong to a union with a multiemployer health plan maintained under a collective bargaining agreement.3FindLaw. Connecticut Code 31-57r – Definitions Everyone else working in the private sector falls under the law once their employer hits the size threshold.
How Hours Accrue
You earn one hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours worked, capped at 40 hours per year. Accrual starts on your first day, but you can’t actually use the hours until your 120th calendar day on the job.4Justia Law. Connecticut Code 31-57s – Paid Sick Leave Accrual Requirements If you were already employed for more than 120 days when the law first applied to your workplace, that waiting period doesn’t apply and you can use leave as soon as it accrues.5Connecticut Department of Labor. Paid Sick Leave Q&A
Unused hours carry over from year to year, up to 40 hours. Even with carryover, you still can’t use more than 40 hours in a single year. Employers may front-load the full 40 hours at the start of the year instead of tracking accrual hour by hour; if they do, they can skip the carryover requirement because you already have the full allotment up front.4Justia Law. Connecticut Code 31-57s – Paid Sick Leave Accrual Requirements The statute sets a floor, so an employer offering faster accrual or more total hours is fine.
What You Can Use the Time For
The law allows paid sick leave for your own illness, injury, or health condition, for medical diagnosis and treatment, and for preventive care.6FindLaw. Connecticut Code 31-57t – Permitted Uses for Sick Leave It also explicitly recognizes mental health wellness days, meaning you can take a scheduled shift off to attend to emotional and psychological well-being.3FindLaw. Connecticut Code 31-57r – Definitions
You can use leave on the same terms when a family member needs care. The 2024 expansion widened that circle well beyond the old law’s children and spouses. It now includes a spouse, a child of any age (biological, adopted, foster, stepchild, or legal ward), a parent (including in-laws and stepparents), a sibling, a grandparent, and a grandchild. It also covers anyone related to you by blood or affinity whose close association you can show is equivalent to those family relationships.3FindLaw. Connecticut Code 31-57r – Definitions
Two other situations qualify. You can use the time when a public official orders your workplace closed due to a public health emergency, or when a health authority determines that you or a family member poses a risk to others because of exposure to a communicable illness. And you can use it as “safe leave” if you or a family member is a victim of family violence or sexual assault — covering counseling, services from a victim services organization, relocating, and related court proceedings.6FindLaw. Connecticut Code 31-57t – Permitted Uses for Sick Leave
Notice and Documentation
This is where Public Act 24-8 made the biggest practical change. Under the old law, employers could require up to seven days’ advance notice for foreseeable leave, same-day notice for unexpected absences, and a doctor’s note for absences of three or more consecutive days. All of those provisions were eliminated.2Connecticut General Assembly. Office of Legislative Research – Connecticut’s Paid Sick Leave Law
As of January 1, 2025, employers cannot require employees to provide any documentation proving they are using sick leave for a purpose allowed by the law. No doctor’s notes. No signed statements. No court records. The formal advance-notice rules are gone too.2Connecticut General Assembly. Office of Legislative Research – Connecticut’s Paid Sick Leave Law
When an Existing PTO Policy Satisfies the Law
Employers who already offer paid time off don’t necessarily need to create a separate sick leave bank. The law treats an employer as compliant if its existing paid leave policy lets employees use time off for all the same reasons the statute allows and accrues at the same or a greater rate.2Connecticut General Assembly. Office of Legislative Research – Connecticut’s Paid Sick Leave Law A general PTO bank that accrues at one hour per 30 hours worked and permits use for illness, family care, and safe leave would qualify. A vacation-only policy that restricts use to scheduled time off would not.
Retaliation Protections and Penalties
Employers can’t fire, demote, suspend, or otherwise retaliate against an employee for requesting or using paid sick leave, or for filing a complaint with the Labor Commissioner about a violation. Sick leave usage also can’t be used as a negative factor in performance reviews, attendance policies, or promotion decisions.7Justia Law. Connecticut Code 31-57v – Retaliatory Personnel Action Prohibited
If you believe your employer retaliated, you can file a complaint with the Labor Commissioner. After a hearing, the Commissioner can order reinstatement to your previous position, payment of back wages, and reestablishment of any benefits you lost.7Justia Law. Connecticut Code 31-57v – Retaliatory Personnel Action Prohibited
Penalties come in two tiers. Retaliation carries a civil penalty of $500 for each violation. Other violations, such as failing to provide proper accrual or denying leave for a covered purpose, carry a civil penalty of up to $100 per violation.7Justia Law. Connecticut Code 31-57v – Retaliatory Personnel Action Prohibited
Employer Posting Requirement
Employers must display a notice about paid sick leave rights in the workplace. If the employer has no physical location or an employee works remotely, the notice must be sent through electronic communication or posted conspicuously on a web-based or app-based platform the employee uses.2Connecticut General Assembly. Office of Legislative Research – Connecticut’s Paid Sick Leave Law Posting is a common oversight for small businesses entering coverage for the first time in 2026 and 2027.
How This Differs From CT Paid Leave
Connecticut has two separate leave programs, and they’re easy to confuse. Paid sick leave, the subject of this article, provides up to 40 hours per year for short-term illness, routine medical care, mental health wellness days, and the other covered uses. It’s funded by employers and administered through the Department of Labor.8Connecticut Paid Leave Authority. CT Paid Leave vs Paid Sick Days
CT Paid Leave (CTPL) is a different program. It’s a state insurance program providing up to 12 weeks of partial wage replacement for serious health conditions, bonding with a new child, and other qualifying events, funded by employee payroll contributions and administered by the CT Paid Leave Authority.8Connecticut Paid Leave Authority. CT Paid Leave vs Paid Sick Days A serious health condition under CTPL involves inpatient care or continuing treatment and doesn’t cover everyday illnesses like a cold. Someone recovering from surgery might qualify for both; someone staying home with the flu would use paid sick leave, not CTPL.