What Is CT PFML? Connecticut Paid Family Leave Eligibility and Benefits

Connecticut Paid Family and Medical Leave is a state insurance program that replaces most of your wages when you take time off for a serious health condition, a new child, caregiving for a family member, or certain military and safe-leave reasons. It’s funded entirely by a 0.5% payroll deduction from employee wages and pays up to $1,016.40 per week as of January 1, 2026.¹ The Paid Family and Medical Leave Insurance Authority runs the program under Connecticut General Statutes § 31-49e through § 31-49u, and Aflac administers the claims.²

Who Qualifies for Benefits

Nearly every private-sector employer in Connecticut with at least one employee is covered. The State of Connecticut is covered too for its non-unionized workforce. A few groups covered by federal programs, such as railroad employees, are exempt.³

To draw benefits, you must have earned at least $2,325 in your highest-earning quarter of the base period, which is the first four of the five most recently completed calendar quarters. You also need to currently work for a covered employer, or have worked for one within the past 12 weeks.³

Sole proprietors and self-employed workers can opt in voluntarily, but once enrolled they have to stay in for at least three years.⁴

What You Can Take Leave For

The program covers a broad set of life events:⁵

Birth, adoption, or foster placement of a child, including bonding time.
Your own serious health condition, including recovery from surgery, a chronic illness, pregnancy complications, or childbirth.
Caring for a family member with a serious health condition.
Organ or bone marrow donation, which counts as a serious health condition.
Caring for a family member injured in active military duty, or handling urgent matters tied to a spouse’s, parent’s, or child’s deployment.
Safe leave if you’ve been affected by family violence or sexual assault, covering medical care, counseling, relocation, or legal proceedings.

Connecticut’s definition of family member is wider than most people expect. It covers spouses, children, parents, siblings, grandparents, grandchildren, and parents-in-law, and it also recognizes anyone whose close relationship with you is the equivalent of a family tie, even without blood or legal kinship.⁵

How Much You’ll Be Paid

Your weekly benefit is calculated against the Connecticut minimum wage, which is $16.94 per hour as of January 1, 2026.⁶ The formula has two tiers:

On earnings up to 40 times the minimum wage ($677.60 per week), you receive 95%.
On earnings above that threshold, you receive 60% of the excess.

The two tiers are added together, with a hard cap of 60 times the state minimum wage. For 2026 that cap is $1,016.40 per week.¹ There’s no waiting period; benefits begin on the first day of approved leave.⁴

In practice, if you earn $1,000 per week, you’d receive 95% of $677.60 ($643.72) plus 60% of the remaining $322.40 ($193.44), for about $837 per week.

The program is funded by employees, not employers. The 0.5% deduction stops once your wages for the year hit the Social Security wage base, which is $184,500 in 2026, so the most any worker contributes in 2026 is roughly $922.50.⁷⁸ Employers aren’t required to kick in, though some choose to cover part of the deduction.

How Long You Can Be Out

For most qualifying reasons, you can draw up to 12 weeks of paid benefits in a 12-month period. If you have a serious health condition tied to pregnancy, including prenatal complications, recovery from a pregnancy that doesn’t end in a live birth, or the physical recovery after delivery, you may qualify for an extra two weeks, bringing the total to 14.⁹

Military caregiver leave allows up to 26 weeks of job-protected leave under the Connecticut Family and Medical Leave Act, but only 12 of those weeks come with paid benefits from the CT Paid Leave Authority.¹⁰

You don’t have to use your 12 weeks in a single block. Intermittent leave is allowed, so you can take time off for things like recurring medical treatments. Employers track that time in increments no larger than one hour.

Paid Leave Is Not the Same as Job Protection

This is the point that trips up most people. CT Paid Leave sends you money. It doesn’t, on its own, require your employer to hold your job. Job protection comes from a separate law, the Connecticut Family and Medical Leave Act (CT FMLA).¹¹

CT FMLA applies to employers with one or more employees and gives eligible workers up to 12 weeks of job-protected leave for qualifying reasons. Job-protected means your employer has to return you to the same position with the same pay, schedule, and terms you had before leave.¹² To qualify, you generally need 12 months of employment with the employer and at least 1,000 hours in the year leading up to your leave.

In most situations the two programs run at the same time, but their eligibility rules are different. It’s possible to qualify for paid benefits without qualifying for job protection, or the reverse. If anything about your situation is unusual, confirm your standing under both before you assume your position is safe. Connecticut law also bars employers from retaliating against you for requesting or using FMLA leave, including firing you, demoting you, or weighing the leave against you in hiring, promotion, or discipline.

How PFML Stacks With Employer Benefits

If your employer offers paid time off, short-term disability, or other wage replacement, you can receive those alongside CT Paid Leave, but the combined total cannot exceed 100% of your regular pay. When employer benefits already replace your full wages, you won’t receive an additional PFML payment on top.¹³

Short-term disability policies vary, and many are written so the insurer reduces its own payout by whatever PFML pays you. Read the terms of your specific policy; the interaction isn’t automatic. Payments from a former employer’s disability or PTO policy don’t reduce your CT Paid Leave amount.¹³

Are CT Paid Leave Benefits Taxable

Yes, on your federal return. Aflac (operating as Continental American Insurance Company) issues a Form 1099-G with your benefits reported in Box 1. The box is labeled “Unemployment Compensation,” which is confusing, but the IRS allows both unemployment and paid family leave benefits to be reported there.¹⁴

Federal income taxes generally aren’t withheld from your PFML payments automatically. If you don’t plan ahead, you could owe a lump sum at tax time. Setting aside a portion of each check or making estimated payments is the easiest way to avoid that. If you also drew unemployment during the year, expect two separate 1099-G forms, one from the Connecticut Department of Labor and one from Aflac.

How to Apply

Before you file, pull together valid personal identification, your recent employment history, and your employer’s contact information. The most important document is the medical certification form, which a licensed healthcare provider has to complete to verify the medical basis for your leave. Forms are available at ctpaidleave.org once you start your application.¹⁵

When the need for leave is foreseeable, such as a scheduled surgery or an expected due date, you’re required to give your employer at least 30 days’ notice. Skipping that step without a good reason can delay your benefits.

You can apply online through the CT Paid Leave portal at ctpaidleave.org, by phone at (877) 499-8606, or by mail. After you file, Aflac will send a notice listing exactly what it needs. Your employer has 10 days to complete and return its portion, and medical certification forms are due within 15 days.¹⁶

Once Aflac has everything, you can expect a decision within about five business days. Approved claims pay weekly for the duration of leave. A denial notice explains why and how to challenge the decision.¹⁶

If Your Claim Is Denied

You have 21 calendar days from the date of the decision to file an appeal. If you mail it, the postmark has to fall within that window. Late appeals are accepted only if you can show good cause with supporting documentation.¹⁷

You can also ask the CT Paid Leave Authority for reconsideration before filing an appeal, but don’t run both at once. If reconsideration is denied, a new 21-day clock starts from that second decision. Most appeals are decided on the written record without a hearing, though one can be scheduled, usually by phone, when needed.

If the appeal still goes against you, you have 30 days to file a motion to reopen (allowed only once) or to appeal to Connecticut Superior Court. If you do nothing in those 30 days, the appeals decision becomes final.¹⁷

1
CT Paid Leave. Before You Apply – CT Paid Leave
2
Connecticut General Statutes. Connecticut Code Title 31 – Section 31-49e – Paid Family and Medical Leave Definitions
3
CT Paid Leave. Coverage and Eligibility – CT Paid Leave
4
CT Paid Leave Authority. Guide for Employers
5
Connecticut Paid Leave. Qualifying Reasons
6
Connecticut’s Official State Website. Governor Lamont Announces Minimum Wage Will Increase
7
Connecticut Paid Leave. Contributions
8
Social Security Administration. Contribution and Benefit Base
9
CT Paid Leave. I Am Starting or Expanding My Family
10
Connecticut Paid Leave. How CT Paid Leave Works
11
CT Paid Leave. CT Paid Leave vs CT FMLA Comparison
12
CT.gov. FMLA FAQs
13
Connecticut Paid Leave. Frequently Asked Questions
14
Connecticut State Department of Revenue Services. Form 1099-G Certain Government Payments
15
Connecticut Paid Leave. Application Document Checklist
16
Connecticut Paid Leave. Apply for Benefits
17
CT.gov. CT Paid Leave Appeals FAQs