10 Key Questions About Leave Laws in Connecticut

May 13th 2025

Connecticut is committed to providing employees with job-protected leave for various personal and family needs. Leave laws in Connecticut aim to balance the needs of both employees and employers. However, understanding these laws is crucial for both parties to ensure compliance and get access to entitled benefits. So, this guide addresses the top ten questions about leave laws in Connecticut to provide clarity.

This Guide Covers

1. What are the leave laws in Connecticut?

Connecticut has three major laws for employee leaves, including the CT Paid Sick Leave law, the CT Family and Medical Leave Act (CTFMLA), and the administrative processes handled by the Connecticut Paid Leave Authority (including appeals related to paid leave benefits.

These laws collectively provide eligible employees with the right to take time off from work for qualifying reasons, including their own health conditions, to care for family members, childbirth, and organ or bone marrow donation.

2. What are the different types of leave available in Connecticut?

Employees in Connecticut receive various types of leave, including:

  • CT Paid Sick Leave: Most employers with 25 or more employees must provide eligible employees with up to 40 hours of paid sick time per year at an accrual rate of one hour of leave for every 30 hours worked.
  • CT Family and Medical Leave (CTFMLA): Eligible employees get up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave in a 12-month period, for qualifying reasons, including personal illness, childbirth, to serve as an organ or bone marrow donor, or to care for a family member.
  • CT Paid Leave (CTPL): Eligible workers receive income replacement benefits during absence from work for certain qualifying family or health reasons. However, this isn’t a job-protected leave.
  • Federal FMLA Leave: Employees are entitled to up to 12 weeks of federal FMLA leave for qualifying reasons and up to 26 weeks of military caregiver leave.
  • Jury Duty Leave: Connecticut law provides job-protected jury duty leave to all employees. Employers cannot threaten to dismiss employees summoned for jury service.

Explore all leave laws in Connecticut to know your rights.

3. How long is a leave of absence in Connecticut?

The duration of a leave of absence in Connecticut depends on the type of leave:

  • Paid Sick Leave: Accrued leave hours up to 40 hours per year
  • CTFMLA Leave: Up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave for qualifying reasons, an additional two weeks of leave during pregnancy (making it a total of 16 weeks of leave), and up to 26 weeks of military caregiver leave
  • Jury Duty Leave: Most jurors complete their service in one day. Sometimes, it can extend to several days or weeks.

Note: Other employer-provided leaves in Connecticut may have different durations based on company policy.

4. Are part-time employees entitled to leave in Connecticut?

Yes, part-time employees are entitled to leave in Connecticut, provided they meet the eligibility criteria for different types of leave. However, their leave accrual rate may differ.

For CT Paid Sick Leave, eligible employees accrue leave based on hours worked, meaning part-time employees will accrue leave proportionally to their hours.

Eligibility for CTFMLA requires an employee to have been employed for at least three consecutive months, regardless of full-time or part-time status.

Benefit amounts under the CT Paid Leave program for part-time employees are calculated based on their average weekly wage.

Know your rights as an hourly employee in Connecticut.

5. Do employees get paid while on leave in Connecticut?

Employees in Connecticut get paid while on certain types of leave, such as the CT paid sick leave, which is a paid leave benefit, providing employees with their regular hourly wage for accrued time used.

CTFMLA provides unpaid job-protected leave. However, eligible employees taking leave under the CTFMLA may be eligible for income replacement benefits through Connecticut’s Paid Leave (CTPL) Insurance Program.

In Connecticut, full-time employees receive their regular wages for the first five days of jury duty, or any part thereof. If a jury trial lasts longer than five days, the juror is paid by the state for each day thereafter. The state pays jurors $50 per day for attendance and mileage.

Some employers in Connecticut may also offer their own paid leave benefits, such as vacation or paid time off (PTO), based on their company policy.

6. What happens to employee benefits while they’re on leave in Connecticut?

Employers in Connecticut are not required by CTFMLA to maintain an employee’s health benefits while on leave. However, employers should notify employees regarding whether or not they’ll retain the health benefits. They may ask employees to continue paying their portion of the premium to retain benefits.

During any paid portion of CTFMLA leave (when an employee uses another PTO concurrently), the employee’s portion of any premiums will be paid by the method normally used.

When an employee returns from CTFMLA leave, their employee benefits, such as pensions or life insurance, must be resumed as is.

Employees should discuss the impact on their benefits with their Connecticut employer before taking leave.

7. Can unused leave be carried over to the next year in Connecticut?

Connecticut law allows employees to carry over up to 40 unused accrued hours of CT Paid Sick leave from the current year period to the following year period. However, an employee cannot use more than 40 hours of paid sick leave in any year.

Employer-provided leave policies may have different rules regarding carryover of unused vacation or PTO.

8. What are the eligibility criteria for CT Paid Leave in Connecticut?

To qualify for CT Paid Leave, an employee must be employed by a covered employer within the last 12 weeks. All state employers and nearly all businesses with one or more employees are covered under the CT Paid Leave program.

An employee must have also earned at least $2,325 from a covered employer in the highest-earning quarter of the first four of the five recently-completed quarters (the ”base period”).

Sole proprietors or self-employed professionals may also be eligible if they have enrolled in the CT Paid Leave program.

9. Can you get fired while on leave in Connecticut?

An employer in Connecticut cannot fire an employee because they took leave under the FMLA, CTFMLA, or CT Paid Sick Leave laws. However, they can fire an employee on leave if they have a legitimate, non-discriminatory reason unrelated to the leave, such as a layoff due to a reduction in force or for performance issues that arose before the leave. But in such cases, the employer must demonstrate that the termination would have occurred regardless of the leave.

Learn about Connecticut’s termination laws to secure your job.

10. What can you do if your leave rights get violated in Connecticut?

If an employer violates the CT paid sick leave law or CT paid leave law, employees can file a complaint with the Connecticut Department of Labor (CTDOL) Commissioner. Upon receipt of any complaint, the Commissioner may hold a hearing and give a civil penalty to the employer or ask them to provide other relief to the employee.

Similarly, employees can file a complaint directly in Superior Court or with the Connecticut Department of Labor for violation of CTFMLA leave using the CTFMLA complaint form.

Learn about Connecticut labor laws in detail.

Important Cautionary Note

This content is for informational purposes only. While we make every effort to ensure the accuracy of the information presented, we cannot guarantee that it is free of errors or omissions. Users must independently verify any critical information and should not solely rely on the content provided.