The Connecticut Legislature has been busy! On May 28, Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont signed a minimum wage measure that would raise the Connecticut minimum wage to $15 per hour in 2023, which is more than double the current federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour.
Under the new law, the current Connecticut minimum wage of $10.10 per hour will increase to $11 per hour on Oct. 1, 2019, to $12 per hour on Sept. 1, 2020, to $13 per hour on Aug. 1, 2021, to $14 per hour on July 1, 2022, and then to $15 per hour on June 1, 2023. In doing so, Connecticut has joined six other states – California, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey and New York – in raising its minimum wage to $15 per hour.
Despite the minimum wage increase, Connecticut's minimum tipped wage for hotel and restaurant employees remains $6.38 per hour, and $8.23 per hour for bartenders. Connecticut employers are required to pay to employees the difference between the tipped wage and the state minimum wage if the employees do not receive the difference in wages with tips. The new law requires the Connecticut Labor Commissioner to conduct a study on workers who receive gratuities and submit a report to the Legislature by January, which could result in raising the minimum tipped wage.
Additionally, the Connecticut Legislature recently passed a generous PFML bill, which Gov. Lamont is expected to sign into law, which would make Connecticut the seventh state (in addition to California, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island and Washington, as well as the District of Columbia) to offer paid family leave.
Assuming the bill is signed into law, Connecticut employees will be eligible for 12 weeks of paid time off over a 12-month period for reasons allowed under Connecticut's Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). An additional two weeks of leave will be available for serious health conditions resulting in incapacitation during pregnancy.
The law will also expand Connecticut's existing FMLA coverage. For example, by Jan. 1, 2022, it will extend the current FMLA coverage from caring for a spouse, children or parents to include caring for siblings, grandparents, grandchildren and "anyone else related by blood or affinity whose close association the employee shows to be the equivalent of those family relationships." The Connecticut Department of Labor is expected to provide guidelines regarding this standard on or before Jan. 1, 2022. The bill also expands FMLA coverage to include private-sector employers with at least one employee (as compared with 75 employees) and lowers the eligibility requirements to only three months of employment and earning at least $2,325 in a "base period" (as compared with 12 months of employment and 1,000 hours worked). The bill also changes the amount of total leave available from 16 weeks in a 24-month period to 12 weeks in a 12-month period.
If you need assistance or have questions about these new laws, our team would be happy to help.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
We operate a free-to-view policy, asking only that you register in order to read all of our content. Please login or register to view the rest of this article.