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General Assembly Raised Bill No. 6537
January Session, 2021
LCO No. 3761
Referred to Committee on LABOR AND PUBLIC EMPLOYEES
Introduced by:
(LAB)
AN ACT CONCERNING EX PANSION OF PAID SICK DAYS AND
DOMESTIC WORKER COVE RAGE.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. Section 31-57r of the general statutes is repealed and the 1
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2021): 2
As used in this section and sections 31-57s to 31-57w, inclusive: 3
(1) "Child" means a biological, adopted or foster child, stepchild, legal 4
ward, [of a service worker, or] or, in the alternative, a child of a [service 5
worker] person standing in loco parentis, [who is (A) under eighteen 6
years of age; or (B) eighteen years of age or older and incapable of self-7
care because of a mental or physical disability] or an individual to whom 8
the employee stood in loco parentis when the individual was a child; 9
[(2) "Day or temporary worker" means an individual who performs 10
work for another on (A) a per diem basis, or (B) an occasional or 11
irregular basis for only the time required to complete such work, 12
whether such individual is paid by the person for whom such work is 13
performed or by an employment agency or temporary help service, as 14 Raised Bill No. 6537
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defined in section 31-129;] 15
[(3)] (2) "Employee" means an individual engaged in service to an 16
employer in the business of the employer; 17
[(4)] (3) "Employer" means any person, firm, business, educational 18
institution, nonprofit agency, corporation, limited liability company or 19
other entity, [that employs fifty or more individuals in the state, which 20
shall be determined based on such person's, firm's, business', 21
educational institution's, nonprofit agency's, corporation's, limited 22
liability company's or other entity's payroll for the week containing 23
October first, annually. "Employer" does not include: (A) Any business 24
establishment classified in sector 31, 32 or 33 in the North American 25
Industrial Classification System, or (B) any nationally chartered 26
organization exempt from taxation under Section 501(c)(3) of the 27
Internal Revenue Code of 1986, or any subsequent corresponding 28
internal revenue code of the United States, as from time to time 29
amended, that provides all of the following services: Recreation, child 30
care and education] except, notwithstanding section 17b-706 or any 31
other special or general law to the contrary, the Personal Care Attendant 32
Workforce Council, as defined in section 17b-706a, shall act on behalf of 33
the employers of all personal care attendants, as defined in section 17b-34
706, for purposes of this section, sections 7 and 8 of this act and sections 35
31-57s to 31-57x, inclusive; 36
(4) "Family member" means a spouse, sibling, child, grandparent, 37
grandchild or parent, or an individual related to the employee by blood 38
or affinity whose close association with the employee is the equivalent 39
of those family relationships; 40
(5) "Family violence" has the same meaning as provided in section 41
46b-38a; 42
(6) "Grandchild" means a grandchild related to a person by: (A) 43
Blood, (B) marriage, (C) adoption by a child of the grandparent, or (D) 44
foster care by a child of the grandparent; 45 Raised Bill No. 6537
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(7) "Grandparent" means a grandparent related to a person by: (A) 46
Blood, (B) marriage, (C) adoption of a minor child by a child of the 47
grandparent, or (D) foster care by a child of the grandparent; 48
(8) "Parent" means a biological parent, foster parent, adoptive parent, 49
stepparent, parent-in-law or legal guardian of an employee or an 50
employee's spouse, an individual standing in loco parentis to an 51
employee, or an individual who stood in loco parentis to the employee 52
when the employee was a child; 53
(9) "Paid sick leave" means paid time that is provided by an employer 54
to an employee for the purposes described in sections 7 and 8 of this act 55
and sections 31-57t, as amended by this act, and 31-57x, as amended by 56
this act; 57
[(6)] (10) "Retaliatory personnel action" means any termination, 58
suspension, constructive discharge, demotion, unfavorable 59
reassignment, refusal to promote, disciplinary action or other adverse 60
employment action taken by an employer against an employee or a 61
service worker; 62
[(7) "Service worker" means an employee primarily engaged in an 63
occupation with one of the following broad or detailed occupation code 64
numbers and titles, as defined by the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics 65
Standard Occupational Classification system or any successor system: 66
(A) 11-9050 Food Service Managers; (B) 11-9110 Medical and Health 67
Services Managers; (C) 21-1020 Social Workers; (D) 21-1093 Social and 68
Human Service Assistants; (E) 21-1094 Community Health Workers; (F) 69
21-1099 Community and Social Service Specialists, All Other; (G) 25-70
4020 Librarians; (H) 29-1050 Pharmacists; (I) 29-1070 Physician 71
Assistants; (J) 29-1120 Therapists; (K) 29-1140 Registered Nurses; (L) 29-72
1150 Nurse Anesthetists; (M) 29-1160 Nurse Midwives; (N) 29-1170 73
Nurse Practitioners; (O) 29-2020 Dental Hygienists; (P) 29-2040 74
Emergency Medical Technicians and Paramedics; (Q) 29-2050 Health 75
Practitioner Support Technologists and Technicians; (R) 29-2060 76
Licensed Practical and Licensed Vocational Nurses; (S) 31-1011 Home 77 Raised Bill No. 6537
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Health Aides; (T) 31-1012 Nursing Aides, Orderlies and Attendants; (U) 78
31-1013 Psychiatric Aides; (V) 31-9091 Dental Assistants; (W) 31-9092 79
Medical Assistants; (X) 33-9032 Security Guards; (Y) 33-9091 Crossing 80
Guards; (Z) 35-1010 Supervisors of Food Preparation and Serving 81
Workers; (AA) 35-2010 Cooks; (BB) 35-2020 Food Preparation Workers; 82
(CC) 35-3010 Bartenders; (DD) 35-3020 Fast Food and Counter Workers; 83
(EE) 35-3030 Waiters and Waitresses; (FF) 35-3040 Food Servers, 84
Nonrestaurant; (GG) 35-9010 Dining Room and Cafeteria Attendants 85
and Bartender Helpers; (HH) 35-9020 Dishwashers; (II) 35-9030 Hosts 86
and Hostesses, Restaurant, Lounge and Coffee Shop; (JJ) 35-9090 87
Miscellaneous Food Preparation and Serving Related Workers; (KK) 37-88
2011 Janitors and Cleaners, Except Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners; 89
(LL) 37-2019 Building Cleaning Workers, All Other; (MM) 39-3030 90
Ushers, Lobby Attendants and Ticket Takers; (NN) 39-5010 Barbers, 91
Hairdressers, Hairstylists and Cosmetologists; (OO) 39-6010 Baggage 92
Porters, Bellhops and Concierges; (PP) 39-9010 Child Care Workers; 93
(QQ) 39-9021 Personal Care Aides; (RR) 41-1010 First-Line Supervisors 94
of Sales Workers; (SS) 41-2011 Cashiers; (TT) 41-2021 Counter and 95
Rental Clerks; (UU) 41-2030 Retail Salespersons; (VV) 43-3070 Tellers; 96
(WW) 43-4080 Hotel, Motel and Resort Desk Clerks; (XX) 43-4170 97
Receptionists and Information Clerks; (YY) 43-5020 Couriers and 98
Messengers; (ZZ) 43-6010 Secretaries and Administrative Assistants; 99
(AAA) 43-9010 Computer Operators; (BBB) 43-9020 Data Entry and 100
Information Processing Workers; (CCC) 43-9030 Desktop Publishers; 101
(DDD) 43-9040 Insurance Claims and Policy Processing Clerks; (EEE) 102
43-9050 Mail Clerks and Mail Machine Operators, Except Postal Service; 103
(FFF) 43-9060 Office Clerks, General; (GGG) 43-9070 Office Machine 104
Operators, Except Computer; (HHH) 43-9080 Proofreaders and Copy 105
Markers; (III) 43-9110 Statistical Assistants; (JJJ) 43-9190 Miscellaneous 106
Office and Administrative Support Workers; (KKK) 51-3010 Bakers; 107
(LLL) 51-3020 Butchers and Other Meat, Poultry and Fish Processing 108
Workers; (MMM) 51-3090 Miscellaneous Food Processing Workers; 109
(NNN) 53-3010 Ambulance Drivers and Attendants, Except Emergency 110
Medical Technicians; (OOO) 53-3020 Bus Drivers; (PPP) 53-3040 Taxi 111
Drivers and Chauffeurs; or (QQQ) 29-2034 Radiologic Technologists, 112 Raised Bill No. 6537
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and is (i) paid on an hourly basis, or (ii) not exempt from the minimum 113
wage and overtime compensation requirements of the Fair Labor 114
Standards Act of 1938 and the regulations promulgated thereunder, as 115
amended from time to time. "Service worker" does not include day or 116
temporary workers;] 117
[(8)] (11) "Sexual assault" means any act that constitutes a violation of 118
section 53a-70b of the general statutes, revision of 1958, revised to 119
January 1, 2019, or section 53a-70, 53a-70a, 53a-71, 53a-72a, 53a-72b or 120
53a-73a; 121
(12) "Sibling" means a brother or sister related to a person by: (A) 122
Blood, (B) marriage, (C) adoption by a parent of the person, or (D) foster 123
care placement; 124
[(9)] (13) "Spouse" means a husband or wife, as the case may be; and 125
[(10)] (14) "Year" means any three-hundred-sixty-five-day period 126
used by an employer to calculate employee benefits. 127
Sec. 2. Section 31-57s of the general statutes is repealed and the 128
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2021): 129
(a) Each employer shall provide paid sick leave annually to each of 130
such employer's [service workers] employees in the state. Such paid sick 131
leave shall accrue (1) beginning [January 1, 2012] July 1, 2021, or for [a 132
service worker] an employee hired after said date, beginning on the 133
[service worker's] employee's date of employment, (2) at a rate of one 134
hour of paid sick leave for each [forty] thirty hours worked by [a service 135
worker] the employee, and (3) in one-hour increments up to a maximum 136
of forty hours per year. [Each service worker] In addition to any unused 137
paid sick leave provided pursuant to sections 7 and 8 of this act and 138
section 31-57x, each employee shall be entitled to carry over up to forty 139
unused accrued hours of paid sick leave from the current year to the 140
following year, but no [service worker] employee shall be entitled to use 141
more in any year than the maximum number of accrued hours, as 142
described in subdivision (3) of this subsection, in any year, and any 143 Raised Bill No. 6537
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additional leave provided pursuant to sections 7 and 8 of this act and 144
section 31-57x. An employer may provide all paid sick leave that an 145
employee is expected to accrue in a year at the beginning of the year. 146
(b) [A service worker] An employee shall be entitled to the use of 147
[accrued] paid sick leave [upon the completion of the service worker's 148
six-hundred-eightieth hour of employment from January 1, 2012, if the 149
service worker was hired prior to January 1, 2012, or if hired after 150
January 1, 2012, upon the completion of the service worker's six-151
hundred-eightieth hour of employment from the date of hire, unless the 152
employer agrees to an earlier date. A service worker shall not be entitled 153
to the use of accrued paid sick leave if such service worker did not work 154
an average of ten or more hours per week for the employer in the most 155
recent complete quarter] as it is accrued. 156
(c) An employer shall be deemed to be in compliance with this 157
section, sections 7 and 8 of this act and section 31-57x if the employer 158
offers any other paid leave, or combination of other paid leave that [(1) 159
may be used for the purposes of section 31-57t, and (2) is accrued in total 160
at a rate equal to or greater than the rate described in subsections (a) and 161
(b) of this section. For the purposes of this subsection, "other paid leave" 162
may include, but not be limited to, paid vacation, personal days or paid 163
time off] (1) is sufficient to meet the accrual requirements of this section 164
and the amount of paid sick leave required by sections 7 and 8 of this 165
act and section 31-57x; and (2) may be used for the same purposes and 166
under the same conditions as paid sick leave. 167
(d) Each employer shall pay each [service worker] employee for paid 168
sick leave at a pay rate equal to the greater of either (1) the normal 169
hourly wage for that [service worker] employee, or (2) the minimum fair 170
wage rate under section 31-58 in effect for the pay period during which 171
the employee used paid sick leave. For any [service worker] employee 172
whose hourly wage varies depending on the work performed by the 173
[service worker] employee, "normal hourly wage" means the average 174
hourly wage of the [service worker] employee in the pay period prior to 175
the one in which the [service worker] employee used paid sick leave. 176 Raised Bill No. 6537
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[(e) Notwithstanding the provisions of this section and sections 31-177
57t to 31-57w, inclusive, and upon the mutual consent of the service 178
worker and employer, a service worker who chooses to work additional 179
hours or shifts during the same or following pay period, in lieu of hours 180
or shifts missed, shall not use accrued paid sick leave.] 181
(e) Employees who are exempt from overtime requirements under 182
subdivision (1) of subsection (a) of 29 USC Section 213 of the Federal 183
Fair Labor Standards Act shall be assumed to work forty hours in each 184
work week for purposes of paid sick leave accrual unless their normal 185
work week is less than forty hours, in which case paid sick leave accrues 186
based upon that normal work week. 187
(f) If an employee is transferred to a separate division, entity or 188
location, but remains employed by the same employer, the employee is 189
entitled to all paid sick leave accrued or received at the prior division, 190
entity or location and is entitled to use all paid sick leave. When a 191
different employer succeeds or takes the place of an existing employer, 192
all employees of the original employer who remain employed by the 193
successor employer are entitled to all paid sick leave they accrued or 194
received when employed by the original employer, and are entitled to 195
use paid sick leave previously accrued or received. 196
(g) An employer may not require, as a condition of an employee's 197
taking paid sick leave, that the employee search for or find a 198
replacement worker to cover the hours during which the employee is 199
using paid sick leave. 200
[(f)] (h) No employer shall (1) terminate any employee, (2) dismiss 201
any employee, or (3) transfer any employee from one worksite to 202
another solely in order to not qualify as an employer, as defined in 203
section 31-57r, as amended by this act. 204
Sec. 3. Section 31-57t of the general statutes is repealed and the 205
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2021): 206
(a) An employer shall permit [a service worker] an employee to use 207 Raised Bill No. 6537
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the paid sick leave accrued pursuant to section 31-57s, as amended by 208
this act: 209
(1) For (A) [a service worker's] an employee's illness, injury or health 210
condition, (B) the medical diagnosis, care or treatment of [a service 211
worker's] an employee's mental illness or physical illness, injury or 212
health condition, or (C) preventative medical care for [a service worker] 213
an employee; 214
(2) For (A) [a service worker's child's or spouse's] an employee's 215
family member's illness, injury or health condition, (B) the medical 216
diagnosis, care or treatment of [a service worker's child's or spouse's] an 217
employee's family member's mental or physical illness, injury or health 218
condition, or (C) preventative medical care for a [child or spouse of a 219
service worker] family member of an employee; [and] 220
(3) Closure of the employee's place of business by order of a public 221
official due to a public health emergency or an employee's need to care 222
for a family member whose school or place of care has been closed by 223
order of a public official due to a public health emergency, or care for 224
oneself or a family member when it has been determined by the health 225
authorities having jurisdiction, an employer of the employee or 226
employee's family member, or by a health care provider that the 227
employee's or family member's presence in the community may 228
jeopardize the health of others because of his or her exposure to a 229
communicable illness, whether or not the employee or family member 230
has actually contracted the communicable illness; and 231
[(3)] (4) Where [a service worker] an employee or an employee's 232
family member is a victim of family violence or sexual assault (A) for 233
medical care or psychological or other counseling for physical or 234
psychological injury or disability, (B) to obtain services from a victim 235
services organization, (C) to relocate due to such family violence or 236
sexual assault, or (D) to participate in any civil or criminal proceedings 237
related to or resulting from such family violence or sexual assault. 238
(b) If [a service worker's] an employee's need to use paid sick leave is 239 Raised Bill No. 6537
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foreseeable, an employer may require advance notice, not to exceed 240
seven days prior to the date such leave is to begin, of the intention to use 241
such leave. If [a service worker's] an employee's need for such leave is 242
not foreseeable, an employer may require [a service worker] an 243
employee to give notice of such intention as soon as practicable. For paid 244
sick leave of three or more consecutive days, an employer may require 245
reasonable documentation that such leave is being taken for one of the 246
purposes permitted under subsection (a) of this section. If such leave is 247
permitted under subdivision (1) or (2) of subsection (a) of this section, 248
documentation signed by a health care provider who is treating the 249
[service worker] employee or the [service worker's] employee's child or 250
spouse indicating the need for the number of days of such leave shall be 251
considered reasonable documentation. If such leave is permitted under 252
subdivision (3) of subsection (a) of this section, a court record or 253
documentation signed by [a service worker] an employee or volunteer 254
working for a victim services organization, an attorney, a police officer 255
or other counselor involved with the [service worker] employee shall be 256
considered reasonable documentation. An employer may not require 257
that the documentation explain the nature of the illness or the details of 258
the domestic violence, sexual assault, harassment or stalking. If an 259
employer chooses to require documentation for paid sick leave under 260
this section and the employer does not offer health insurance to the 261
employee, then the employer is responsible for paying all out-of-pocket 262
expenses the employee incurs in obtaining the documentation. If the 263
employee does have health insurance, the employer is responsible for 264
paying any costs charged to the employee by the health care provider 265
for providing the specific documentation required by the employer. The 266
employer is responsible for paying any costs charged to the employee 267
for documentation of domestic violence, sexual assault, harassment or 268
stalking required by the employer. 269
(c) Nothing in sections 7 and 8 of this act and sections 31-57s to [31-270
57w] 31-57x, inclusive, as amended by this act, shall be deemed to 271
require any employer to provide paid sick leave for [a service worker's] 272
an employee's leave for any purpose other than those described in this 273 Raised Bill No. 6537
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section. 274
(d) Unless an employee policy or collective bargaining agreement 275
provides for the payment of accrued fringe benefits upon termination, 276
no [service worker] employee shall be entitled to payment of unused 277
paid accrued sick leave under this section upon termination of 278
employment. 279
(e) Nothing in sections 7 and 8 of this act and sections 31-57s to [31-280
57w] 31-57x, inclusive, as amended by this act, shall be construed to 281
prohibit an employer from taking disciplinary action against [a service 282
worker] an employee who uses paid sick leave provided under said 283
sections [31-57s to 31-57w, inclusive,] for purposes other than those 284
described in this section. 285
Sec. 4. Section 31-57u of the general statutes is repealed and the 286
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2021): 287
(a) Nothing in sections 7 and 8 of this act and sections 31-57s to [31-288
57w] 31-57x, inclusive, as amended by this act, shall be construed to (1) 289
prevent employers from providing more paid sick leave than is required 290
under said sections, [31-57s to 31-57w, inclusive,] (2) diminish any rights 291
provided to any employee [or service worker] under a collective 292
bargaining agreement, or (3) preempt or override the terms of any 293
collective bargaining agreement effective prior to January 1, 2012. 294
(b) Nothing in sections 7 and 8 of this act and sections 31-57s to [31-295
57w] 31-57x, inclusive, as amended by this act, shall be construed to 296
prohibit an employer (1) from establishing a policy whereby [a service 297
worker] an employee may donate unused accrued paid sick leave to 298
another [service worker] employee, and (2) who provides more paid 299
sick leave than is required under sections 7 and 8 of this act and sections 300
31-57s to [31-57w] 31-57x, inclusive, as amended by this act, for the 301
purposes described in subdivision (1) of subsection (a) of section 31-57t, 302
as amended by this act, from limiting the amount of such leave [a service 303
worker] an employee may use for other purposes. 304 Raised Bill No. 6537
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(c) Any termination of [a service worker's] an employee's 305
employment by an employer, whether voluntary or involuntary, shall 306
be construed as a break in service. Should any [service worker] 307
employee subsequently be rehired by the employer following a break in 308
service, the [service worker] employee shall (1) begin to accrue sick 309
leave [in accordance with section 31-57s] immediately upon rehire, and 310
(2) shall [not] be entitled to any unused hours of paid sick leave that had 311
been accrued prior to the [service worker's] employee's break in service. 312
[unless agreed to by the employer.] 313
Sec. 5. Section 31-57v of the general statutes is repealed and the 314
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2021): 315
(a) No employer shall take retaliatory personnel action or 316
discriminate against an employee because the employee (1) requests or 317
uses paid sick leave either in accordance with sections 7 and 8 of this act 318
and sections 31-57s, as amended by this act, and [31-57t] 31-57x or in 319
accordance with the employer's own paid sick leave policy, as the case 320
may be, or (2) files a complaint with the Labor Commissioner alleging 321
the employer's violation of sections 7 and 8 of this act and sections 31-322
57s to [31-57w] 31-57x, inclusive, as amended by this act. 323
(b) The Labor Commissioner shall advise any employee who (1) is 324
covered by a collective bargaining agreement that provides for paid sick 325
days, and (2) files a complaint pursuant to subsection (a) of this section 326
of his or her right to pursue a grievance with his or her collective 327
bargaining agent. 328
(c) Any employee aggrieved by a violation of the provisions of 329
sections 7 and 8 of this act and sections 31-57s to [31-57w] 31-57x, 330
inclusive, as amended by this act, may file a complaint with the Labor 331
Commissioner. Upon receipt of any such complaint, said commissioner 332
may hold a hearing. After the hearing, any employer who is found by 333
the Labor Commissioner, by a preponderance of the evidence, to have 334
violated the provisions of subsection (a) of this section shall be liable to 335
the Labor Department for a civil penalty of five hundred dollars for each 336 Raised Bill No. 6537
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violation. Any employer who is found by the Labor Commissioner, by 337
a preponderance of the evidence, to have violated the provisions of 338
sections 7 and 8 of this act and sections 31-57s to [31-57u, inclusive, or 339
section 31-57w] 31-57x, inclusive, as amended by this act, shall be liable 340
to the Labor Department for a civil penalty of up to one hundred dollars 341
for each violation. The Labor Commissioner may award the employee 342
all appropriate relief, including the payment for used paid sick leave, 343
rehiring or reinstatement to the employee's previous job, payment of 344
back wages and reestablishment of employee benefits to which the 345
employee otherwise would have been eligible if the employee had not 346
been subject to such retaliatory personnel action or discriminated 347
against. Any party aggrieved by the decision of the commissioner may 348
appeal the decision to the Superior Court in accordance with the 349
provisions of chapter 54. 350
(d) The Labor Commissioner shall administer this section within 351
available appropriations. 352
(e) The Labor Commissioner, the Attorney General or any person 353
aggrieved by any violation of sections 7 and 8 of this act and sections 31-354
57s to 31-57x, inclusive, as amended by this act, or any entity a member 355
of which is aggrieved by a violation of said sections, may bring a civil 356
action in a court of competent jurisdiction against an employer violating 357
any of said sections. Such action may be brought by a person aggrieved 358
by violation of this section without first filing an administrative 359
complaint. 360
Sec. 6. Section 31-57w of the general statutes is repealed and the 361
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2021): 362
(a) Each employer subject to the provisions of [section] sections 7 and 363
8 of this act and sections 31-57s, as amended by this act, and 31-57x, as 364
amended by this act, shall, at the time of hiring, provide notice to each 365
[service worker] employee (1) of the entitlement to sick leave for [service 366
workers] employees, the amount of sick leave provided to [service 367
workers] employees and the terms under which sick leave may be used, 368 Raised Bill No. 6537
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(2) that retaliation by the employer against the [service worker] 369
employee for requesting or using sick leave for which the [service 370
worker] employee is eligible is prohibited, and (3) that the service 371
worker has a right to file a complaint with the Labor Commissioner for 372
any violation of this section and of sections 7 and 8 of this act and 373
sections 31-57s to [31-57v] 31-57x, inclusive, as amended by this act. 374
Employers [may] shall comply with the provisions of this section by (A) 375
providing written individual notice to each employee not later than six 376
months after the effective date of this section or at the time of hire, 377
whichever is later, and (B) displaying a poster in a conspicuous place, 378
accessible to [service workers] employees, at the employer's place of 379
business that contains the information required by this section in both 380
English and Spanish; provided, however, that in cases where the 381
employer does not maintain a physical workplace, or an employee 382
teleworks or performs work through a web-based or app-based 383
platform, notification shall be sent via electronic communication or a 384
conspicuous posting in a web-based or app-based platform. The Labor 385
Commissioner [may adopt regulations, in accordance with chapter 54, 386
to establish additional requirements concerning the means by which 387
employers shall provide such notice. The Labor Commissioner shall 388
administer this section within available appropriations] shall provide 389
such posters and model written notices to all employers. Employers 390
shall include in the record of hours worked, wages earned and 391
deductions required by section 31-13a the number of hours, if any, of 392
paid sick leave accrued or received by each employee, as well as any use 393
of paid sick leave in the calendar year. 394
(b) Employers shall retain records documenting hours worked by 395
employees and paid sick leave taken by employees for a period of three 396
years and shall allow the Labor Commissioner access to such records, 397
with appropriate notice and at a mutually agreeable time, to monitor 398
compliance with the requirements of this section. When an issue arises 399
as to an employee's entitlement to paid sick leave under this section, if 400
the employer does not maintain or retain adequate records 401
documenting hours worked by the employee and paid sick leave taken 402 Raised Bill No. 6537
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by the employee, or does not allow reasonable access to such records, it 403
shall be presumed that the employer has violated this section, absent 404
clear and convincing evidence otherwise. 405
(c) The Labor Commissioner may coordinate implementation and 406
enforcement of sections 7 and 8 of this act and sections 31-57s to 31-57x, 407
inclusive, as amended by this act, and shall adopt regulations in 408
accordance with the provisions of chapter 54 to implement the 409
provisions of said sections. 410
(d) The Labor Commissioner may develop and implement a 411
multilingual outreach program to inform employees, parents and 412
persons who are under the care of a health care provider about the 413
availability of paid sick leave. Such program shall include the 414
distribution of notices and other written materials in English and 415
Spanish and any language that is the first language spoken by not less 416
than five per cent of the state's population to all child care and elder care 417
providers, domestic violence shelters, schools, hospitals, community 418
health centers and other health care providers. 419
(e) The Labor Commissioner shall administer this section within 420
available appropriations. 421
Sec. 7. (NEW) (Effective July 1, 2021) An employer may not require 422
disclosure of details relating to domestic violence, sexual assault, 423
harassment or stalking or the details of an employee's or an employee's 424
family member's health information as a condition of providing paid 425
sick leave under section 8 of this act or sections 31-57s to 31-57x, 426
inclusive, of the general statutes, as amended by this act. If an employer 427
possesses health information or information pertaining to domestic 428
violence, sexual assault, harassment or stalking about an employee or 429
employee's family member, such information shall be treated as 430
confidential and not disclosed except to the affected employee or with 431
the permission of the affected employee. 432
Sec. 8. (NEW) (Effective July 1, 2021) (a) An employer shall provide 433
each employee of an employer with additional paid sick leave for 434 Raised Bill No. 6537
LCO No. 3761 15 of 17
COVID-19 purposes, in addition to paid sick leave under sections 31-57s 435
of the general statutes, as amended by this act, and 31-57t of the general 436
statutes, as amended by this act, in the following amounts: (1) 437
Employees who normally work forty or more hours in a week shall be 438
provided not less than eighty hours of additional paid sick leave; or (2) 439
employees who work less than forty hours in a week shall be provided 440
an amount of additional paid sick leave equal to the amount of time the 441
employee is otherwise scheduled to work or works on average in a two-442
week period, whichever is greater. 443
(b) If an employee described in subdivision (2) of subsection (a) of 444
this section has a schedule that varies from week to week, the employer 445
shall use the following to determine the amount of time worked on 446
average in a two-week period: (1) Subject to subdivision (2) of this 447
subsection, a number equal to the average number of hours that the 448
employee was scheduled per week over the six-month period ending on 449
the date on which the employee takes paid sick leave under this section, 450
including hours for which the employee took leave of any type; (2) if the 451
employee did not work over such period, the reasonable expectation of 452
the employee at the time of hiring of the average number of hours per 453
week that the employee would normally be scheduled to work. 454
(c) The paid sick leave required pursuant to subsection (a) of this 455
section shall be provided to employees immediately for use for any of 456
the purposes described in subsection (d) of this section beginning on the 457
effective date of this section, regardless of how long they have been 458
employed. An employee shall be entitled to use paid sick leave under 459
this section until four weeks following the official termination or 460
suspension of a COVID-19 emergency as declared or proclaimed by the 461
Governor. Paid sick leave under this section shall be made available 462
retroactively to employees employed on the effective date of this 463
section. 464
(d) The paid sick leave required in subsection (a) of this section shall 465
be provided to an employee by an employer when the employee is 466
unable to perform the functions of the position of such employee, 467 Raised Bill No. 6537
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including through telework, due to a need for leave for any of the 468
following purposes related to COVID-19: (1) An employee's need to: (A) 469
Self-isolate and care for oneself because the individual is diagnosed with 470
COVID-19; (B) self-isolate and care for oneself because the individual is 471
experiencing symptoms of COVID-19; (C) seek preventive care 472
concerning COVID-19; or (D) seek or obtain medical diagnosis, care, or 473
treatment if experiencing symptoms of COVID-19; (2) an employee's 474
need to comply with an order or determination to self-isolate, on the 475
basis that the employee's physical presence on the job or in the 476
community would jeopardize the employee's health, the health of other 477
employees, or the health of an individual in the employee's household 478
because of: (A) Possible exposure to COVID-19; or (B) exhibiting 479
symptoms of COVID-19, regardless of whether the employee has been 480
diagnosed with COVID-19; (3) an employee's need to take care of a 481
family member who is: (A) Self-isolating, seeking preventive care, or 482
seeking or obtaining medical diagnosis, care, or treatment for the 483
purposes described in this section; or (B) self-isolating due to an order 484
or determination as described in this section; (4) an employee's inability 485
to work or telework because the employee is: (A) Prohibited from 486
working by the employer due to health concerns related to the potential 487
transmission of COVID-19; or (B) subject to an individual or general 488
local, state, or federal quarantine or isolation order, including a shelter-489
in-place or stay-at-home order, related to COVID-19; (5) an employee's 490
need to take care of a child or other family member when the care 491
provider of such individual is unavailable due to COVID-19, or if the 492
child's or family member's school or place of care has been closed by a 493
local, state or federal public official or at the discretion of the school or 494
place of care due to COVID-19, including if a school or place of care: (A) 495
Is physically closed but providing virtual learning instruction; (B) 496
requires or makes optional virtual learning instruction; or (C) requires 497
or makes available a hybrid of in-person and virtual learning instruction 498
models; or (6) an employee's inability to work because the employee has 499
a health condition that may increase susceptibility to or risk of COVID-500
19, including, but not limited to, age, heart disease, asthma, lung 501
disease, diabetes, kidney disease, or a weakened immune system. 502 Raised Bill No. 6537
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(e) An order or determination pursuant to subdivision (2) or (3) of 503
subsection (d) of this section shall be made by a local, state, or federal 504
public official, a health authority having jurisdiction, a health care 505
provider, or the employer of the employee or employee's family 506
member. Such order or determination need not be specific to such 507
employee or family member. 508
(f) An employee may first use the paid sick leave under this section 509
prior to using paid sick leave for purposes under section 31-57t of the 510
general statutes, as amended by this act. An employer may not require 511
an employee to use other paid leave provided by the employer to the 512
employee before the employee uses the paid sick leave under this 513
section. 514
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:
Section 1 July 1, 2021 31-57r
Sec. 2 July 1, 2021 31-57s
Sec. 3 July 1, 2021 31-57t
Sec. 4 July 1, 2021 31-57u
Sec. 5 July 1, 2021 31-57v
Sec. 6 July 1, 2021 31-57w
Sec. 7 July 1, 2021 New section
Sec. 8 July 1, 2021 New section
Statement of Purpose:
To expand paid sick days and domestic worker coverage.
[Proposed deletions are enclosed in brackets. Proposed additions are indicated by underline, except
that when the entire text of a bill or resolution or a section of a bill or resolution is new, it is not
underlined.]