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General Assembly Substitute Bill No. 6537
January Session, 2021
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 Section 31-57r of the general statutes is repealed and the 1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, as 3
amended by this act: 4
(1) "Child" means a biological, adopted or foster child, stepchild, legal 5
ward of [a service worker] an employee, or a child of a [service worker] 6
person standing in loco parentis [, who is (A) under eighteen years of 7
age; or (B) eighteen years of age or older and incapable of self-care 8
because of a mental or physical disability] or an individual to whom the 9
employee stood in loco parentis when the individual was a child; 10
[(2) "Day or temporary worker" means an individual who performs 11
work for another on (A) a per diem basis, or (B) an occasional or 12
irregular basis for only the time required to complete such work, 13
whether such individual is paid by the person for whom such work is 14
performed or by an employment agency or temporary help service, as 15
defined in section 31-129;] 16
[(3)] (2) "Employee" means an individual engaged in service to an 17 Substitute Bill No. 6537
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employer in the business of the employer; 18
[(4)] (3) "Employer" means any person, firm, business, educational 19
institution, nonprofit agency, corporation, limited liability company or 20
other entity, [that employs fifty or more individuals in the state, which 21
shall be determined based on such person's, firm's, business', 22
educational institution's, nonprofit agency's, corporation's, limited 23
liability company's or other entity's payroll for the week containing 24
October first, annually. "Employer" does not include: (A) Any business 25
establishment classified in sector 31, 32 or 33 in the North American 26
Industrial Classification System, or (B) any nationally chartered 27
organization exempt from taxation under Section 501(c)(3) of the 28
Internal Revenue Code of 1986, or any subsequent corresponding 29
internal revenue code of the United States, as from time to time 30
amended, that provides all of the following services: Recreation, child 31
care and education] except that the Personal Care Attendant Workforce 32
Council established under section 17b-706a shall act on behalf of the 33
employers of all personal care attendants, as defined in section 17b-706; 34
(4) "Family member" means a spouse, sibling, child, grandparent, 35
grandchild or parent, or an individual related to the employee by blood 36
or affinity whose close association with the employee is the equivalent 37
of those family relationships; 38
(5) "Family violence" has the same meaning as provided in section 39
46b-38a; 40
(6) "Grandchild" means a grandchild related to a person by: (A) 41
Blood, (B) marriage, (C) adoption by a child of the grandparent, or (D) 42
foster care by a child of the grandparent; 43
(7) "Grandparent" means a grandparent related to a person by: (A) 44
Blood, (B) marriage, (C) adoption of a minor child by a child of the 45
grandparent, or (D) foster care by a child of the grandparent; 46
(8) "Parent" means a biological parent, foster parent, adoptive parent, 47
stepparent, parent-in-law or legal guardian of an employee or an 48 Substitute Bill No. 6537
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employee's spouse, an individual standing in loco parentis to an 49
employee, or an individual who stood in loco parentis to the employee 50
when the employee was a child; 51
(9) "Paid sick leave" means paid time that is provided by an employer 52
to an employee for the purposes described in section 31-57t, as amended 53
by this act; 54
[(6)] (10) "Retaliatory personnel action" means any termination, 55
suspension, constructive discharge, demotion, unfavorable 56
reassignment, refusal to promote, disciplinary action or other adverse 57
employment action taken by an employer against an employee or a 58
service worker; 59
[(7) "Service worker" means an employee primarily engaged in an 60
occupation with one of the following broad or detailed occupation code 61
numbers and titles, as defined by the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics 62
Standard Occupational Classification system or any successor system: 63
(A) 11-9050 Food Service Managers; (B) 11-9110 Medical and Health 64
Services Managers; (C) 21-1020 Social Workers; (D) 21-1093 Social and 65
Human Service Assistants; (E) 21-1094 Community Health Workers; (F) 66
21-1099 Community and Social Service Specialists, All Other; (G) 25-67
4020 Librarians; (H) 29-1050 Pharmacists; (I) 29-1070 Physician 68
Assistants; (J) 29-1120 Therapists; (K) 29-1140 Registered Nurses; (L) 29-69
1150 Nurse Anesthetists; (M) 29-1160 Nurse Midwives; (N) 29-1170 70
Nurse Practitioners; (O) 29-2020 Dental Hygienists; (P) 29-2040 71
Emergency Medical Technicians and Paramedics; (Q) 29-2050 Health 72
Practitioner Support Technologists and Technicians; (R) 29-2060 73
Licensed Practical and Licensed Vocational Nurses; (S) 31-1011 Home 74
Health Aides; (T) 31-1012 Nursing Aides, Orderlies and Attendants; (U) 75
31-1013 Psychiatric Aides; (V) 31-9091 Dental Assistants; (W) 31-9092 76
Medical Assistants; (X) 33-9032 Security Guards; (Y) 33-9091 Crossing 77
Guards; (Z) 35-1010 Supervisors of Food Preparation and Serving 78
Workers; (AA) 35-2010 Cooks; (BB) 35-2020 Food Preparation Workers; 79
(CC) 35-3010 Bartenders; (DD) 35-3020 Fast Food and Counter Workers; 80
(EE) 35-3030 Waiters and Waitresses; (FF) 35-3040 Food Servers, 81 Substitute Bill No. 6537
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Nonrestaurant; (GG) 35-9010 Dining Room and Cafeteria Attendants 82
and Bartender Helpers; (HH) 35-9020 Dishwashers; (II) 35-9030 Hosts 83
and Hostesses, Restaurant, Lounge and Coffee Shop; (JJ) 35-9090 84
Miscellaneous Food Preparation and Serving Related Workers; (KK) 37-85
2011 Janitors and Cleaners, Except Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners; 86
(LL) 37-2019 Building Cleaning Workers, All Other; (MM) 39-3030 87
Ushers, Lobby Attendants and Ticket Takers; (NN) 39-5010 Barbers, 88
Hairdressers, Hairstylists and Cosmetologists; (OO) 39-6010 Baggage 89
Porters, Bellhops and Concierges; (PP) 39-9010 Child Care Workers; 90
(QQ) 39-9021 Personal Care Aides; (RR) 41-1010 First-Line Supervisors 91
of Sales Workers; (SS) 41-2011 Cashiers; (TT) 41-2021 Counter and 92
Rental Clerks; (UU) 41-2030 Retail Salespersons; (VV) 43-3070 Tellers; 93
(WW) 43-4080 Hotel, Motel and Resort Desk Clerks; (XX) 43-4170 94
Receptionists and Information Clerks; (YY) 43-5020 Couriers and 95
Messengers; (ZZ) 43-6010 Secretaries and Administrative Assistants; 96
(AAA) 43-9010 Computer Operators; (BBB) 43-9020 Data Entry and 97
Information Processing Workers; (CCC) 43-9030 Desktop Publishers; 98
(DDD) 43-9040 Insurance Claims and Policy Processing Clerks; (EEE) 99
43-9050 Mail Clerks and Mail Machine Operators, Except Postal Service; 100
(FFF) 43-9060 Office Clerks, General; (GGG) 43-9070 Office Machine 101
Operators, Except Computer; (HHH) 43-9080 Proofreaders and Copy 102
Markers; (III) 43-9110 Statistical Assistants; (JJJ) 43-9190 Miscellaneous 103
Office and Administrative Support Workers; (KKK) 51-3010 Bakers; 104
(LLL) 51-3020 Butchers and Other Meat, Poultry and Fish Processing 105
Workers; (MMM) 51-3090 Miscellaneous Food Processing Workers; 106
(NNN) 53-3010 Ambulance Drivers and Attendants, Except Emergency 107
Medical Technicians; (OOO) 53-3020 Bus Drivers; (PPP) 53-3040 Taxi 108
Drivers and Chauffeurs; or (QQQ) 29-2034 Radiologic Technologists, 109
and is (i) paid on an hourly basis, or (ii) not exempt from the minimum 110
wage and overtime compensation requirements of the Fair Labor 111
Standards Act of 1938 and the regulations promulgated thereunder, as 112
amended from time to time. "Service worker" does not include day or 113
temporary workers;] 114
[(8)] (11) "Sexual assault" means any act that constitutes a violation of 115 Substitute Bill No. 6537
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section 53a-70b of the general statutes, revision of 1958, revised to 116
January 1, 2019, or section 53a-70, 53a-70a, 53a-71, 53a-72a, 53a-72b or 117
53a-73a; 118
(12) "Sibling" means a brother or sister related to a person by: (A) 119
Blood, (B) marriage, (C) adoption by a parent of the person, or (D) foster 120
care placement; 121
[(9)] (13) "Spouse" means a husband or wife, as the case may be; and 122
[(10)] (14) "Year" means any three-hundred-sixty-five-day period 123
used by an employer to calculate employee benefits. 124
Sec. 2. Section 31-57s of the general statutes is repealed and the 125
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2021): 126
(a) Each employer shall provide paid sick leave annually to each of 127
such employer's [service workers] employees in the state. Such paid sick 128
leave shall accrue (1) beginning [January 1, 2012] July 1, 2021, or for [a 129
service worker] an employee hired after said date, beginning on the 130
[service worker's] employee's date of employment, (2) at a rate of one 131
hour of paid sick leave for each [forty] thirty hours worked by [a service 132
worker] the employee, and (3) in one-hour increments up to a maximum 133
of forty hours per year. [Each service worker] Each employee shall be 134
entitled to carry over up to forty unused accrued hours of paid sick leave 135
from the current year to the following year, but no [service worker] 136
employee shall be entitled to use more in any year than the maximum 137
number of accrued hours, as described in subdivision (3) of this 138
subsection, in any year. An employer may provide all paid sick leave 139
that an employee is expected to accrue in a year at the beginning of the 140
year. 141
(b) [A service worker] An employee shall be entitled to the use of 142
[accrued] paid sick leave [upon the completion of the service worker's 143
six-hundred-eightieth hour of employment from January 1, 2012, if the 144
service worker was hired prior to January 1, 2012, or if hired after 145
January 1, 2012, upon the completion of the service worker's six-146 Substitute Bill No. 6537
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hundred-eightieth hour of employment from the date of hire, unless the 147
employer agrees to an earlier date. A service worker shall not be entitled 148
to the use of accrued paid sick leave if such service worker did not work 149
an average of ten or more hours per week for the employer in the most 150
recent complete quarter] as it is accrued. 151
(c) An employer shall be deemed to be in compliance with this section 152
if the employer offers any other paid leave, or combination of other paid 153
leave that (1) may be used for the purposes of, and under the same 154
conditions as provided in, section 31-57t, as amended by this act, and (2) 155
is accrued in total at a rate equal to or greater than the rate described in 156
[subsections] subsection (a) [and (b)] of this section. For the purposes of 157
this subsection, "other paid leave" may include, but not be limited to, 158
paid vacation, personal days or paid time off. 159
(d) Each employer shall pay each [service worker] employee for paid 160
sick leave at a pay rate equal to the greater of either (1) the normal 161
hourly wage for that [service worker] employee, or (2) the minimum fair 162
wage rate under section 31-58 in effect for the pay period during which 163
the employee used paid sick leave. For any [service worker] employee 164
whose hourly wage varies depending on the work performed by the 165
[service worker] employee, "normal hourly wage" means the average 166
hourly wage of the [service worker] employee in the pay period prior to 167
the one in which the [service worker] employee used paid sick leave. 168
[(e) Notwithstanding the provisions of this section and sections 31-169
57t to 31-57w, inclusive, and upon the mutual consent of the service 170
worker and employer, a service worker who chooses to work additional 171
hours or shifts during the same or following pay period, in lieu of hours 172
or shifts missed, shall not use accrued paid sick leave.] 173
(e) Employees who are exempt from overtime requirements under 29 174
USC 213 (a)(1), as amended from time to time, shall be assumed to work 175
forty hours in each work week for purposes of paid sick leave accrual 176
unless their normal work week is less than forty hours, in which case 177
paid sick leave shall accrue based upon that normal work week. 178 Substitute Bill No. 6537
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(f) If an employee is transferred to a separate division, entity or 179
location but remains employed by the same employer, the employee 180
shall retain and be entitled to use all paid sick leave the employee 181
accrued or received at the prior division, entity or location. If a different 182
employer succeeds or takes the place of an existing employer, each 183
employee of the original employer who remains employed by the 184
successor employer shall retain and be entitled to use all paid sick leave 185
the employee accrued or received while employed by the original 186
employer. 187
(g) An employer may not require, as a condition of an employee's 188
taking paid sick leave, that the employee search for or find a 189
replacement worker to cover the hours during which the employee is 190
using paid sick leave. 191
[(f)] (h) No employer shall (1) terminate any employee, (2) dismiss 192
any employee, or (3) transfer any employee from one worksite to 193
another solely in order to not qualify as an employer, as defined in 194
section 31-57r, as amended by this act. 195
Sec. 3. Section 31-57t of the general statutes is repealed and the 196
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2021): 197
(a) An employer shall permit [a service worker] an employee to use 198
the paid sick leave accrued pursuant to section 31-57s, as amended by 199
this act: 200
(1) For (A) [a service worker's] an employee's illness, injury or health 201
condition, (B) the medical diagnosis, care or treatment of [a service 202
worker's] an employee's mental illness or physical illness, injury or 203
health condition, or (C) preventative medical care for [a service worker] 204
an employee; 205
(2) For (A) a [service worker's child's or spouse's] family member's 206
illness, injury or health condition, (B) the medical diagnosis, care or 207
treatment of [a service worker's child's or spouse's] mental or physical 208
illness, injury or health condition, or (C) preventative medical care for a 209 Substitute Bill No. 6537
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[child or spouse of a service worker] family member; [and] 210
(3) For closure of the employer's place of business by order of a public 211
official due to a public health emergency or an employee's need to care 212
for a family member whose school or place of care has been closed by 213
order of a public official due to a public health emergency, or to care for 214
oneself or a family member when it has been determined by a health 215
authority having jurisdiction, an employer of the employee or 216
employee's family member or a health care provider that the employee's 217
or family member's presence in the community may jeopardize the 218
health of others because of his or her exposure to a communicable 219
illness, whether or not the employee or family member has actually 220
contracted the communicable illness; and 221
[(3)] (4) Where [a service worker] an employee or an employee's 222
family member is a victim of family violence or sexual assault (A) for 223
medical care or psychological or other counseling for physical or 224
psychological injury or disability, (B) to obtain services from a victim 225
services organization, (C) to relocate due to such family violence or 226
sexual assault, or (D) to participate in any civil or criminal proceedings 227
related to or resulting from such family violence or sexual assault. 228
(b) If [a service worker's] an employee's need to use paid sick leave is 229
foreseeable, an employer may require advance notice, not to exceed 230
seven days prior to the date such leave is to begin, of the intention to use 231
such leave. If [a service worker's] an employee's need for such leave is 232
not foreseeable, an employer may require [a service worker] an 233
employee to give notice of such intention as soon as practicable. For paid 234
sick leave of three or more consecutive days, an employer may require 235
reasonable documentation that such leave is being taken for one of the 236
purposes permitted under subsection (a) of this section. If such leave is 237
permitted under subdivision (1) or (2) of subsection (a) of this section, 238
documentation signed by a health care provider who is treating the 239
[service worker] employee or the [service worker's child or spouse] 240
family member indicating the need for the number of days of such leave 241
shall be considered reasonable documentation. If such leave is 242 Substitute Bill No. 6537
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permitted under subdivision [(3)] (4) of subsection (a) of this section, a 243
court record or documentation signed by [a service worker] an 244
employee or volunteer working for a victim services organization, an 245
attorney, a police officer or other counselor involved with the [service 246
worker] employee shall be considered reasonable documentation. An 247
employer may not require that the documentation explain the nature of 248
the illness or the details of the family violence or sexual assault. If an 249
employer chooses to require documentation for paid sick leave under 250
this section and the employer does not offer health insurance to the 251
employee, the employer is responsible for paying all out-of-pocket 252
expenses the employee incurs in obtaining the documentation. If the 253
employee has health insurance, the employer is responsible for paying 254
any costs charged to the employee by the health care provider for 255
providing the specific documentation required by the employer. The 256
employer is responsible for paying any costs charged to the employee 257
for documentation of family violence or sexual assault required by the 258
employer. 259
(c) Nothing in sections 31-57s to 31-57w, inclusive, as amended by 260
this act, shall be deemed to require any employer to provide paid sick 261
leave for [a service worker's] an employee's leave for any purpose other 262
than those described in this section. 263
(d) Unless an employee policy or collective bargaining agreement 264
provides for the payment of accrued fringe benefits upon termination, 265
no [service worker] employee shall be entitled to payment of unused 266
paid accrued sick leave under this section upon termination of 267
employment. 268
(e) Nothing in sections 31-57s to 31-57w, inclusive, as amended by 269
this act, shall be construed to prohibit an employer from taking 270
disciplinary action against [a service worker] an employee who uses 271
paid sick leave provided under said sections [31-57s to 31-57w, 272
inclusive,] for purposes other than those described in this section. 273
Sec. 4. Section 31-57u of the general statutes is repealed and the 274 Substitute Bill No. 6537
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following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2021): 275
(a) Nothing in sections 31-57s to 31-57w, inclusive, as amended by 276
this act, shall be construed to (1) prevent employers from providing 277
more paid sick leave than is required under said sections, [31-57s to 31-278
57w, inclusive,] (2) diminish any rights provided to any employee [or 279
service worker] under a collective bargaining agreement, or (3) preempt 280
or override the terms of any collective bargaining agreement effective 281
prior to January 1, 2012. 282
(b) Nothing in sections 31-57s to 31-57w, inclusive, as amended by 283
this act, shall be construed to prohibit an employer (1) from establishing 284
a policy whereby [a service worker] an employee may donate unused 285
accrued paid sick leave to another [service worker] employee, and (2) 286
who provides more paid sick leave than is required under sections 31-287
57s to 31-57w, inclusive, as amended by this act, for the purposes 288
described in subdivision (1) of subsection (a) of section 31-57t, as 289
amended by this act, from limiting the amount of such leave [a service 290
worker] an employee may use for other purposes. 291
(c) Any termination of [a service worker's] an employee's 292
employment by an employer, whether voluntary or involuntary, shall 293
be construed as a break in service. Should any [service worker] 294
employee subsequently be rehired by the employer following a break in 295
service, the [service worker] employee shall (1) begin to accrue sick 296
leave [in accordance with section 31-57s] immediately upon rehire, and 297
(2) shall [not] be entitled to any unused hours of paid sick leave that had 298
been accrued prior to the [service worker's] employee's break in service. 299
[unless agreed to by the employer.] 300
Sec. 5. Section 31-57v of the general statutes is repealed and the 301
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2021): 302
(a) No employer shall take retaliatory personnel action or 303
discriminate against an employee because the employee (1) requests or 304
uses paid sick leave either in accordance with sections 31-57s and 31-57t, 305
as amended by this act, or in accordance with the employer's own paid 306 Substitute Bill No. 6537
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sick leave policy, as the case may be, or (2) files a complaint with the 307
Labor Commissioner alleging the employer's violation of sections 31-57s 308
to 31-57w, inclusive, as amended by this act. 309
(b) The Labor Commissioner shall advise any employee who (1) is 310
covered by a collective bargaining agreement that provides for paid sick 311
days, and (2) files a complaint pursuant to subsection (a) of this section 312
of his or her right to pursue a grievance with his or her collective 313
bargaining agent. 314
(c) Any employee aggrieved by a violation of the provisions of 315
sections 31-57s to 31-57w, inclusive, as amended by this act, may file a 316
complaint with the Labor Commissioner. Upon receipt of any such 317
complaint, said commissioner may hold a hearing. After the hearing, 318
any employer who is found by the Labor Commissioner, by a 319
preponderance of the evidence, to have violated the provisions of 320
subsection (a) of this section shall be liable to the Labor Department for 321
a civil penalty of five hundred dollars for each violation. Any employer 322
who is found by the Labor Commissioner, by a preponderance of the 323
evidence, to have violated the provisions of sections 31-57s to 31-57u, 324
inclusive, as amended by this act, or section 31-57w, as amended by this 325
act, shall be liable to the Labor Department for a civil penalty of up to 326
one hundred dollars for each violation. The Labor Commissioner may 327
award the employee all appropriate relief, including the payment for 328
used paid sick leave, rehiring or reinstatement to the employee's 329
previous job, payment of back wages and reestablishment of employee 330
benefits to which the employee otherwise would have been eligible if 331
the employee had not been subject to such retaliatory personnel action 332
or discriminated against. Any party aggrieved by the decision of the 333
commissioner may appeal the decision to the Superior Court in 334
accordance with the provisions of chapter 54. 335
(d) The Labor Commissioner, the Attorney General or any person 336
aggrieved by a violation of any provision of sections 31-57s to 31-57w, 337
inclusive, as amended by this act, or any entity a member of which is 338
aggrieved by a violation of said sections, may bring a civil action in a 339 Substitute Bill No. 6537
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court of competent jurisdiction against an employer violating any of 340
said sections. Such action may be brought by a person aggrieved by 341
violation of this section without first filing an administrative complaint. 342
[(d)] (e) The Labor Commissioner shall administer this section within 343
available appropriations. 344
Sec. 6. Section 31-57w of the general statutes is repealed and the 345
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2021): 346
(a) Each employer subject to the provisions of section 31-57s, as 347
amended by this act, shall, at the time of hiring, provide notice to each 348
[service worker] employee (1) of the entitlement to sick leave for [service 349
workers] employees, the amount of sick leave provided to [service 350
workers] employees and the terms under which sick leave may be used, 351
(2) that retaliation by the employer against the [service worker] 352
employee for requesting or using sick leave for which the [service 353
worker] employee is eligible is prohibited, and (3) that the [service 354
worker] employee has a right to file a complaint with the Labor 355
Commissioner for any violation of this section and of sections 31-57s to 356
31-57v, inclusive, as amended by this act. Employers [may] shall comply 357
with the provisions of this section by (A) providing written notice to 358
each individual employee not later than January 1, 2022, or at the time 359
of hire, whichever is later, and (B) displaying a poster in a conspicuous 360
place, accessible to [service workers] employees, at the employer's place 361
of business that contains the information required by this section in both 362
English and Spanish, except that in cases where the employer does not 363
maintain a physical workplace or an employee teleworks or performs 364
work through a web-based or application-based platform, notification 365
shall be sent via electronic communication or a conspicuous posting on 366
a web-based or application-based platform. The Labor Commissioner 367
[may adopt regulations, in accordance with chapter 54, to establish 368
additional requirements concerning the means by which employers 369
shall provide such notice. The Labor Commissioner shall administer this 370
section within available appropriations.] shall provide such posters and 371
model written notices to all employers. Employers shall include in the 372 Substitute Bill No. 6537
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record of hours worked, wages earned and deductions required by 373
section 31-13a the number of hours, if any, of paid sick leave accrued or 374
received by the employee and the number of hours of paid sick leave 375
used by the employee in the calendar year. 376
(b) Employers shall retain records documenting hours worked by 377
employees and paid sick leave taken by employees for a period of three 378
years and shall allow the Labor Commissioner access to such records, 379
with appropriate notice and at a mutually agreeable time, to monitor 380
compliance with the requirements of this section. When an issue arises 381
as to an employee's entitlement to paid sick leave under this section, if 382
the employer does not maintain or retain adequate records 383
documenting hours worked by the employee and paid sick leave taken 384
by the employee or does not allow reasonable access to such records, it 385
shall be presumed that the employer has violated this section, absent 386
clear and convincing evidence otherwise. 387
(c) The Labor Commissioner may coordinate implementation and 388
enforcement of this section and sections 31-57s to 31-57v, inclusive, as 389
amended by this act, and shall adopt regulations in accordance with the 390
provisions of chapter 54 to implement the provisions of said sections. 391
(d) The Labor Commissioner may develop and implement a 392
multilingual outreach program to inform employees, parents and 393
persons who are under the care of a health care provider about the 394
availability of paid sick leave. Such program shall include the 395
distribution of notices and other written materials in English and 396
Spanish and any language that is the first language spoken by not less 397
than five per cent of the state's population to all child care and elder care 398
providers, domestic violence shelters, schools, hospitals, community 399
health centers and other health care providers. 400
(e) The Labor Commissioner shall administer this section within 401
available appropriations. 402
Sec. 7. (NEW) (Effective from passage) As used in this section and 403
sections 8 to 12, inclusive, of this act: 404 Substitute Bill No. 6537
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(1) "Child" means a biological, adopted or foster child, stepchild, or 405
legal ward, of an employee, or a child of a person standing in loco 406
parentis to an employee, or an individual to whom the employee stood 407
in loco parentis when the individual was a minor child; 408
(2) "COVID-19" means the respiratory disease designated by the 409
World Health Organization on February 11, 2020, as coronavirus 2019, 410
and any related mutation thereof recognized by the World Health 411
Organization as a communicable respiratory disease; 412
(3) "Employee" means an individual engaged in service to an 413
employer in the business of the employer; 414
(4) "Employer" means any person, firm, business, educational 415
institution, nonprofit organization, corporation, limited liability 416
company or other entity, except that the Personal Care Attendant 417
Workforce Council established under section 17b-706a of the general 418
statutes shall act on behalf of the employer of all personal care 419
attendants, as defined in section 17b-706 of the general statutes. 420
"Employer" does not include the federal government; 421
(5) "Family member" means (A) the employee's spouse, as defined in 422
section 31-51kk of the general statutes, child, parent, grandparent, 423
grandchild or sibling, whether related to the employee by blood, 424
marriage, adoption or foster care, or (B) an individual related to the 425
employee by blood or affinity whose close association with the 426
employee is the equivalent of those family relationships; 427
(6) "Parent" means a biological parent, foster parent, adoptive parent, 428
stepparent, parent-in-law of the employee or legal guardian of an 429
employee or an employee's spouse, an individual standing in loco 430
parentis to an employee, or an individual who stood in loco parentis to 431
the employee when the employee was a minor child; and 432
(7) "Retaliatory personnel action" means any termination, 433
suspension, constructive discharge, demotion, unfavorable 434
reassignment, refusal to promote, reduction of hours, disciplinary 435 Substitute Bill No. 6537
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action or other adverse employment action taken by an employer 436
against an employee. 437
Sec. 8. (NEW) (Effective from passage) (a) (1) Each employer shall 438
provide to each of its employees COVID-19 sick leave in addition to any 439
paid sick leave provided by the employer pursuant to section 31-57s of 440
the general statutes, as amended by this act. The COVID-19 sick leave 441
shall be (A) in the amount of eighty hours for each employee who 442
regularly works forty or more hours per week, or (B) equal to the 443
amount of hours the employee is regularly scheduled to work or works 444
in a two-week period, whichever is greater, for each employee who 445
regularly works less than forty hours per week. 446
(2) An employee exempt from overtime requirements under 29 USC 447
213(a)(1), as amended from time to time, shall be assumed to work forty 448
hours per week for purposes of calculating COVID-19 sick leave, unless 449
such employee regularly works less than forty hours per week, in which 450
case the COVID-19 sick leave shall be provided based upon the number 451
of hours regularly worked per week. An employee who regularly works 452
less than forty hours per week, but whose number of work hours varies 453
from week to week, shall be provided COVID-19 sick leave using the 454
average number of hours per week the employee was scheduled to work 455
in the six-month period immediately preceding the date on which the 456
employee utilizes COVID-19 sick leave, including the hours of any leave 457
taken by the employee, except that if the employee did not work over 458
such period, the average shall be the reasonable expectation of the 459
employee, at the time the employee was hired, of the average number 460
of hours per week the employee would be regularly scheduled to work. 461
(b) COVID-19 sick leave shall be provided one time to each employee 462
and shall be immediately available for use for any of the purposes 463
described in subsection (c) of this section beginning on the effective date 464
of this section, regardless of how long such employee has been 465
employed by the employer. An employee shall be entitled to use 466
COVID-19 sick leave retroactively starting on March 10, 2020, until four 467
weeks after the expiration of the public health and civil preparedness 468 Substitute Bill No. 6537
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emergencies declared by the Governor on March 10, 2020, or any 469
extension of such declarations. 470
(c) An employee shall be entitled to take COVID-19 sick leave when 471
the employee is unable to perform the functions of the job of such 472
employee, including through telework, due to any of the following 473
reasons related to COVID-19: 474
(1) The employee's need to: (A) Self-isolate and care for oneself 475
because the employee has been diagnosed with COVID -19 or is 476
experiencing symptoms of COVID-19; (B) seek preventive care 477
concerning COVID-19; or (C) seek or obtain medical diagnosis, care or 478
treatment if experiencing symptoms of COVID-19; 479
(2) The employee's need to comply with an order or determination to 480
self-isolate, on the basis that the employee's physical presence on the job 481
or in the community would jeopardize the employee's health, the health 482
of other employees or the health of an individual in the employee's 483
household because of: (A) Possible exposure to COVID-19; or (B) the 484
exhibition of symptoms of COVID-19, regardless of whether the 485
employee has been diagnosed with COVID-19; 486
(3) The employee's need to care for a family member who is: (A) Self-487
isolating, seeking preventive care or seeking or obtaining medical 488
diagnosis, care or treatment for the purposes described in subdivision 489
(1) of this subsection; or (B) self-isolating due to an order or 490
determination as described in subdivision (2) of this subsection; 491
(4) The employee's inability to work or telework because the 492
employee is: (A) Prohibited from working by the employer due to health 493
concerns related to the potential transmission of COVID-19; or (B) 494
subject to an individual or general local, state or federal quarantine or 495
isolation order, including a shelter-in-place or stay-at-home order, 496
related to COVID-19; 497
(5) The employee's need to care for a family member when the care 498
provider of such family member is unavailable due to COVID-19 or if 499 Substitute Bill No. 6537
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the family member's school or place of care has been closed by a local, 500
state or federal public official or at the discretion of the school or place 501
of care, due to COVID-19, including if a school or place of care: (A) Is 502
physically closed but providing virtual learning instruction; (B) requires 503
or makes optional virtual learning instruction; or (C) requires or makes 504
available a hybrid of in-person and virtual learning instruction models; 505
or 506
(6) The employee's inability to work because the employee has a 507
health condition that may increase susceptibility to or risk of COVID-19, 508
including, but not limited to, age, heart disease, asthma, lung disease, 509
diabetes, kidney disease or a weakened immune system. 510
(d) An order or determination pursuant to subdivision (2) of 511
subsection (c) of this section or subparagraph (B) of subdivision (3) of 512
subsection (c) of this section shall be made by a local, state or federal 513
public official, a health authority having jurisdiction, a health care 514
provider or the employer of the employee or the employee's family 515
member. Such order or determination need not be specific to such 516
employee or family member. 517
(e) Each employer shall pay each employee for COVID-19 sick leave 518
at a pay rate equal to the greater of (1) the normal hourly wage for that 519
employee, or (2) the minimum fair wage rate under section 31-58 of the 520
general statutes in effect for the pay period during which the employee 521
used COVID-19 sick leave. For any employee whose hourly wage varies 522
depending on the work performed by the employee, "normal hourly 523
wage" means the average hourly wage of the employee in the pay period 524
prior to the one in which the employee uses COVID-19 sick leave. 525
(f) The employee shall provide advance notice to the employer of the 526
need for COVID-19 sick leave as soon as practicable only when the need 527
for COVID-19 sick leave is foreseeable and the employer's place of 528
business has not been closed. 529
(g) Notwithstanding any provision of sections 7 to 12, inclusive, of 530
this act, no documentation from an employee shall be required by an 531 Substitute Bill No. 6537
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employer for COVID-19 sick leave. 532
(h) If an employee is transferred to a separate division, entity or 533
location, but remains employed by the same employer, the employee 534
shall retain and be entitled to use all COVID-19 sick leave the employee 535
accrued or received in accordance with the provisions of sections 20 to 536
25, inclusive, of this act, at the prior division, entity or location. If a 537
different employer succeeds or takes the place of an existing employer, 538
each employee of the original employer who remains employed by the 539
successor employer shall retain and be entitled to use all COVID-19 sick 540
leave the employee accrued or received in accordance with the 541
provisions of sections 20 to 25, inclusive, of this act, while employed by 542
the original employer. 543
(i) An employer shall not require, as a condition of an employee's 544
taking COVID-19 sick leave, that the employee search for or find a 545
replacement worker to cover the hours during which the employee is 546
using COVID-19 sick leave. 547
Sec. 9. (NEW) (Effective from passage) (a) Nothing in sections 7 to 12, 548
inclusive, of this act shall be construed to: (1) Discourage or prohibit an 549
employer from the adoption or retention of a COVID-19 sick leave, paid 550
sick leave or other paid leave policy more generous than the one 551
required pursuant to section 8 of this act, including providing more 552
leave than required under said section; (2) diminish any rights provided 553
to any employee under a collective bargaining agreement; or (3) prohibit 554
an employer from establishing a policy whereby an employee may 555
donate unused COVID-19 sick leave to another employee. 556
(b) An employee may first use the COVID-19 sick leave provided 557
under section 8 of this act prior to using sick leave under section 31-57t 558
of the general statutes, as amended by this act. An employer may not 559
require an employee to use other paid leave provided by the employer 560
to the employee before the employee uses the COVID-19 sick leave. 561
Sec. 10. (NEW) (Effective from passage) (a) It shall be unlawful for an 562
employer or any other person to interfere with, restrain or deny the 563 Substitute Bill No. 6537
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exercise of, or the attempt to exercise, any right protected under sections 564
7 to 12, inclusive, of this act. No employer shall take retaliatory 565
personnel action or discriminate against an employee because the 566
employee (1) requests or uses COVID-19 sick leave in accordance with 567
the provisions of sections 7 to 12, inclusive, of this act, or (2) files a 568
complaint with the Labor Commissioner alleging the employer's 569
violation of any provision of said sections. 570
(b) The Labor Commissioner shall advise any employee who (1) is 571
covered by a collective bargaining agreement that provides for COVID-572
19 sick leave, and (2) files a complaint pursuant to subsection (a) of this 573
section of the employee's right to pursue a grievance with his or her 574
collective bargaining agent. 575
(c) Any employee aggrieved by a violation of any provision of 576
sections 7 to 12, inclusive, of this act, may file a complaint with the Labor 577
Commissioner. Upon receipt of any such complaint, the Labor 578
Commissioner may hold a hearing. After the hearing, any employer 579
who is found by the Labor Commissioner, by a preponderance of the 580
evidence, to have violated any provision of this section shall be liable to 581
the Labor Department for a civil penalty in an amount consistent with 582
the penalties provided in section 31-57v of the general statutes, as 583
amended by this act. The Labor Commissioner may award the employee 584
appropriate relief consistent with the provisions of section 31-57v of the 585
general statutes, as amended by this act. Any party aggrieved by the 586
decision of the Labor Commissioner may appeal the decision to the 587
Superior Court in accordance with the provisions of section 4-183 of the 588
general statutes. 589
(d) Any person aggrieved by a violation of any provision of sections 590
7 to 12, inclusive, of this act, the Labor Commissioner, the Attorney 591
General or any entity a member of which is aggrieved by a violation of 592
any provision of sections 7 to 12, inclusive, of this act, may bring a civil 593
action in a court of competent jurisdiction against the employer 594
violating said sections. Such action may be brought by a person 595
aggrieved by a violation of this section without first filing an 596 Substitute Bill No. 6537
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administrative complaint. 597
(e) The Labor Commissioner shall administer this section within 598
available appropriations. 599
Sec. 11. (NEW) (Effective from passage) (a) Each employer subject to the 600
provisions of sections 7 to 12, inclusive, of this act shall, at the time of 601
hiring or not later than fourteen days after the effective date of this 602
section, whichever is later, provide written notice to each employee (1) 603
of the entitlement to COVID-19 sick leave, the amount of COVID-19 sick 604
leave provided and the terms under which COVID-19 sick leave may be 605
used, (2) that retaliatory personnel actions by the employer are 606
prohibited, and (3) of the right to file a complaint with the Labor 607
Commissioner or file a civil action for any violation of sections 7 to 12, 608
inclusive, of this act. Each employer shall also display a poster in a 609
conspicuous place, accessible to employees, at the employer's place of 610
business that contains the information required by this section in both 611
English and Spanish provided in cases where the employer does not 612
maintain a physical workplace, or an employee teleworks or performs 613
work through a web-based or application-based platform, notification 614
shall be sent via electronic communication or a conspicuous posting in 615
the web-based or application-based platform. The Labor Commissioner 616
shall provide such posters and model written notices to all employers. 617
Additionally, employers shall include in the record of hours worked, 618
wages earned and deductions required by section 31-13a of the general 619
statutes, the number of hours, if any, of COVID-19 sick leave received 620
by each employee, as well as any use of COVID-19 sick leave in the 621
calendar year. 622
(b) Employers shall retain records documenting hours worked by 623
employees and COVID-19 sick leave taken by employees, for a period 624
of three years, and shall allow the Labor Commissioner access to such 625
records, with appropriate notice and at a mutually agreeable time, to 626
monitor compliance with the requirements of this section. When an 627
issue arises as to an employee's entitlement to COVID-19 sick leave 628
under this section, if the employer does not maintain or retain adequate 629 Substitute Bill No. 6537
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records documenting hours worked by the employee and COVID-19 630
sick leave taken by the employee, or does not allow reasonable access to 631
such records, it shall be presumed that the employer has violated this 632
section absent clear and convincing evidence otherwise. 633
(c) The Labor Commissioner may coordinate implementation and 634
enforcement of sections 7 to 12, inclusive, of this act and shall adopt 635
regulations, in accordance with the provisions of chapter 54 of the 636
general statutes, for such purposes. 637
(d) The Labor Commissioner may develop and implement a 638
multilingual outreach program to inform employees, parents and 639
persons who are under the care of a health care provider about the 640
availability of COVID-19 sick leave. This program may include the 641
development of notices and other written materials in English and in 642
other languages. The Labor Commissioner shall administer this section 643
within available appropriations. 644
Sec. 12. (NEW) (Effective from passage) Unless required by law, an 645
employer shall not require disclosure of the details of an employee's or 646
an employee's family member's health information as a condition for 647
providing COVID-19 sick leave under sections 7 to 12, inclusive, of this 648
act. If an employer possesses health information about an employee or 649
an employee's family member, such information shall be treated as 650
confidential and not disclosed except to such employee or with the 651
permission of such employee. 652
Sec. 13. Subsection (a) of section 31-397 of the general statutes is 653
repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 654
1, 2021): 655
(a) The Labor Commissioner, in consultation with the Commissioner 656
of Public Health, shall encourage the development of occupational 657
health clinics by making grants-in-aid to public and nonprofit 658
organizations. Such grants-in-aid shall be used to facilitate the 659
development and operation of such clinics, including, but not limited to, 660
preproject development, site acquisition, development, improvement 661 Substitute Bill No. 6537
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and operating expenses. Such grants-in-aid may be used for activities 662
involved in occupational disease evaluation, treatment and prevention, 663
particularly when such activities are not compensated by other sources. 664
Priority for such grants-in-aid may be given to organizations providing 665
services for working age populations, including, but not limited to, 666
migrant and contingent workers, where health disparities or work 667
structure interfere with the provision of occupational health care 668
services. Such grants-in-aid shall not be used to compensate any 669
occupational health clinic for any activities that utilize commercial 670
services or involve grants or contracts received from an outside party. 671
The commissioner shall consult with the Occupational Health Clinics 672
Advisory Board prior to making any such grant. For purposes of this 673
subsection, "contingent worker" means an individual whose 674
employment is of a temporary and sporadic nature and may include, 675
but not be limited to, (1) an agricultural worker, (2) an independent 676
contractor, as defined in section 36a-485, or [a day or temporary worker, 677
as defined in section 31-57r] (3) an individual who performs work for 678
another on (A) a per diem basis, or (B) an occasional or irregular basis 679
for only the time required to complete such work, whether such 680
individual is paid by the person for whom such work is performed or 681
by an employment agency or temporary help service, as defined in 682
section 31-129. 683
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 from passage New section
Sec. 8 from passage New section
Sec. 9 from passage New section
Sec. 10 from passage New section
Sec. 11 from passage New section Substitute Bill No. 6537
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Sec. 12 from passage New section
Sec. 13 October 1, 2021 31-397(a)
Statement of Legislative Commissioners:
In Section 1(1), "[of a service worker, or] or, in the alternative" was
changed to "of [a service worker] an employee, or" for clarity; in Section
2(c), "subsections (a) and (b)" was changed to "[subsections] subsection
(a) [and (b)]" for accuracy; in Section 2(e), "Section" and "of the Federal
Fair Labor Standards Act" were deleted and "as amended from time to
time" was added for accuracy and consistency with standard drafting
conventions; Section 2(f) was rewritten for clarity, conciseness and
consistency with standard drafting conventions; in Section 3(b),
"[service worker's] employee's child or spouse" was changed to "[service
worker's child or spouse] family member" for accuracy and consistency,
"(3)" was changed to "[(3)] (4)" for accuracy, and "domestic violence,
sexual assault, harassment or stalking" was changed to "family violence
or sexual assault" for consistency; Section 5(d) was redesignated as
Section 5(e) and Section 5(e) was redesignated as Section 5(d) for
consistency; in Section 6(a), "individual" was moved from before
"notice" to before "employee" for clarity, "six months after the effective
date of this section" was changed to "January 1, 2022" for clarity and
consistency with standard drafting conventions, "provided, however"
was changed to "except" for accuracy and the last sentence was rewritten
for clarity and consistency with standard drafting conventions; in
Section 7, a definition of "COVID-19" was added for clarity and
consistency and the definition of "employer" was rewritten for clarity
and to conform with changes being made in Section 1; in Section 8(a)(1),
"and 31-57t" was deleted for accuracy; in Section 8(a)(2), "provided" was
changed to "except that" for accuracy; Section 8(b) was rewritten for
accuracy and clarity; Section 8(h) was rewritten for clarity and
conciseness; in Section 11(a) the last sentence was deleted to avoid
redundancy; Section 11(c) was rewritten for consistency with standard
drafting conventions; and Section 13 was added to conform with the
changes being made in Section 1.
LAB Joint Favorable Subst.