HR Hotline: Does Our PTO Policy Comply with State’s Paid Sick Leave Law?

Q: We have a general PTO policy that allows employees to use five days of paid time off for any reason, whether for vacation, personal time, or sick days. Does Connecticut’s new paid sick leave law require us to provide paid sick days in addition to this PTO?

A: No, Connecticut’s new paid sick leave law not does require you to provide paid sick days in addition to PTO if you:

• provide at least the minimum amount of paid time off required by law; 
• provide leave at least at the same accrual rate; 
• provide leave with the same conditions outlined in the statute.

That’s a lot of “ifs.”  Let’s go through the basic requirements:

First, the new law takes effect Jan. 1, 2025 for those employers with 25 or more Connecticut employees.

That date moves to Jan. 1, 2026 for employers with 11 or more Connecticut workers, and to Jan. 1, 2027 for those with at least one employee in the state. 

Note that the law’s requirements are described in terms of hours, not days. So your five-day PTO policy may or may not meet the minimum standard. 

Leave Requirements

The law requires you to provide one hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours worked, up to a maximum of 40 hours leave per year. 

There is no distinction between full-time or part-time workers; those who work fewer hours per week will simply accrue their paid sick leave at a slower rate. 

There is no distinction between full-time or part-time workers.

Full-time employees generally will accrue their full 40 hours of paid sick leave after about eight months. For those already employed on January 1 of the effective year, accrual begins on that date.

For those hired after January 1, accrual begins on their first date of employment. 

If your PTO policy provides for at least 40 hours of paid time off per year, accrued at the rate described above, you will not need to provide any additional paid sick days. But this is only true if you meet the conditions outlined below.

Conditions

Two significant changes to the law may catch employers off guard. 

First, employers may not require their employees to provide doctors’ notes that support their need for sick time. 

Since your policy is a general PTO allowance, you presumably do not require doctors’ notes for PTO use.

Employers may not require their employees to provide doctors’ notes that support their need for sick time. 

But for those employers who distinguish between sick days and vacation days, be aware that you may not require your workers to submit doctors’ notes in order to qualify for paid sick time off–at least not the first 40 hours. 

This change in the law has led many employers to question whether the mandate is truly a paid “sick time” law, as opposed to a statutorily mandated PTO requirement. 

While a worker may only take paid leave for the reasons listed in the statute—such as illness or injury—an employer may not require proof that the worker meets those requirements.   

Interestingly, the law does not prohibit employers from requiring “return to work” notes that release employees back to work after an illness. 

Advance Notice

The second recent change employers should note is that they may not require their employees to provide advance notice of the need for paid sick leave. 

If a worker has accrued the time, and the stated reason for the time off complies with the law, the employer must allow it, even with no advance notice. 

If a worker has accrued the time, and the stated reason for the time off complies with the law, the employer must allow it. 

Remember, however, this applies only to the 40 hours of paid sick leave, and not to paid leave for any other purpose. 

The Connecticut Department of Labor plans to issue regulations interpreting this new statute in the fall of 2024. 

If you have questions about Connecticut’s paid sick leave law, whether they focus on rollover rules, cash payments for unused time, or any other issue, mark your calendar for CBIA’s HR Hotline Live Sept. 25, 2024. Registration for the paid sick leave hotline event opens soon. 

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HR problems or issues? Email or call CBIA’s Diane Mokriski at the HR Hotline (860.244.1900) | @HRHotline. The HR Hotline is a free service for CBIA member companies and is intended to provide general information and does not constitute legal advice. Please consult with legal professionals for specific guidance for your specific situation.