Employers Face Penalties for Paid Leave Noncompliance

02.15.2023
HR & Safety

Penalties are coming for Connecticut employers that have not complied with the state’s paid family and medical leave employee contribution requirements. 

The Connecticut Paid Leave Authority will begin assessing penalties and interest on delinquent or incomplete contribution payments from May 1, 2023. 

Employers have until April 30, 2023 to remit any overdue employee contributions to avoid interest and penalties.

Authority officials are encouraging employers to review employee contributions before April 30 to avoid complications. 

While many businesses rely on payroll providers and third-party administrators, officials said it is ultimately an employer’s responsibility to ensure that deductions were made correctly over the past two years. 

Payments and Distributions

The General Assembly narrowly passed legislation in 2019 requiring most private sector employees to pay a 0.5% payroll tax that funds the program’s benefits and bureaucracy.

The authority began accepting applications on Dec. 1, 2021. Payments of leave benefits began Jan. 1, 2022.

The authority distributed over $249 million in benefits in its first year.

In its first year, the authority distributed over $249 million in benefits to about 50,000 employees.

The fund balance was nearly $459 million at the end of 2022, meeting its target for the year. 

Program Benefits

Workers are eligible for up to 12 weeks of paid leave for a number of qualifying reasons, including a serious health condition of an employee or their family member, as well as a birth or adoption, among other life events.

Program benefits are capped at 60 times the state’s hourly minimum wage—now $14 as of July 1, 2022—or $840 a week.

The maximum weekly benefit will increase to $900 when the minimum wage hits $15 on June 1, 2023.

The maximum weekly benefit will increase to $900 when the minimum wage hits $15 on June 1, 2023.

Businesses can use a private sector plan to comply with the state’s paid leave mandate. 

The authority has approved applications from 658 employers wanting to use a private sector plan.

Each private sector plan is approved for three years, before it has to be renewed. 


HR problems or issues? Email or call CBIA’s Diane Mokriski at the HR Hotline (860.244.1900) | The HR Hotline is a free service for CBIA member companies.

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