HARTFORD, Conn. — Gov. Ned Lamont is joining the call for the General Assembly to approve legislation expanding and strengthening the state's pick sick days statutes.
In February, State Sen. Julie Kushner (D-24) said that the current law is "not good enough" and urged other lawmakers to pass expansion. Kushner is the Senate Chair of the Labor and Public Employees Committee.
Lamont said during a press conference Tuesday alongside Kushner and other lawmakers that the state's current sick days laws still leave "broad categories" of people unprotected.
The governor's proposal plans to expand paid sick leave to ensure that more workers in the state would have the chance to take time off when sick or needing to care for a sick family member. It would also put in place some safeguards in statutes for small businesses so the right to paid sick leave won't be misused.
“If there’s anything we have learned from the recent outbreak of a viral pandemic, it’s that illness can spread quickly, and workers are sometimes left in a situation in which they have to choose between going to the workplace sick and risk spreading that illness to their coworkers and clients, or sacrificing a day’s wage and be unable to support themselves and their families," Lamont said. "This proposal will modernize our paid sick days statutes and acknowledge the evolving landscape of work in a post-pandemic world.”
The governor's proposal would include several things:
All employers will be required to provide their employees with paid sick days, regardless of the number of employees who work for the employer. Under the state's current law, only employers with more than 50 employees are required to provide paid sick days.
The proposal will expand the definition of who qualifies as a family member when a worker wants to use their paid sick days to care for a loved one. This includes the employee's parents and domestic partners. Under the current law, workers are limited to using their paid sick days only when they're caring for themselves, a spouse, or their child.
Employers will be prohibited from mandating the search for a replacement as a condition of a worker accessing their paid sick days.
Employers will also be prohibited from eliminating an employee's accused paid sick days in instances when an employer's ownership has changed or because a job site has changed.
The proposal will also enable employees to use paid sick days in certain instances related to the declaration of a public health emergency. These could be when a public health authority has mandated the closure of a worksite or when a family member's childcare facility has been ordered closed due to a public health emergency, such as the COVID-19 pandemic.
The proposal will also add protections for small businesses, such as clarifying that employers have the right to ask for reasonable documentation when an employee uses three or more consecutive paid sick days. Employers will also have the authority to take discretionary action when paid sick days have been misused.
The governor’s proposal is Senate Bill 12, An Act Modernizing the Paid Sick Days Statutes. It recently received a public hearing in the Labor and Public Employees Committee and it is pending further legislative action.
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Jennifer Glatz is a digital content producer at FOX61 News. She can be reached at jglatz@fox61.com.
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