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Connecticut Implements Expansive Paid Family Leave Law


Last Tuesday, Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont signed a paid family leave bill into law.  This is not just any paid family leave bill.  Perhaps we should instead be calling it an expansive paid family leave plan...in fact, one of the most expansive in the country.

Starting in 2021, workers in Connecticut will get 12 weeks of paid leave to care for a new baby, a seriously ill family member or loved one, or to deal with an illness of their own.  As always, many are wondering how this paid leave will be funded.  The law provides a .5% payroll tax on workers to fund the paid leave.  Now for the expansive part of the approved legislation.  The paid leave will cover 95% of a workers' pay, up to $900/week.  (This is an extremely generous proposal as other states, take New York for instance, provide 66% wage replacement for a worker once that state's paid leave proposal takes full effect.)

Going one step further, this paid leave law provides one of the most inclusive definitions of who qualifies as a family member or loved one.  Of note, siblings, grandparents, or any other blood relation in person who is the "equivalent of a family member" qualify under this law.


For additional information:  https://www.wnpr.org/post/gov-lamont-signs-paid-family-leave-bill

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