House Democrats passed an expansion to the state’s paid sick leave law as part of a busy day.
The vote came hours after more than 500 nonprofit service provider employees and clients rallied outside the capitol in support of more funding.
Democrats approved the paid sick leave expansion with an 88-61 vote, sending the bill to the Senate.
“I think everybody deserves paid sick time off,” Rep. Manny Sanchez (D-New Britain), co-chairman of the Labor Committee, said prior to the vote.
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This year’s version of the bill includes a three-year phase in: starting in January, all companies with at least 25 employees would need to offer paid sick time.
It’s one of a handful of changes from a bill that died last year meant to build more support.
In 2026, that threshold falls to 11 workers. In 2027, all companies will be subject to the law. Democrats estimate 1.6 million workers currently don’t have this benefit.
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Employees need to be on a company's payroll for at least 120 days to become eligible. That’s more than last year’s requirement of 90 days.
And it resets every year, exempting seasonal workers.
Workers get one hour of sick time for every 30 hours worked, but companies that already offer enough paid time off meet the standard.
The bill still needs approval from the Senate. Republicans, meanwhile, say this is a bad mandate for businesses.
“They don’t know how businesses are run, the struggle they go through, and they could have done a better job,” Rep. Vincent Candelora (R-Minority Leader) said.
Businesses wanted to see the bill limit the expansion to companies with 30 employees or more.
They say owners at very small businesses already do a lot, and this just adds additional burdens.
“You're adding on additional admin costs, compliance costs, additional workloads, making it less attractive to grow in the state,” Ashley Zane, senior public policy association for the Connecticut Business and Industry Association, said.
Gov. Ned Lamont applauded the vote.
“The legislation approved by the House today strikes an appropriate balance between protecting our workforce while also enacting safeguards for small businesses to ensure that this right is not being misused,” he said in a statement.
