Quick Hits
- Effective January 1, 2026, Connecticut employers with eleven or more employees must provide paid sick leave to all non-seasonal employees, with a full extension to employers of any size expected on January 1, 2027.
- Connecticut’s maximum weekly Paid Family and Medical Leave increases to $1,016.40 in 2026 while the employee contribution rate remains unchanged at 0.5 percent of earnings.
- Employers in Connecticut may want to evaluate employee shares based on the federal minimum wage of $16.94, as the narrow gap with the federal FLSA wage limit may result in increased wage and hour exposure for workers who do not qualify for Connecticut’s white credit or foreign sales exemption.
Extended Coverage Under Connecticut Paid Sick Travel
Effective January 1, 2026, employers with eleven or more employees in Connecticut are required to provide paid sick leave for reasonable cause to all state employees, excluding seasonal workers. The phased expansion is ongoing, and by January 1, 2027, employers with one or more employees in the country will be closed. Headcount rates are determined by the company’s payroll for the week ending January 1st, but guidelines issued by the Connecticut Department of Labor confirm that they only cover employees in the state of Connecticut.
Employers who are new to the law may want to ensure that accrual, carryover, utilization, and notification provisions are reflected in the handbooks and payroll system. For multistate employers, this may require reviewing existing regulations to ensure Connecticut is in compliance.
Connecticut’s Top Paid Family Benefits with Family Medicine
Benefits under the Connecticut Paid Family and Medical Leave program have increased for 2026 based on updated salary figures. The average weekly benefit amount is now sixty times the minimum wage. This means that the maximum weekly profit increases to $1,016.40 (up from $981) from 1 January 2026.
Importantly, the employee contribution rate remains unchanged at 0.5 percent of earnings. While wage gaps remain the same, employers may see increased utilization due to improved benefit levels.
The Exemption ‘Trap’: Minimum Moge vs. Salary Threshold
Connecticut continues to raise wage and hour issues. The federal minimum wage increased to $16.94 an hour on January 1, 2026. At the same time, the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) minimum wage for managerial, administrative and professional exemptions remains at $684 per week.
Here’s where the numbers matter:
- $684 per week รท 40 hours = $17.10 per hour equivalent
- Connecticut minimum wage = $16.94 per hour
That narrow margin may raise questions to examine, but that examination is not as obvious as it may seem at first. Connecticut law defines certain exempt categories, including the executive, managerial, and professional (ie, “white-collar”) and foreign sales exemptions, by excluding those workers from the statutory definition of “employee” for purposes of the state’s wage and hour laws. As a result, workers who qualify for one of the white-collar exemptions under Connecticut law are not subject to the state’s minimum wage or overtime requirements in the first place, and the above figures will not expose those workers to lower wages.
The picture may differ for other types of exemptions that are not covered under the same blanket in Connecticut’s wage and hour statutes. For workers who are exempt from overtime under the FLSA but do not fall within one of Connecticut’s sales or non-sales exceptions, the gap between the federal wage limit and the state minimum wage can be meaningful. An employee in that position who works overtime could see the regular working rate drop below $16.94, which could result in exposure to the national minimum wage.
Connecticut’s release plan can be complex, and coordination between the state and federal levels is not always smooth. Federal credit rating does not automatically determine federal wage and hour obligations for each credit rating.
As part of any annual compliance review, employers may want to take a closer look at unexpected features, wage levels, and timekeeping practices, that is, paying particular attention to which exemptions apply under Connecticut law and whether they have the same exclusions as white calls. In Connecticut, these differences can quickly become important wage and hour issues.
Ogletree Deakins’ Stamford office will continue to monitor developments and will post updates on the Connecticut, Leaves of Absence, and Wage and Hour blogs as more information becomes available. Additional information can be found on the Ogletree Deakins Client Portal, including summaries of the minimum wage loan law and minimum wage information. (Full legal summaries are available for Premium-status registrars; Pictures and Updates are available for all registered client users.) For more information about Client Portal subscriptions or Client Portal subscriptions, please contact clientportal@ogletree.com.
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