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44 n e w h a v e n B I Z | M a r c h 2 0 2 0 | n e w h a v e n b i z . c o m T H E L O O P VIEWPOI NT L ast June 25, Gov. Ned Lamont signed into law a paid family and medical leave insurance benefit program that will impact nearly every employer and employee. It is probably the most significant workplace law that Connecticut has passed in decades — and many employers are still not fully aware of its significant scope. This new law applies to every private employer with one or more employees except private elementary and secondary schools. It also applies to certain "covered public employees," which includes state workers who are not covered under a labor contract, and public employees whose labor union negotiates inclusion into the program (and then all other non-union public employees of that public entity also are covered). There are two major components of the new law: 1) it creates an insurance trust fund that will be administered by a new quasi-public agency — the Paid Family & Medical Leave Insurance Authority (the Authority); and 2) it amends the existing Connecticut Family & Medical Leave Act (FMLA) in significant ways. The insurance program will be funded by an employee payroll tax not to exceed 0.5 percent of the employee's earning up to Social Security contribution and benefits base (currently $132,900). This payroll tax will become effective January 1, 2021, and paid benefits for FMLA leave will begin January 1, 2022. An employee will be eligible for benefits once he or she has been employed by a Connecticut employer for at least 12 weeks and has earned at least $2,325 during the highest-earning quarter in the first four out of the five most recently completed quarters. The weekly benefit amount is based on a formula and is capped at 60 times the state's minimum wage. Therefore, when Connecticut's minimum hourly wage increases to $13 on August 1, 2021, the maximum weekly amount will be $780 Nick Zaino An eligible employee may take 12 weeks of paid FMLA in a 12-month period (plus an additional two weeks for a serious health condition related to pregnancy) for her own serious health condition; the serious health condition of a covered family member; for birth, adoption or placement of a child in foster care; to serve as an organ or bone-marrow donor; due to a qualifying exigency when a spouse, child or parent is on active military duty; to care for a covered military family member; or due to an act of family violence. The definition of a family member currently encompasss a spouse, son, daughter, parent, parent in-law as well as certain in loco parentis relationships. The new law expands this definition by adding siblings, grandparent, grandchild, or an individual related to the employee by blood or close association to the employee. Family members now also include in-laws, adoptive, foster and step-relationships. There are numerous other requirements and details of this new law. We expect that the recently established Authority will provide additional guidance over the course of the coming year. The Authority's board of directors held its first meeting on October 4, and announced on January 23 that it had selected Andrea Barton Reeves to serve as the Authority's chief executive officer. Barton Reeves previously served as president and CEO of Harc Inc., a large non-profit organization in Hartford that provides services to people with intellectual and related disabilities. All Connecticut employers should educate themselves and pay attention to further guidance and developments in this area. n Nick Zaino is a co-practice group leader of the Business and Personal Services Group of the law firm of Carmody Torrance Sandak & Hennessey in New Haven. He practices primarily in the area of labor and employment law. CT's Paid FMLA Law Impacts Virtually Every Employer and Employee

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