Connecticut Democrats pass strong paid family leave bill

Connecticut is joining the six states and Washington, D.C., that have passed paid family leave laws, and its policy will be the most generous among those states. The state House passed a family leave bill on Friday that had earlier been passed by the state Senate, and Gov. Ned Lamont has expressed strong support, calling it “landmark support for working families so they don’t have to choose between the job they need and the family they love, or their own health.”

The bill, which will go into effect in July 2021, gives Connecticut workers 12 weeks of leave while ill or to care for a new baby or a family member. Its definition of family members is expansive, including any blood relation or person who is the “equivalent of a family member.” Funded by a 0.5% payroll tax, it will replace wages up to a maximum of $900, on a sliding scale with minimum wage workers eligible to get up to 95% of their pay. (Connecticut also recently passed a $15 minimum wage law, so the minimum wage in July 2021 will be $12, rising to $13 on August 1, 2021, and reaching $15 in 2023.)

California, New Jersey, New York, and Rhode Island already have paid family leave. Washington state, Washington, D.C., and Massachusetts have passed laws that have not yet fully gone into effect. The momentum may continue, too, with Oregon considering a paid family leave policy. And, of course, many Democratic presidential candidates support paid family leave, with Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand making it a centerpiece of her campaign and several of her primary competitors signed on to her Senate bill on the issue.