Pushing the Envelope in CT

The CT legislature passed a law effective in 2012 requiring employers with 50 or more service workers to provide 1 hour of sick time for each 40 hours worked. While CA, HI, NY, NJ, PR, and RI all require employers to provide some type of short term disability benefits to their workers, the CT bill was the first “sick leave” measure of its kind to be implemented at the state level.

Another bill that now awaits the CT governor’s signature would create a task force to study how to set up a statewide short term disability benefits program that would also pay benefits for workers who take time off to care for family members. CA and NJ are the only other states with such programs – in CA, workers are taxed to pay for the state program, while in NJ, employers and employees share the cost (though employees pay the full cost of the paid family leave component).

Proposals like the current CT one point up the need for short term disability insurers to be pro-active in designing plans and developing administrative capabilities that anticipate benefit program changes and state requirements alike that push beyond the boundaries of traditional short term disability plans.