SICK LEAVE UPDATE: On July 1, Connecticut Governor Dannel Malloy (D) signed into law state legislation (S.B. 913) which requires employers in Connecticut with 50 or more employees to provide designated service workers with paid sick leave, making Connecticut the first state in the nation to enact such a measure.  Under federal law employers may not discriminate in providing benefits, but only the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) mandates that certain benefits be provided on an unpaid basis.  The new law in Connecticut requires companies with at least 50 employees to provide sick leave accruing at a rate of one hour per 40 hours worked to service workers who are paid by the hour and are not exempt from the minimum wage and overtime pay requirements of the FLSA.  The law takes effect on January 1, 2012, and in order to begin accruing sick leave, an employee must have worked for the employer for at least 680 hours and have worked an average of at least ten hours per week for the employer in the most recent calendar year.  Sixty-eight federal Standard Occupational Classification System titles are designated in the bill and there are a number of exceptions.  Language in the new state law provides that the leave may be used for a covered worker’s illness, injury or related treatment or to care for the worker’s child or spouse.  The new legislation also allows the leave to be used for reasons related to family violence or sexual assault.  Many observers believe that such legislation will be introduced in other states in 2012 and may also be used to amend the FMLA to require that some of the leave required by federal law be paid leave.  Stay tuned.            By Bill Harding, Chapter Attorney