44Okay Connecticut Companies Missed State Deadline To Comply With Paid Household And Medical Go away Legislation

Approximately 60% of Connecticut businesses have signed up for the state’s new paid family vacation program by Monday.

This leaves around 44,000 companies that have not yet registered to grant paid vacation benefits to employees who cannot work for family or medical reasons.

Connecticut lieutenant governor Susan Bysiewicz said the program was important in stopping the spread of COVID-19.

“We needed paid family leave long before this public health emergency, but COVID really underscored the critical need for this program so that our employees can take time off to care for a loved one, family member, or themselves,” said Bysiewicz.

Andrea Barton Reeves is the director of the state’s paid vacation agency. She said the deadline was originally set for February 1, but has been extended by a month to give companies more time to register.

“We’ve heard very clearly from our small businesses that they really need more time. We’re not here to punish companies. We try to be as cooperative as possible, ”Reeves said.

Reeves said if companies didn’t withhold employee wages for the program, the state Department of Labor could ask them to pay the difference.

Connecticut is one of only a few states – including New York – that offers paid family vacations.