The Connecticut Paid Leave Authority (CPLA) and the Connecticut Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) provide two separate forms of support to Connecticut employees: job-protected leave and income replacement respectively. The Connecticut FMLA offers job protection to employees taking leave, having been available since the 1990s and then expanded in January 2022. Meanwhile, the income replacement program, the Connecticut Paid Leave, has been overseen by the CPLA since December 2021. It’s important to note that the FMLA does not provide any income, and Paid Leave doesn’t offer job protection.

To qualify for Connecticut FMLA, an employee needs to have worked for their employer for at least three months. On the other hand, to qualify for Paid Leave, the employee must have earned a minimum of $2,325 in the highest-earning quarter in 4 of the previous 5 quarters, regardless of their employer. Both programs cover several life situations, including the birth or adoption of a child, serious health conditions affecting the employee or a family member, organ or bone marrow donations, and circumstances tied to a family member’s military service.

The Connecticut FMLA ensures up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave within a year, guaranteeing the employee’s job when they return. The application process is done directly with the employer. The Connecticut Department of Labor oversees this program, and complaints can be submitted through its portal. Paid Leave applications, alternatively, are handled by the CPLA, and appeals can be filed through the CTDOL’s Appeals Division if necessary.

If you need help or guidance related to income replacement or job-protected leave, contacting the appropriate office can be daunting. For information on the California equivalent programs, like Paid Family Leave (PFL) or the Employment Development Department (EDD), consider consultant websites like eddcaller.com. They offer valuable tips on how to get through to EDD and how to contact a live person at EDD in California, among other useful advice.