CT PAID LEAVE OFFERS INCOME REPLACEMENT FOR PATIENTS WITH CHRONIC DISEASE
Benefits calculated on rolling, not calendar, basis
Hartford CT — The Connecticut Paid Leave Authority (CTPL) reminded Connecticut residents that paid family and medical leave is available for patients living with a chronic disease. Chronic diseases are defined broadly as conditions that last one year or more and require ongoing medical attention, limit an individual’s daily activities, or both. Six in ten adults in the United States have a chronic disease and four in ten adults have two or more. CT Paid Leave can provide up to 12 weeks of income replacement benefits for workers who need to take time away from work to receive treatment for a serious health condition, such as a chronic disease. The CT Paid Leave program allows individuals to take that time either with as block (or continuous) leave, reduced schedule leave or intermittent leave. For those suffering with a chronic illness, the flexibility of the program allows them to receive treatment without losing income.
“Serious health conditions are as varied as we humans and so our program must be flexible in order to meet workers’ needs,” said CT Paid Leave CEO Erin Choquette. “For those with a chronic disease, like cancer, diabetes, endometriosis, epilepsy, or heart disease, time can be taken intermittently to see a specialist regularly or via reduced schedule to accommodate the effects of the chronic condition.”
Individuals seeking paid leave may receive compensation for non-consecutive hours of leave. To be eligible, workers must have received minimum earnings of $2,325 from a covered employer in the highest quarter of the first four of the five most recently completed quarters and must either be currently employed or had been working for a covered CT employer within the 12 weeks immediately preceding the leave. Sole proprietors or self-employed individuals may be eligible if they have opted-in to participate in the program. Benefits are not calculated on a calendar basis but rather on a rolling basis. Therefore, for a worker with a serious and chronic health condition receiving 12 weeks of benefits over the period of a year, the worker may need to reapply for the next year if they still have that condition.
“There are a lot of different work situations for people with epilepsy. Sometimes it’s a seizure and they need to take time off or they need time for more tests to be run. Another scenario could be they have a seizure at work and their employer isn’t allowing them to come back,” said Programs and Services Director Monica Anzelon for the Epilepsy Foundation of CT. “This could certainly fill in that gap to help people maintain the way they are living and paying their bills until they can figure out what their next steps would be. We need to make sure our clients are aware of this program.”
To hear more about the benefits of paid leave as related to epilepsy, listen to the latest episode of The Paid Leave Podcast here.
To apply for paid leave online, workers will first need to create an account with CT Paid Leave by visiting www.ctpaidleave.org. The applicant can then submit their claim online. Assistance is also available by calling (877) 499–8606. Hours of operation for a live representative are 8 AM to 8 PM ET, Monday through Friday.
