CT PAID LEAVE REMINDS SCHOOL WORKERS OF PAID LEAVE BENEFITS

2025 legislative change means more workers have access to income replacement

A legislative change in October 2025 resulted in school employees working in positions that do not require certification (under Chapter 166 of the CT General Statues) for their position to become covered. Prior to this change, no employees at any public-school operator or non-public elementary or secondary school were covered by the program. Those working in positions requiring certification under Chapter 166 — primarily teachers and administrators — remain not covered unless their unionized members collectively bargain to opt-in. In non-public elementary and secondary school settings, generally no positions are required to be certified, though if a non-public elementary or secondary school has a policy that they will only hire individuals with certification for specific positions the same rule would apply as it does with public school operators.

“This change has resulted in substantially more workers in our state having access to the CT Paid Leave program,” said Erin Choquette, CEO of the CT Paid Leave Authority. “There are, however, some policies that are important to be aware of for all workers, but especially for school workers who may not be scheduled to work during the summer months.”

CT Paid Leave benefits are payable only for days that a worker would have been scheduled to work if they had not been experiencing the leave reason. This means that a covered worker will not be paid CT Paid Leave benefits for dates their employer is closed for a shutdown and, thus, they would not have been scheduled to work. Whether or not the worker will be paid by the school during the holiday/shutdown will not impact the paid leave benefit.

“For example, if a food service worker is not scheduled to work during the school’s summer vacation, they may not receive paid leave benefits for a leave during this time because they would not have been scheduled to work regardless,” Choquette continued. “However, if a custodian is scheduled to work during the summer vacation because the school is still being used for other activities and still needs the custodial work to be done, that employee could receive benefits for a leave during the summer because they would have been scheduled to work were it not for their leave reason. These same rules apply for FMLA usage — if an employee would not have been scheduled to work, the time used cannot be counted against their FMLA entitlement.”

See below for more information based on the duration of the leave and the employer closure:

For example:

1. Karen is an administrative assistant for Waterbury Board of Education. Karen works during the summer vacation. Karen needs to have surgery and applies to take CT Paid Leave for her own serious health condition from July 6-July 30. Since Karen is scheduled to work during those weeks, she will receive CT Paid Leave benefits.
2. Bob works in the cafeteria of an elementary school in West Hartford. West Harford Public Schools are closed the week of April 12–17 for spring break and Bob is not scheduled to work. Bob takes intermittent caregiver leave to bring his mother to weekly dialysis appointments. Bob’s mom has an appointment on April 13, during West Hartford School’s spring break. Since Bob is not scheduled to work, he will not receive CT Paid Leave benefits on that day.
3. Sarah is a paraeducator at Newington High School. Paraeducators are scheduled to work until June 18 and to return on August 26. Sarah is pregnant and her due date is May 5. Since Sarah would have been scheduled to work until June 18, she will receive CT Paid Leave benefits from the date of her delivery in May until the last day of school on June 18. Sarah will not receive CT Paid Leave benefits for the duration of the summer vacation. Sarah uses only 6 weeks and 3 days of her available 12 weeks of FMLA leave and receives only 6 weeks and 3 days of her available 12 weeks of CT Paid Leave benefits between May 5th and June 18th. She has up to 5 weeks and 2 days of FMLA leave and CT Paid Leave benefits remaining available to use for bonding leave once the school year starts again on August 26th, if she chooses.
4. Jason is a teacher at a private school, works Monday through Friday, and is covered by CT Paid Leave. Jason’s school is closed for winter break starting on Thursday, December 24, 2026 and ending on January 3, 2027. Jason calls out of work on Wednesday, December 23rd because his son needs an emergency appendectomy. Jason applies to take continuous leave to care for his son after surgery and will be on leave from December 23rd until January 11th. Since Jason was scheduled to work on December 23rd and the school was open for part of that week, he will receive CT Paid Leave benefits in connection with the absence on December 23rd; however, he will not receive benefits for Thursday, December 24th nor Friday, December 25th, as those are not days he was expected to work. And, since he is not scheduled to work the remainder of the school’s winter break, he will not receive CT Paid Leave benefits in connection with the week of December 28th through January 1st. Jason will receive benefits in connection with the week of January 4th through January 8th since the school will be open that week.
5. Worker is a paraeducator at a middle school in Rocky Hill. Paraeducators are not scheduled to work during the summer vacation, and Maria opts to receive her pay over the full calendar year (12 months instead of 10). Maria is scheduled for knee replacement surgery on July 10. Since Maria is not scheduled to work, she will not receive CT Paid Leave benefits in connection with her surgery, regardless of how she is paid. (The school cannot count this time against her FMLA allotment either.)