New Connecticut laws going into effect Jan. 1 include paid sick leave, cannabis changes and more

CT Insider – Monday, December 16, 2024
By Ken Dixon

Smaller companies will have to give workers paid sick time, victims of domestic violence will be shielded from debts and some hemp-derived products containing even small amounts of the psychoactive THC compound will have to be sold in licensed cannabis establishments under more than a dozen new laws taking effect on Jan. 1.

These are among some of the new laws that go into effect with the new year:

Expanded mandatory paid sick time

The state law requiring companies with 50 or more workers to offer up to 40 hours of sick time will expand to firms with at least 25 employees. The legislation includes extending the benefits to firms with at least 11 employees in 2026; and one worker in 2027. It affects most private sector companies, exempting seasonal workers and certain unionized construction workers, according to an analysis of the legislation by non-partisan General Assembly staff.

State Sen. Julie Kushner, D-Danbury, co-chairwoman of the legislative Labor and Public Employees Committee, said that while many employers allow their workers to take paid days off, many of Connecticut’s low-income service workers do not have the benefit, often forcing them to choose between staying home or showing up at work sick. The law allows workers to accrue days off during the working year.

“We know especially from our experience during the COVID pandemic the importance of people being able to take paid time off,” Kushner said in an interview. Sick children who go to school because their parents cannot take time off, can start the spread of illness throughout their classes, she said. “From a public health standpoint this is critical. Often the people who don’t have paid sick days are low-wage workers and it makes it difficult for them to make their payments. It’s an important economic bill.”

Kushner said that the law, taking a cue from the state’s Paid Family and Medical Leave Program will expand the reasons for workers to take off, including caring for relatives and other household residents. “This law creates flexibility,” she said. The paid time can also be linked with closures due to public health emergencies and quarantines. The new law also bars companies from requiring workers to submit documents stating reasons for not coming to work.

Protecting victims of domestic abuse from debt

The new law is aimed at making abusers liable for so-called coerced debt. It usually occurs as excessive credit card charges that some abusers foist on their former spouses or domestic partners. The law outlines new obligations for collection agencies, including the pausing of actions for 60 days while reviewing the specifics of cases.

If a collection agency or debt claimant ends an action, but had previously given negative information about the victim to a credit agency, the collector must tell the agency to delete the information. Under the law, if a court declares a debt coerced, then the person who ran it up can be held liable for legal fees as well as the total debt.

State Rep. Jason Doucette, D-Manchester, co-chairman of the legislative Banking Committee, said the law was the result of a couple years of negotiations on the panel. It had originally included other types of debt including mortgages. But in the end, it focused on cases where one partner, usually a male with bad credit who pressures his partner into getting a credit card, upon which he runs up a large debt. “It basically creates a procedure by which the debtor, the abused spouse, can go to that credit card or collection agency” for relief, Doucette said.

Changes in hemp and cannabis laws

While hemp, the non-psychoactive relative of cannabis, has levels of the chemical compound CBD that do not come under the state’s marijuana law, when it is processed for various products, small concentrations of THC can accumulate. The new hemp and cannabis law creates a new version of “moderate-THC hemp product” and puts restrictions on sales of hemp with THC levels between half a milligram and 5 milligrams.

On Jan. 1 the new law will require moderate-THC hemp products to be sold in licensed cannabis companies or people licensed by the Department of Consumer Protection.

“All hemp growers make these products,” said state Rep. David Rutigliano of Trumbull, a ranking Republican on the legislative General Law Committee, where the new law originated. “When hemp is harvested there is no THC, but when it gets processed and can get an intoxicating property. If it is hemp-derived THC, the legislature says it needs to be segregated and regulated.”

Last month, smoke shop owners in the state filed a federal lawsuit against Attorney General William Tong charging that a redefinition of hemp statutes in Connecticut violates federal law because it conflicted with a 2018 federal legalization of hemp.
Mandatory coverage for coronary calcium tests

A new law requires most insurance policies to provide coverage for coronary calcium scans that can detect dangerous deposits in arteries. Insurers should cover hospital expenses; medical-surgical expenses; major medical expenses; or hospital services, including those provided under an HMO plan, according to a legislative analysis.

Changes to absentee ballot applications

Starting Jan. 1, applications for absentee ballots will be designed and printed for specific years, with a limited distribution. The impetus for the legislation was the widespread election irregularities in the mayoral primaries and votes in Bridgeport during 2019, 2023 and 2024. The new law also bans town clerks from providing or accepting ballots without the applicable year on them. Party activists can currently obtain multiple absentee ballot applications for themselves or others.

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