SEN. KUSHNER LEADS SENATE PASSAGE OF BILL TO EXPAND PAID FAMILY AND MEDICAL LEAVE BENEFITS TO NEARLY 50,000 SCHOOL EMPLOYEES

HARTFORD – State Senator Julie Kusher (D-Danbury) today led Senate passage of a bill that will extend Connecticut’s popular and successful Paid Family and Medical Leave program to as many as 50,000 public and private school employees, such as special and general education paraeducators, library support staff, and custodial and food service workers.

Senate Bill 1427, “AN ACT EXPANDING PAID FAMILY AND MEDICAL LEAVE INSURANCE PROGRAM BENEFITS TO CERTAIN SCHOOL EMPLOYEES,” passed the Senate today on a partisan 24-11 vote and now heads to the House of Representatives for consideration.

“I am so thrilled that we are moving this bill forward to extend these benefits, especially to those school employees who have asked for years why they don’t have access to this program,” said Sen. Kushner, who as Senate Chair of the Labor and Public Employees Committee ushered this bill through the committee process. “Now they will have access to paid family leave to deal with a sick family member or to bond with a newborn and to enjoy all the other benefits of our Paid Family and Medical Leave program.”

“Connecticut workers continually report to us how helpful this program has been to them in some of their most stressful moments, allowing them to continue paying bills and take care of their families,” said Erin Choquette, CEO of the CT Paid Leave Authority. ” Individuals who work at schools are caring and dedicated workers, and this program will benefit them as well.”

Under the current Connecticut Paid Leave Act, Boards of Education are not covered employers unless their unionized employees collectively bargain to participate in the program. If that happens, all non-union employees of the Board of Education would also join. But many school workers (both public and private) have expressed an interest in joining the PFML program since its inception in 2019.

SB 1427 covers up to 37,000 workers in public schools, including:

-12,676 special education paraeducators;

-5,347 general education paraeducators;

-365 library/media support staff;

-and 17,455 other staff, including custodial, food services, technical staff, security, maintenance, and transportation employees.

The bill also covers an estimated 12,700 workers in private schools.

The potential impact on Connecticut’s  PFML fund is expected to be minimal: actuaries have determined that school employees in other states utilize the program at the same rate as the general public.

Today’s bill also provides equity in coverage: many school employees — especially those who are in food service or janitorial work — are employed by contractors who are covered employers under CT Paid Leave. SB 1427 allows workers in the same positions who are employed by a local board of education to now have the same coverage.

To date, Connecticut’s popular PFML program has paid out $1.15 billion in claims to 158,000 workers. 85% of the claims being for an illness, bonding with a newborn (evenly split between men and women!) or providing care to a sick family member. CT Paid Leave claims come from every city and town in the state.