With a new year beginning, there are a handful of state laws changing things up in Connecticut.
New laws in effect on Jan. 1 tackle labor issues, including phasing-in mandatory paid sick days to more people. There’s also a new law going into effect surrounding elections, including absentee ballot security. And, greater protections are going into effect for home health care workers, along with changes to the state’s minimum wage.
Here’s more on some of the new policies going into effect in January 2025.
Tightening rules for CT’s cannabis industry
Changes are coming to Connecticut’s cannabis industry.
New state regulations center around THC, the intoxicating part of the cannabis plant – that is found in both marijuana and hemp.
Plants with trace amounts of THC are considered to be hemp under federal law. But a new state law law will now require hemp having between half a milligram and 5 milligrams of THC to only be sold by companies licensed to sell marijuana.
State’s minimum wage increases again
Some Connecticut workers could see a bump in their pay in 2025.
Connecticut’s minimum wage will increase to $16.35 per hour – up from the 2024 rate of $15.69.
The annual adjustment is required under a 2019 law requiring minimum wage increases tied to the U.S. Department of Labor’s employment cost index.
Paid sick days expand to more CT workers
In 2011, Connecticut was the first state to pass a sick day law, which required employers with over 50 employees to provide up to 40 hours of paid sick leave every year. But a major law approved in 2024 updated those policies to include nearly all workers.
The new law is being implemented over the next three years. Starting Jan. 1, the law expands to workplaces with at least 25 employees. It applies to workers in every occupation, but seasonal employees and other certain temporary workers are not included.
Those sick days can be used for reasons such as an illness or injury, or time needed to care for mental health or a family member. The definition of “family” is also expanded under the updated law to better match the Connecticut Paid Family and Medical Leave Program.
The law will expand even further in 2026 applying to workplaces with at least 11 employees. In 2027, the law covers places with at least one employee.
Research culled by the National Partnership for Women & Families shows that having available sick time not only helps employees with quality of life; it also helps with productivity, company retention rates and fewer turnovers and associated costs.
Protecting home health workers
Home health care workers will get additional safety protections on the job starting Jan. 1, after parts of a law to bolster protections for these workers took effect in July.
Those changes, which included greater disclosures about client’s histories violence or abuse, came after visiting nurse Joyce Grayson was killed in 2023 at a halfway house in Willimantic.
Starting in 2025, the commissioner of Connecticut Department of Social Services is now required to establish a home health worker safety grant program. On or before January 2027, the program must provide incentive grants to agencies for security escorts when conducting home visits, and technology to alert staff and police of safety emergencies.
Additionally, health agencies that aren’t licensed hospice providers must report any verbal or physical abuse an agency staff member experiences to the state Department of Public Health.
Tightening security for absentee ballots, and ballot review
Starting Jan. 1, any absentee ballot application being given or used must have that specific year printed on it, under a state law approved in the 2024 session. Town clerks are also prohibited from distributing five or more absentee ballot applications to any individual.
The next step in implementing the law is to install video recording devices to record each absentee ballot drop box, which must be in place by July 1, 2025.
The changes come as the state’s election security system has received heightened attention following multiple irregularities in Bridgeport, a city filled with a history of political dysfunction, as detailed in Connecticut Public’s “In Absentia” investigative podcast.
The law also requires the Secretary of the State’s office to review the local process for how cities and towns translate ballots from English into another language. The office must file a report with the Government Administration and Elections Committee by Jan. 15.
In 2023, a ballot translation error in Hartford was ultimately corrected, but confused some Spanish-speaking voters and raised concerns about equitable voting access.
Learn more
The full list of policies going into effect Jan. 1 can be found on the General Assembly’s website.
Connecticut lawmakers will reconvene on Jan. 8, and wrap up business by the end of June 4, 2025.
