HARTFORD, CT - Governor Ned Lamont released the following statement regarding the vote today in the Connecticut House of Representatives approving legislation that modifies the state’s paid sick days statutes by expanding these protections to include more workers:

“Our existing laws on paid sick days include important protections for some workers, however there are broad categories of workers who are left unprotected, and as a result those workers are sometimes faced with a difficult decision between either going to work sick – and possibly spreading illness – or sacrificing a day’s wage. The legislation approved by the House today strikes an appropriate balance between protecting our workforce while also enacting safeguards for small businesses to ensure that this right is not being misused. Especially considering what we learned during the recent outbreak of a viral pandemic, it’s appropriate that we take a look at our existing paid sick days laws and evaluate how they are working and how we can strengthen them. I applaud the House on their vote today and I encourage the Senate to approve it so that I can sign it into law.”

The legislation is House Bill 5005, An Act Expanding Paid Sick Days in the State. It will next be transmitted to the Senate for its consideration.