The Connecticut Senate this week passed—and the governor is expected to sign—legislation mandating five annual days of sick leave for "service workers," which is an extremely and confusing category according to legal experts who have examined the wording of the law.
Interestingly, the bill exempts the YMCA and all manufacturers, but requires employers to determine on their own if their workers should be classified as "service workers," using more than 50 "broad or detailed occupation code numbers and titles as defined by the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics Standard Occupational Classification system."
Three municipalities—San Francisco, Washington, D.C. and Milwaukee (after a long legal battle)—are currently the only governments with mandated sick leave laws, making Connecticut the first state to enact such a law.
When signed, the law will take effect on Jan. 1, 2012.