Key CT Paid Leave Appeal Decisions

The CTDOL Appeals Division issues decisions in appeals filed with CTDOL regarding denials of CT paid leave compensation. Below is a selection of decision summaries which have been organized by different key areas.


Table of Contents

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Wages

  • PLA 23-00000744 (July 24, 2023); Wages must be from work performed in Connecticut to be considered in determining someone’s monetary eligibility. Wages that an employer reports to a state besides Connecticut for unemployment insurance purposes are not considered wages for work performed in Connecticut. 

  • PLA 23-23-00000756 (Jan. 10, 2024); Wages must be reported to CTDOL for unemployment insurance purposes to be considered wages from work performed in Connecticut as an employee of a business, with few exceptions. A sole proprietor who takes a W-2 for wages that are not reported to CTDOL and is more than a 50% owner in the business is not considered an employee with qualifying wages. 

  • PLA 24-00001102 (Apr 17, 2024); wages must come from an employer that participates in the CTPL Program to be considered in determining an individual’s monetary eligibility. General Statutes § 31-49e(8) provides for a list of employers that are excluded unless their unionized employees negotiate to participate in the Program, including local boards of education. Wages from a board of education whose unions employees have not bargained to participate in the Program are not considered in determining eligibility. 

  • PLA 24-00001120 (June 6, 2024); Wages must be from work performed in Connecticut to be considered in determining someone’s monetary eligibility. There is a multi-factor test to determine an individual’s working relationship to Connecticut which is only analyzed when that individual’s wages are not reported to any state for unemployment insurance purposes. 

  • PLA 24-00001144 (July 1, 2024); when determining an individual’s monetary eligibility, wages earned in the first four of the last five most recently completed quarters are considered. Wages from the same quarter as the leave start date and from the mostly completed quarter are not part of the base period and are not considered. 

  • PLA 25-00001246 (June 10, 2025); for purposes of determining an individual’s monetary eligibility, wages are considered earned in the quarter in which they are reported to CTDOL for unemployment insurance purposes.

  • PLA 25-00001247 (June 10, 2025); Independent contractor 1099 earnings are not considered in determining an individual’s monetary eligibility unless the individual has registered with the Authority as a self-employed individual.

 

Covered employees

  • PLA 23-00000938 (Oct. 26, 2023); employees working for an employer with an approved private plan for CTPL compensation are not covered employees entitled to CTPL compensation through the Authority. 

  • PLA 25-00001247 (June 10, 2025); A 1099 independent contractor is a self-employed individual who is not considered a covered employee eligible for CTPL compensation unless they have registered with the Authority. 

  • PLA 25-00001300 (Sept. 25, 2025); State employees are ineligible for CTPL compensation unless they qualify as a covered public employee. To qualify they must either not be a part of a bargaining unit or their bargaining unit must have negotiated to participate in the Program. 

 

Untimely appeals

  • PLA 23-00000941 (Nov. 1, 2023); appeals must be filed within twenty-one days after the claim is denied. There is good cause for a late appeal due to defective notice when a denial decision is sent by a method other than an applicant’s requested method of communication.  

  • PLA 23-00001050 (Mar. 5, 2024); there is good cause for a late appeal when the respondent failed to provide a written decision letter which contains appeal rights and timeframe for filing a timely appeal. 

  • PLA 24-00001120 (June 6, 2024); there is good cause for a late appeal when the appellant retains counsel within the timely appeal period and that counsel delays in filing the appeal due to good faith error, which can include being unfamiliar with the appeal process. 

  • PLA 25-00001304 (Sept. 4, 2025); there is no good cause for a late appeal filed almost seventeen months late when, without more, the appellant states they thought about the denied claim but had just not previously gotten a chance to file the appeal. 

  • PLA 25-00001317 (Oct. 8, 2025); there is no good cause for a late appeal when an appellant does not submit requested documentation in support of their good cause reasoning. 

 

Lack of aggrievement – maximum benefits approved

  • PLA 24-00001076 (Feb. 15, 2024); twelve weeks is generally the maximum amount of CTPL compensation someone is entitled to within a twelve-month period. There is no authority which would permit the Appeals Division to waive and approve more than the twelve-week statutory max entitlement.

  • PLA 23-00001020 (Apr. 17, 2024); twelve days is the maximum amount of CTPL compensation for family violence when an employer approves the employee to take twelve days. 

  • PLA 24-00001114 (Apr. 18, 2024); employees are entitled to up to fourteen weeks of CTPL compensation due to pregnancy and childbirth. Only twelve weeks may be used following the birth of the appellant’s child. Up to two weeks can be used prior to giving birth if the employee becomes incapacitated with a serious health condition due to the pregnancy.  
 

Lack of jurisdiction – miscellaneous

  • PLA 23-00000908 (July 26, 2023); the Appeals Division has jurisdiction over appeals of a denial of CTPL compensation pursuant to General Statutes § 31-49p(a). The Appeals Division does not have jurisdiction over complaints of a denial of unpaid leave under the CT Family and Medical Leave Act.

  • PLA 22-00000585 (Aug. 10, 2023); the Appeals Division has jurisdiction over appeals regarding an overpayment determination made by the Authority or an employer’s private plan but does not have jurisdiction to determine whether the overpayment itself should be waived.

  • PLA 24-00001132 (May 29, 2024); a dispute over the amount of taxes withheld in an approved CTPL compensation claim does not relate to an appellant’s eligibility for CTPL compensation and is therefore not an issue within the jurisdiction of the Appeals Division. 

  • PLA 24-00001073 (May 31, 2024); an appellant is no longer aggrieved when they are approved for the entire leave period they requested.

  • PLA 24-00001153 (July 11, 2024); the Appeals Division does not have jurisdiction when an appeal is filed before any decision has been issued in a claim.

  • PLA 24-00001131 (July 22, 2024); an appellant is not aggrieved when they receive the maximum amount of CTPL compensation they are entitled to for the requested leave period even if not every day within the requested period is approved. 

Serious health conditions

  • PLA 22-00000228 (Oct. 17, 2022); a diagnosis of COVID-19 must meet the requirements of a serious health condition for an individual to be entitled to CTPL compensation. Self-testing positive for COVID-19 and being ordered to quarantine by a health care provider does not satisfy the requirements of a serious health condition. 

  • PLA 22-00000554 (Jan. 5, 2023); a diagnosis of COVID-19 must meet the requirements of a serious health condition for an individual to be entitled to CTPL compensation. Seeing a health care provider once, at which time the provider diagnoses the individual with COVID-19 and orders them to quarantine, does not satisfy the requirements of a serious health condition. 

  • PLA 23-00000985 (Jan. 10, 2024); Bereavement leave itself is not covered under the CTPL Act. An individual must have a qualifying serious health condition or be caring for a family member with a serious health condition during the requested leave period. 

  • PLA 24-00001137 (July 1, 2024); when an individual applies for CTPL compensation due to their own health condition, the medical documentation must support the type and amount of leave that is requested for the individual to be entitled to CTPL compensation.

  • PLA 24-00001143 (July 5, 2024); when an individual applies for CTPL compensation due to their own health condition, the medical documentation must identify the certifying health care provider as well as the amount and type of necessary leave for the individual to be entitled to CTPL compensation. 
 

Childbirth and bonding

  • PLA 23-00000840 (June 12, 2023); There is no entitlement to CTPL compensation for pregnancy-related leave before giving birth unless you are incapacitated due to the pregnancy.

  • PLA 23-00000916 (Oct. 26, 2023); to be entitled to CTPL compensation to bond with your newborn child on an intermittent or reduced schedule leave basis, your employer must approve you to take that leave type. 

  • PLA 24-00001114 (Apr. 18, 2024); employees are entitled to up to fourteen weeks of CTPL compensation due to pregnancy and childbirth. Only twelve weeks can be used following the birth of the appellant’s child. Up to two weeks can be used prior to giving birth if the employee becomes incapacitated with a serious health condition due to the pregnancy.  
 

Intermittent leave

  • PLA 24-00001123 (May 20, 2024); for intermittent leave requests, Authority approvals cover a maximum of six months at a time. For an approved claim in which approval spanning more than six months is requested, additional medical certifications must be submitted after six months which supports the continuing need for leave. 

  • PLA 25-00001253 (Sept. 3, 2025); medical documentation certifying the leave frequency and duration is required for intermittent claims involving an individual’s own health condition. This requirement cannot be waived even when the treating health care provider is uncooperative in the claim process. 
 

Lack of eligibility – receipt of disqualifying benefits

  • PLA 23-00000638 (Apr. 18, 2024); an individual is not entitled to any CTPL compensation for the same time for which they receive income replacement benefits from their employer equal to 100% of the individual’s regular rate of compensation. 

  • PLA 24-00001136 (June 28, 2024); an individual is not entitled to any CTPL compensation for the same time for which they receive unemployment insurance compensation.
 

Late claim

  • PLA 24-00001088 (May 21, 2024); Claims must be filed with the Authority within 45 days from the initial date for which CTPL compensation is requested. There is good cause for a late claim when the lateness is due to administrative error, which includes excessive delays in notifying a claimant of the need to act. 

  • PLA 25-00001256 (June 3, 2025); There is no good cause for a late claim when the claimant had filed two prior claims and was aware of the CTPL Program. 

  • PLA 25-00001288 (July 29, 2025); There is no good cause for a late claim when the claimant alleges their employer provided misinformation about the CTPL Program but does not submit documentation from their employer supporting their allegations. 

  • PLA 25-00001309 (Oct. 8, 2025); leave dates in an approved intermittent leave claim must be reported to the Authority within two business days of the occurrence. The Authority’s good cause factors for late claims can be applied to late intermittent leave reporting. There is good cause for an intermittent leave date being reported one day late based on good faith error when the claimant understood an intermittent leave occurrence to encompass all dates within the approved timeframe frequency.  

Miscellaneous

  • PLA 22-00000238 (July 8, 2022); entitlement to CTPL compensation ends upon death of the claimant. 

  • PLA 23-00000900 (July 20, 2023); documentation confirming proof of identity is required for every claim. 

  • PLA 23-00001066 (Jan. 23, 2024); there is no entitlement to CTPL compensation where an individual’s employer proves that the employee was not absent during the requested leave period. 

  • PLA 23-00000856 (July 26, 2024); there is no entitlement to CTPL compensation where the Authority finds the claim involves fraud. 

 


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