A while back, my colleagues and I talked about new final proposed regulations implementing the revised CTFMLA law.
Turns out that “final” doesn’t actually mean FINAL.
On June 28, 2022, the Legislation Regulation Review Committee (LRCC) rejected the so-called “final” regulation without prejudice and asked that a number of corrections be made to the regulations.
Some of the proposed corrections were technical in nature while others more substantive. For example, the draft regulation tried to explain that a family member can include someone who acts like a family member (per the statute). But in doing so, the regulation merely said “Such individual’s close association with the employee should involve a significant personal bond”.
Thus, the CTDOL was asked to define that even further: What is a “close association”? What is a “significant personal bond”?
After this rejection, the CTDOL submitted updated regulations that attempt to address these deficiencies.
Because the law has been in place since January 1, 2022, these regulations are certainly overdue. Employers have had to manage in this “no man’s land” where they have to follow the law but the regulations defining some of the gaps are still in limbo.
Rather than summarize regulations that are still not in place, this time we’ll await the final approval. A meeting on the updated regulations is set for July 26, 2022 and a final decision is due on August 9, 2022.
Employers that have been waiting to update their CTFMLA policies should continue to hold off for a few more weeks until we have greater clarity on these new regulations.