Commission approves MOU to implement Connecticut paid sick leave for municipal firefighters after debate over one-hour increments

The General Counsel Commission on Feb. 13 voted to approve a resolution adopting a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Local 1073 to implement Connecticutpaid sick leave for municipal employees, including emergency responders.

Attorney Neske told the commission that the new state law requires employers to provide 40 hours of paid sick leave per benefit year and that the city must give a statutory notice. "Connecticut paid sick leave is requiring that all employers, including municipalities... give 40 hours of paid sick leave each benefit year," Neske said, adding the law allows certain expanded uses and a one-hour increment for taking leave.

The MOU was negotiated specifically to reconcile the law with the fire departmentcollective bargaining agreement (CBA), which historically uses larger time increments for shift coverage. Bridal Frantz, president of Local 1073, urged the commission to consider operational impacts and noted the law allows use in one-hour increments and does not require a doctor's note for those hours: "Connecticut... provides for 40 hours of sick leave, which can be used for personal or family sick time," Frantz said.

Why it matters: commissioners highlighted that one-hour increments create an operational issue for emergency-response shifts. Neske and union representatives said the MOU requires members to choose a consistent bank of leave to cover an absence across a shift (so employees cannot split CT leave and other banks across the same shift). Neske also emphasized the statute limits the city's ability to demand medical notes for those hours: "the city cannot ask for sick notes with respect to that usage of time," she said.

Commissioners asked how the change will be tracked and what the staffing cost will be. Director Richardson said the city built pay codes into Kronos to track usage and that payroll and IT will show whether employees use CT leave or regular sick time. City staff and union negotiators also explained operational safeguards: if an employee takes a one-hour CT leave during a minimum-manning period, the department would call in a replacement and that replacement call-back carries a two-hour minimum.

Staff emphasized the fiscal impact is unknown. Neske said the resolution is being forwarded because the MOU has a potential financial effect that was not anticipated when the CBA was approved: "the financial impact... is undetermined because I don't know how many people will use this and what it ends up being," she said. Commissioners recommended sending the item to the Finance and Government commission to develop ballpark estimates for call-in and replacement costs before final action by the full council.

The vote and next steps: the commission approved the resolution by voice vote; the chair moved to approve and the motion was seconded. The commission directed staff to provide estimates from the fire chief and finance staff and to forward the resolution to the full council (and, at the commission's request, to Finance and Government for fiscal estimates).