Frank J. Smith

I have some exciting news to share.

The Connecticut Essential Workers COVID-19 Assistance Fund is now up and running. It was authorized by the legislature in June for the purpose of easing the financial burden on essential workers who became ill and were unable to work, or died, between March 10, 2020 and July 20, 2021.

The program assists with:

Dear Neighbor,

I am pleased to announce that Connecticut's landmark Paid Family and Medical Leave Program will start accepting applications for claims of qualifying events on or after January 1, 2022.

Under the program, which the legislature passed in 2019, eligible workers will be able to take up to 12 weeks of time off work for certain qualifying events without losing income.

Next week, several new laws in Connecticut will go into effect on October 1. These laws are a result of the hard work of my colleagues and I during the 2021 session. We worked tirelessly to push for change that would benefit all Connecticut residents.

Below is a selection of some of the laws that will go into effect on Friday, October 1: