As used in sections 31-51kk to 31-51qq, inclusive:

(1) “Eligible employee” means an employee who has been employed (A) for at least twelve months by the employer with respect to whom leave is requested; and (B) for at least one thousand hours of service with such employer during the twelve-month period preceding the first day of the leave;

(2) “Employ” includes to allow or permit to work;

(3) “Employee” means any person engaged in service to an employer in the business of the employer;

(4) “Employer” means a person engaged in any activity, enterprise or business who employs seventy-five or more employees, and includes any person who acts, directly or indirectly, in the interest of an employer to any of the employees of such employer and any successor in interest of an employer, but shall not include the state, a municipality, a local or regional board of education, or a private or parochial elementary or secondary school. The number of employees of an employer shall be determined on October first annually;

(5) “Employment benefits” means all benefits provided or made available to employees by an employer, including group life insurance, health insurance, disability insurance, sick leave, annual leave, educational benefits and pensions, regardless of whether such benefits are provided by practice or written policy of an employer or through an “employee benefit plan”, as defined in Section 1002(3) of Title 29 of the United States Code;

(6) “Health care provider” means (A) a doctor of medicine or osteopathy who is authorized to practice medicine or surgery by the state in which the doctor practices; (B) a podiatrist, dentist, psychologist, optometrist or chiropractor authorized to practice by the state in which such person practices and performs within the scope of the authorized practice; (C) an advanced practice registered nurse, nurse practitioner, nurse midwife or clinical social worker authorized to practice by the state in which such person practices and performs within the scope of the authorized practice; (D) Christian Science practitioners listed with the First Church of Christ, Scientist in Boston, Massachusetts; (E) any health care provider from whom an employer or a group health plan's benefits manager will accept certification of the existence of a serious health condition to substantiate a claim for benefits; (F) a health care provider as defined in subparagraphs (A) to (E), inclusive, of this subdivision who practices in a country other than the United States, who is licensed to practice in accordance with the laws and regulations of that country; or (G) such other health care provider as the Labor Commissioner determines, performing within the scope of the authorized practice. The commissioner may utilize any determinations made pursuant to chapter 568;

(7) “Parent” means a biological parent, foster parent, adoptive parent, stepparent or legal guardian of an eligible employee or an eligible employee's spouse, or an individual who stood in loco parentis to an employee when the employee was a son or daughter;

(8) “Person” means one or more individuals, partnerships, associations, corporations, business trusts, legal representatives or organized groups of persons;

(9) “Reduced leave schedule” means a leave schedule that reduces the usual number of hours per workweek, or hours per workday, of an employee;

(10) “Serious health condition” means an illness, injury, impairment, or physical or mental condition that involves (A) inpatient care in a hospital, hospice, nursing home or residential medical care facility; or (B) continuing treatment, including outpatient treatment, by a health care provider;

(11) “Son or daughter” means a biological, adopted or foster child, stepchild, legal ward, or, in the alternative, a child of a person standing in loco parentis, who is (A) under eighteen years of age; or (B) eighteen years of age or older and incapable of self-care because of a mental or physical disability; and

(12) “Spouse” means a husband or wife, as the case may be.

(P.A. 96-140, S. 1, 10; P.A. 06-102, S. 12.)

History: P.A. 96-140 effective January 1, 1997; P.A. 06-102 redefined “son or daughter” to substitute “or, in the alternative, a child” for “or a child”.

Interpretation of state leave statute should be consistent with interpretation of federal Family and Medical Leave Act. 276 C. 16. Under Subdiv. (4), an “employer” is one who employs a minimum of 75 employees in Connecticut, not including employees in other states. 306 C. 475.