Sec. 31-51nn. Family and medical leave: Employment and benefits protection. - Connecticut Statutes

      Sec. 31-51nn. Family and medical leave: Employment and benefits protection. (a) Any eligible employee who takes leave under section 31-51ll for the intended purpose of the leave shall be entitled on return from such leave (1) to be restored by the employer to the position of employment held by the employee when the leave commenced; (2) if the original position of employment is not available, to be restored to an equivalent position with equivalent employment benefits, pay and other terms and conditions of employment; or (3) in the case of a medical leave, if the employee is medically unable to perform the employee's original job upon the expiration of such leave, to be transferred to work suitable to such employee's physical condition if such work is available.

      (b) The taking of leave under section 31-51ll shall not result in the loss of any employment benefit accrued prior to the date on which the leave commenced.

      (c) Nothing in this section shall be construed to entitle any restored employee to (1) the accrual of any seniority or employment benefits during any period of leave; or (2) any right, benefit or position of employment other than any right, benefit or position to which the employee would have been entitled had the employee not taken the leave.

      (d) As a condition of restoration under subsection (a) of this section for an employee who has taken leave under subparagraph (D) of subdivision (2) of subsection (a) of section 31-51ll, the employer may have a uniformly applied practice or policy that requires each such employee to receive certification from the health care provider of the employee that the employee is able to resume work, except that nothing in this subsection shall supersede a valid law of this state or a collective bargaining agreement that governs the return to work of such employees.

      (e) Nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit an employer from requiring an employee on leave under section 31-51ll to report periodically to the employer on the status and intention of the employee to return to work.

      (f) Employees may have additional rights under other state and federal law, including rights under the federal Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. Nothing in sections 5-248a and 31-51kk to 31-51qq, inclusive, shall limit any such additional rights.

      (P.A. 96-140, S. 4, 10; P.A. 04-95, S. 4; 04-257, S. 51.)

      History: P.A. 96-140 effective January 1, 1997; P.A. 04-95, effective October 1, 2004, and P.A. 04-257, effective June 14, 2004, both made identical technical changes in Subsec. (d).

      Section does not expressly obligate employer to accommodate employee's work-at-home requests or to refrain from taking adverse action against employee who persists in efforts to secure such arrangement. 249 C. 766.