What Connecticut law adds on top of federal law for nurses and EMS, and who to call.
Every rule here was read on the statute, regulation or agency page it cites. Checked November 10, 2026.
General information, not legal advice. Laws change and your facts decide how they apply. Before you act, confirm with the agency listed here or with an employment lawyer or your union representative.
Who to call in Connecticut
Connecticut Department of Labor, Wage and Workplace Standards DivisionUnpaid wages and state labor complaints. Start a complaint
U.S. Department of Labor, Wage and Hour DivisionUnpaid wages and overtime, PUMP Act, FMLA. Contact · 1-866-487-9243
OSHAPrivate-employer safety complaints, and retaliation for raising safety (30 days under the OSH Act). Public employees: see Unions and public employers. Contact
A Connecticut hospital can't require you to work overtime, meaning past a shift posted at least 48 hours ahead, more than 12 hours in 24, or more than 48 hours in its work week. It can't discipline, fire, threaten or otherwise retaliate against you for refusing. Even in an exception, it has to try volunteers first, and it can't use mandatory overtime to cover routine staffing gaps, expected absences or approved time off.
Who it covers: RNs, LPNs and registered nurse's aides working in Connecticut hospitals.
Limits and exceptions to know (the law may have others; read the source):
Only when patient safety requires it and there's no reasonable alternative: finishing an ongoing surgical procedure you're in.
Critical care nurses until relieved by the next scheduled nurse.
A public health emergency, or an institutional emergency (severe weather, catastrophe, widespread illness) the administrator has tried in good faith to mitigate.
Nurses at a state agency's behavioral health facility whose union contract addresses mandatory overtime, again only when patient safety requires it and there's no reasonable alternative. (Conn. Gen. Stat. § 19a-490l(d)(5))
Union contracts that address mandatory overtime and were in effect before October 1, 2023, or state-employee contracts under § 5-278 in effect before June 1, 2027, until they expire. The state-employee carve-out is live now. (Conn. Gen. Stat. § 19a-490l(f)(2))
"No hospital shall discriminate against, discharge, discipline, threaten to discharge or discipline or otherwise retaliate against a nurse for refusing to work overtime."
Each Connecticut hospital must have a staffing committee that helps write the nurse staffing plan it files with the Department of Public Health twice a year. Direct care RNs make up at least half the committee plus one. If you have a union, it picks the direct care RN members and management chooses the one extra RN from the union's list. One co-chair is a direct care RN elected by the RN members, and committee time is paid at your regular rate with coverage so you can attend.
Who it covers: Direct care RNs in Connecticut licensed hospitals, including inpatient psych units in general hospitals.
"Each hospital shall establish a dedicated hospital staffing committee to assist in the preparation of the nurse staffing plan required pursuant to subsection (b) of this section."
Quit: you are paid in full by the next regular payday. Fired: your wages are due in full by the next business day.
Who it covers: Employees of Connecticut employers, including the state and its political subdivisions.
Limits and exceptions to know (the law may have others; read the source):
Laid off, or out because of a labor dispute: your wages are due by the next regular payday, not the next business day. (Conn. Gen. Stat. § 31-71c(c))
"Whenever an employee voluntarily terminates his employment, the employer shall pay the employee's wages in full not later than the next regular pay day"
Work seven and a half hours or more in a row and you must get at least 30 straight minutes for a meal, sometime after your first two hours and before your last two.
Who it covers: Employees in Connecticut.
Limits and exceptions to know (the law may have others; read the source):
The Labor Commissioner can exempt employers for public safety, one-person positions, fewer than five employees on a shift, or continuous operations where break time is paid.
A written agreement between you and your employer can set different terms.
Doesn't apply to an employer that gives 30 or more total minutes of paid rest or meal time in each 7.5-hour work period. (Conn. Gen. Stat. § 31-51ii(f))
"No person shall be required to work for seven and one-half or more consecutive hours without a period of at least thirty consecutive minutes for a meal. Such period shall be given at some time after the first two hours of work and before the last two hours."