Legislative Session begins January 8th and adjourns June 4th.
CRA Members can get involved by:
- Staying informed: We will keep you updated with the latest information through our timely emails.
- Providing support: There may be times when we need immediate action from our members—whether it’s completing a quick survey, joining us at the Capitol, or lending your voice to critical initiatives.
- Signing up for Advocacy Alerts
Joining committees: If you are interested in participating with the Legislative Committee, please email us.
Connecticut's new minimum wage has gone into effect from January 1, 2025.
- Minimum wage has increased to $16.35 per hour
- Server tip credit remains at $6.38 per hour
- Bartender tip credit remains at $8.23 per hour
As a result of our advocacy efforts in 2019, the Connecticut Restaurant Association successfully lead the freezing and decoupling of the tip credit from minimum wage.
For more information or questions on minimum wage, cash wage for tipped employees, tip credit and more, email us at info@ctrestaurant.org.
Paid Sick Days Law
Connecticut’s existing paid sick days laws require employers with more than 50 employees that are mostly in specific retail and service occupations (such as food service workers, health care workers, and others) to provide their employees with up to 40 hours of paid sick leave annually.
This legislation signed by Governor Lamont expands this coverage to include more workers in two ways:
- Beginning January 1, 2025, these laws will apply to workers of nearly every occupation, not just those in retail and service jobs. (Seasonal employees and other certain temporary workers are exempt.)
- The threshold for coverage will be lowered in three phases, beginning with employers that have at least 25 employees on January 1, 2025; those with at least 11 employees beginning January 1, 2026; and those with at least one employee beginning January 1, 2027.
As a reminder, CRA members get a free consult with Ryan O’Donnell annually. If you have further questions on this change to the law or other Labor & Employment concerns, feel free to reach him via e-mail.
Overtime Rule
On Friday, November 15, a federal court in Texas struck down the Department of Labor’s 2024 Overtime Rule, preventing costly changes to salary thresholds that would have impacted restaurants nationwide with automatic increases afterward. The National Restaurant Association's Restaurant Law Center and Texas Restaurant Association co-lead the coalition challenging the rule. The court found that DOL exceeded its authority by prioritizing salary over job duties, which contradicted the requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). This win is because of the National Restaurant Association fighting for you in court. As a member of the Connecticut Restaurant Association, you are members of the National Restaurant Association. This legal battle, waged on your behalf by the association saved the average restaurant $40,000 annually.
Dept. of Labor Overtime Rule 2025:
- Standard Salary Level (employees making less than this level are automatically eligible for overtime pay whenever they work 40+ hours per week): $1,128 per week (equivalent to $58,656 per year)
- Highly compensated employee threshold: $151,164 per year, including at least $1,128 per week paid on a salary or fee basis.After a 15-month advocacy campaign, restaurant operators have scored a significant victory.
Junk Fees Rule Victory
The Biden Administration and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) released their final rule on so-called “junk fees,” explicitly excluding restaurants from the regulation.
Restaurant service fees, delivery fees, credit card surcharges, and other widely accepted restaurant-related fees will not be included in the final rule. The elimination of these fees would have cost independent restaurant operators approximately 10 perfect of their total income in compliance if it had passed as written.
The FTC recognized the significant impact of the restaurant industry’s advocacy, noting: “A mass mailing from about 4,650 restaurant owners criticized the rule as a one-size-fits-all approach that would be unworkable for the restaurant industry.”
This victory highlights the power of collective advocacy. By engaging with lawmakers, sharing stories, and voicing concerns, restaurant operators nationwide ensured that their businesses were protected from damaging, one-size-fits-all regulations.
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