New hiring laws in Connecticut for 2027: pay ranges in job ads, AI notices, paid sick leave for every employer and what staffing agencies should check

As of November 2026, the Connecticut laws that change hiring in 2026 and 2027 start with Public Act 26-12, which since October 1, 2026 requires a wage range and benefits description in every job ad, a written ADA accommodation notice at hire, and bans training-repayment notes at every employer. Paid sick leave reached employers with 11 or more employees on January 1, 2026 and reaches every employer on January 1, 2027, when the minimum wage rises to $17.48. Public Act 26-15 makes AI no defense to discrimination from October 1, 2026 and requires AI notices to applicants from October 1, 2027.

Each item below is an enacted public act with its effective date from the act itself on the General Assembly's site, or a date set by the Department of Labor. The standing checklist (registrations, the CT-W4, new-hire reporting, age and record questions) is in our Connecticut hiring hub; this page is the dated list of what is new and what to do about it.

Which Connecticut hiring laws changed in 2026, and what changes in 2027?

State acts and the federal rules that apply to Connecticut employers, sorted by date.

What must a Connecticut job ad include since October 1, 2026?

The wage or wage range and a general description of benefits. Section 2 of Public Act 26-12 (sHB 5003, approved May 11, 2026) rewrote section 31-40z. Per the OLR summary, the range must be set in good faith, benefits include health insurance, retirement, fringe and paid leave, and the rule reaches remote roles that report to a supervisor, office or work site in Connecticut. The salary history ban is unchanged. Details are in our Connecticut pay transparency guide and salary history ban guide.

Which new notices does a Connecticut hire get?

Four 2026 acts add paperwork at or before the first day:

• ADA accommodation notice. Section 31 of PA 26-12 requires written notice of the right to reasonable accommodation under the ADA to new employees "at the commencement of employment," to existing employees within 120 days of October 1, 2026, and to anyone who discloses a disability within ten days. The Labor Commissioner's poster, displayed conspicuously, satisfies it.
• Electronic monitoring statement. Public Act 26-73 (approved June 4, 2026) makes the monitoring notice name the specific locations monitored, and requires every employer that monitors to give "each employee hired on or after October 1, 2026" a plain-language written statement of the prohibited activities that may be monitored without notice, "prior to the employee commencing employment." Penalties run from $500 to $3,000.
• Pay code guide. Under section 38 of PA 26-12, employers with at least 100 employees publish a guide to their overtime and pay differential codes and give each new hire its web address "upon hire," or a written copy. A payroll provider's guide counts.
• Warehouse quota description. Public Act 26-1 covers employers with at least 250 employees at one warehouse distribution center or 1,000 across several; employees "hired after August 1, 2026" get a written quota description "upon hire." Per the OLR summary, control through a staffing agency counts toward coverage.

What does Connecticut's AI law require of employers, and when?

It comes in two steps. Public Act 26-15 (sSB 5, approved May 27, 2026) covers technology whose output is "a substantial factor used to make or materially influence an employment-related decision," such as hiring; systems used incidentally and purely descriptive information not relied on for the decision are excluded. From October 1, 2026, using such technology is no defense to a discrimination complaint, and evidence of anti-bias testing may be weighed.

From October 1, 2027, a deployer must disclose in plain language when an applicant is interacting with the technology, unless obvious, and give a written notice "before such employment-related decision is made" naming the tool, its purpose, the personal data it analyzes and a contact. The OLR summary says only the Attorney General enforces these duties, with a 60-day cure notice for violations through December 31, 2027. Section 26 also makes employers filing federal layoff notices say whether the layoffs relate to AI. See AI hiring laws by state.

Can a Connecticut employer make a new hire repay training costs?

Not as a condition of employment, at any employer size, for agreements signed on or after October 1, 2026. Section 4 of PA 26-12 struck "twenty-six or more employees" from section 31-51r, so no employer may require an employee or prospective employee to sign a note to pay the employer for leaving before a stated time, including "reimbursement for training." Such a note is void; the rest of the agreement survives. Repaying advances, paying for property bought from the employer and collectively bargained programs remain allowed, and Public Act 26-122 (June 2, 2026) excludes notes to repay H-1B visa fees the employer paid. New York's similar law is in New York's 2027 hiring laws.

Which employers must keep a prior contractor's workers from July 1, 2027?

Successor service contractors at covered sites. Section 9 of PA 26-12, effective July 1, 2027, requires a successor employer to "retain, for at least ninety days" the workers the outgoing contractor employed at the site. Per the OLR summary, covered sites include residential buildings with 50 or more units, large commercial centers, schools, malls, industrial sites, airports and warehouses; covered work includes security, janitorial, front desk and maintenance, for employees working at least 16 hours a week. The successor hand delivers a written offer, evaluates performance after 90 days and must keep satisfactory workers. Public Act 26-68, § 247 instead lets the outgoing contractor discipline on attendance or performance records before the transition.

What changes for paid sick leave and the minimum wage on January 1, 2027?

Paid sick leave becomes universal. The Department of Labor's paid sick leave FAQ lists "January 1, 2026 - employers with 11 or more employees in CT" and "January 1, 2027 - employers with 1 or more employees in CT," counted on payroll for the week containing January 1. Employees accrue one hour per 30 hours worked, up to 40 a year, usable 120 days after hire unless the employer waives that, and get written notice no later than their first day under section 31-57w.

The minimum wage rises to $17.48. The Governor's August 5, 2026 release gives "$17.48 per hour beginning January 1, 2027," up from $16.94, a 3.2% rise tied to the federal employment cost index.

What changed for school and home care hiring?

• Schools. Public Act 26-139 (July 1, 2026) makes applicants for school jobs with child contact, their former employers and contractors disclose allegations still under investigation, per OLR's 2026 criminal justice report.
• Homemaker-companion agencies. Section 9 of Public Act 26-100 (June 2, 2026) changes the required check on prospective employees from a "local" to a "state and national" criminal check.

Which rules did not change in Connecticut in 2026?

• Non-competes. HB 5492, a broader non-compete ban, was tabled for the House calendar on April 2, 2026 with no later action, per its bill record; see Connecticut non-compete law.
• Criminal history. The initial-application rule in section 31-51i stands; see Connecticut ban-the-box and Connecticut background check laws. With the EEOC's 2012 guidance rescinded on October 28, 2026, Title VII still applies, and a job-related review using the Green factors from the 1975 Eighth Circuit case remains a sound way to decide and document.
• E-Verify is still neither required nor restricted; see E-Verify requirements in Connecticut.
• Drug testing and recording. Written notice at application before a test and consent before recording a phone interview still apply; see Connecticut drug testing laws and Connecticut recording consent.

What should Connecticut employers do before January 1, 2027?

1. Set up paid sick leave if you have fewer than 11 employees: accrual tracking, the written notice for new hires and the posters.
2. Reprice 2027 offers and ads to at least $17.48 an hour, and check every posting carries a good-faith range and a benefits description.
3. Send the ADA notice to existing staff by January 29, 2027, or hang the Labor Commissioner's poster, and add it to day-one paperwork.
4. Strip training-repayment clauses from offer letters and agreements signed since October 1, 2026; keep any H-1B fee note as a separate document.
5. Update onboarding packets with the electronic monitoring statement, the pay code guide link if you have 100 or more employees, and quota descriptions for covered warehouse roles.
6. Inventory AI hiring tools and plan the October 1, 2027 disclosure and notice, asking each vendor what it will supply.
7. Check federal paperwork: current Form I-9 editions and EAD reverification dates; see I-9 and the EAD automatic extension.

What does this mean for staffing agencies in Connecticut?

A temporary help service employs the workers it assigns, so from January 1, 2027 it owes them paid sick leave and the notice whatever its size, plus the ADA notice and, if it monitors them, the monitoring statement. Ads it writes for client roles need the range and benefits, and temp paperwork can no longer carry training-repayment clauses. Agree with large warehouse clients who hands new workers the quota description, and plan security and janitorial contract changes around the 90-day retention rule from July 1, 2027. Licensing is unchanged; see Connecticut staffing agency licensing, our Connecticut employer of record guide, and new hiring laws for 2027 for other states.