Minimum Wage

• As of Jan. 1, 2009, the minimum wage in Connecticut is $8 per hour. For waiters and waitresses, the minimum wage is is 31 percent less than the current minimum wage, or $5.52 per hour.
  
  In Connecticut, anyone younger than 18 is considered a minor. The minimum wage for minors is 85 percent of the current minimum wage, or $6.80, if they are working in the fields of agriculture or government. In any other field, the minimum wage for minors is 85 percent of the current minimum wage for the first 200 hours of work. All hours worked after the first 200 are paid out at the current minimum wage rate.
  
  On Jan. 1, 2010, the minimum wage will be increased to $8.25 per hour.
  
  

Paid Holidays

• Employers in Connecticut are not legally required to provide paid holidays, sick pay or paid vacations. These are considered fringe benefits and are up to the discretion of the employer.
  
  However, the majority of employers in Connecticut do provide, at minimum, the following paid holidays for their salaried employees: New Year's Day, Memorial Day, Fourth of July, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day.
  
  

Overtime Pay

• Your employer is not required to pay overtime if you work on a holiday, on a Sunday, or more than eight hours in one day.
  
  However, your employer is required to pay overtime if you work more than 40 hours in the same work week. The overtime pay is one and a half times your regular hourly pay.
  
  

Paid Holidays for State Workers

• If you are a full-time employee of the state of Connecticut, you are given holiday pay for all of the federal holidays (New Year's Day, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, Lincoln Day, Washington's Birthday, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Columbus Day, Veterans' Day and Christmas Day), as well as for Lincoln's Birthday and Good Friday.
  
  

Exempt Workers

• Certain workers are exempt from minimum wage and/or overtime pay requirements.
  
  Connecticut statute 31-58 lists the types of employees who are exempt from minimum wage requirements, including summer camp employees, babysitters and employees of the federal government.
  
  Connecticut statute 31-76i defines the types of employees who are exempt from overtime pay requirements. This includes cab drivers, car salespersons and anyone employed in an administrative or professional capacity whose primary duties are office work as opposed to manual labor.
  
  Thus, if you are employed in an administrative or professional capacity in an office and make more than $475 a week, your employer is not required to pay you overtime.