With the new year comes new laws.

In most cases, it was specific provisions — including policies addressing paid family and medical leave, housing, the religious exemption to vaccinations, policing, criminal justice and LGBTQ rights — of larger laws passed either in last year’s legislative session or earlier, that went into effect on Jan. 1.

Paid Family and Medical Leave

Connecticut’s new paid leave law, passed in 2019, went into effect on Jan. 1, 2022. With the COVID-19 pandemic once again surging, employers finding it difficult to fill open positions and workers in different fields striking for better work conditions, the new law, which will allow qualifying workers to receive paid leave for up to 12 weeks, comes at a critical time.

A payroll deduction from worker paychecks will pay for the program — one of the most comprehensive in the country. Benefits began being paid to approved applicants starting Jan. 1. The income replacement paid through the program cannot surpass 60 times the state's minimum wage, which is currently $13 an hour.

People can apply for the program and access resources through the Connecticut Paid Leave Authority's website, ctpaidleave.org, or by calling (877) 499-8606.

Policing

A broad public safety bill passed last session addresses law enforcement use of force, police body cameras and juvenile criminal recidivism — these parts of the bill went into effect on Jan. 1.

The law limits “the circumstances under which an officer’s use of deadly physical...

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