Wages

• Employers must pay at least the minimum hourly wage to all employees. The minimum wage as of 2010 is $8.25 an hour. The minimum wage for minors is 85 percent of the standard minimum, or $7.01 as of 2010, for their first 200 hours of work. After 200 hours, their minimum wage rises to the standard minimum for adult employees. For minors in agriculture and government jobs, however, the 85-percent minimum wage applies throughout their employment. For waiters and waitresses who earn tips, the minimum base wage is 69 percent of the standard minimum, or $5.69 an hour in 2010.
  
  

Hours

• An employer must pay overtime wages to employees when they work more than 40 hours in a week. The overtime wage must be at least 1.5 times the employee's standard wage. Working more than eight hours a day does not entitle an employee to overtime pay. Nor does working on a weekend or holiday, unless those hours push the employee past 40 for the week. Employees who work in an executive, administrative or professional capacity, earn at least $475 a week and receive pay on a salary basis may not have a legal right to receive overtime pay. Employers may schedule employees for any number of hours per day and week, but must provide a meal period of at least 30 minutes for employees who work 7.5 or more consecutive hours.
  
  

Termination

• Connecticut is an employment-at-will state, meaning employers and employees both may terminate the working relationship for any reason and without notice. State court decisions have established exceptions to employment-at-will in cases where a firing happens because the employee refuses to commit an act that would violate state law or public policy. Likewise, an employer may not fire an employee for reasons that contradict an implied contract, such as a company handbook or even oral assurances that list the valid reasons for terminations. Actual contracts, such as a collective bargaining agreement with a labor union, also may constrict an employer's ability to terminate employees.
  
  

Benefits

• Payment for time not worked, such as vacation pay, sick leave or holiday pay, is up to the employer. Employers may come up with any policy of their choosing with regard to such benefits, including declining to offer them at all. If employers decide on a policy of providing such benefits, however, they must adhere to that policy. They may change it at will, but must inform employees in advance and in writing. They may not take away vacation days employees already have earned, for example.
  
  

Minors

• Connecticut enforces specific restrictions for the employment of minors, defined as employees younger than 18. The state prohibits employers in industries that may qualify as hazardous from hiring minors. The list of prohibited occupations is longer for employees who are 14 and 15. Unlike with adult employees, employers may schedule minors only for a certain number of hours. The daily and weekly hour limits are tighter when school is in session.