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Connecticut requires workers’ compensation from the first employee — regardless of hours, wage, or contract type. Chapter 568 of the General Statutes reaches every business with one or more employees, part-time or full-time. The one soft edge in the rule — household workers under 26 hours a week — belongs to private homes, not to the commercial side of a cleaning business.
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What Connecticut Actually Requires
| Requirement | Connecticut rule |
|---|---|
| Workers’ compensation | Required at 1+ employees, part-time or full-time, regardless of weekly wage (Conn. Gen. Stat. ch. 568) |
| The 26-hour exception | Household employees in PRIVATE HOMES under 26 hrs/week are the narrow exception — it does not cover a cleaning company’s own staff |
| Owners | Sole proprietors, partners, LLC members and corporate officers may elect out for THEMSELVES — employees must always be covered |
| State cleaning licence | None — Connecticut does not licence cleaning businesses |
The 26-Hour Rule Is Not About Your Crew
Cleaning-business owners sometimes read Connecticut’s household exception as a part-timer loophole. It isn’t: the exception belongs to homeowners employing their own domestic help under 26 hours a week. A cleaning company’s employees are covered from hour one, whatever the schedule — the company is the employer, not the household it cleans.
The owner-election rules run the usual direction: you can leave yourself out of your own policy, but never your staff. In the Hartford and Fairfield County office markets, the vendor packet asks for the workers’-comp certificate alongside the GL and the janitorial bond anyway — carrying it is the price of the contract.
What Skipping It Actually Costs in Connecticut
Connecticut made this a felony. Under Conn. Gen. Stat. §31-288, an employer that fails to carry required coverage — or dresses employees up as independent contractors, or lies about headcount — is guilty of a class D felony and subject to a stop-work order from the Labor Commissioner. The civil side is assessed per head: $500 per employee or $5,000, whichever is less — up to a $50,000 maximum — plus $100 for every day compliance lags after the finding.
The misclassification clause deserves the cleaning industry’s particular attention: “1099 crews” are this trade’s standard shortcut, and Connecticut wrote that exact maneuver into the felony definition. In a state that counts one part-time employee, whatever the hours, the compliant path is also the only inexpensive one.
The Coverages Every Cleaning Business Carries Regardless
- General liability. The scratched hardwood, the bleach spot on a client’s carpet, the wet-floor slip. One cleaning-specific catch: many policies exclude damage to property in your care, custody or control — which can mean the very surface you were hired to clean. Ask the question before you buy, not at claim time.
- Janitorial (fidelity) bond. Covers employee theft from client premises — the coverage commercial clients ask for by name before handing over keys and alarm codes. No state requires it; nearly every office contract does.
- Commercial auto for the crew vehicle — a personal policy excludes business use.
- Workers’ compensation — required in Connecticut from the first employee, whatever the hours.
Clients ask for your COI before handing over the keys.
A certificate of insurance answers the property manager’s checklist in one page. Quotes are free and don’t require a phone call.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Does a Connecticut cleaning business need workers’ comp for part-time employees?
Yes — Connecticut requires coverage with one or more employees, part-time or full-time, regardless of wage, under Chapter 568 of the General Statutes. The under-26-hours exception applies only to household workers employed by private homes, not to a cleaning company’s own staff.
Can Connecticut cleaning business owners exclude themselves from workers’ comp?
Sole proprietors, partners, LLC members and corporate officers may elect not to cover themselves — but employees must always be covered, from the first hire.
Comparing states? See cleaning business insurance requirements in every state, or the full guide to starting a cleaning business in Connecticut.
Sources
| Source | What it confirms |
|---|---|
| Connecticut Workers’ Compensation Commission | Chapter 568 coverage duty; the household-worker exception; owner elections |
| Conn. Gen. Stat. §31-288 | Class D felony, stop-work order, per-employee civil penalties, $100/day |
