By Susan Schoenfeld, JD, Senior Legal Editor
For a Limited Time receive a
FREE Compensation Market Analysis Report! Find out how much you should be paying to attract and retain the best applicants and employees, with
customized information for your industry, location, and job.
Get Your Report Now!Vermont is the latest state to join the growing tide of paid sick leave laws in the states and numerous local ordinances across the country. In February 2016, the Vermont legislature passed a bill that, when effective, will require employers to provide employees up to 3 paid sick days per year for the first 2 years the law is in effect. The law is scheduled to take effect in phases, beginning on January 1, 2017.
How much leave?
Employers may limit the amount of earned sick time accrued from January 1, 2017, until December 31, 2018, to a maximum of 24 hours (3 workdays) in a 12-month period; and, after December 31, 2018, to a maximum of 40 hours (5 workdays) in a 12-month period. The law will not apply to employees who work fewer than an average of 18 hours per week or who work 20 or fewer weeks in a 12-month period.
Employees will accrue 1 hour of earned sick time for every 52 hours worked. Employers may require a waiting period of up to 1 year for newly hired employees to take leave, but the employee will accrue earned sick leave during that time.
Covered reasons for leave
Under the new Vermont state law, earned sick leave may be used if:
- The employee is ill, injured, or obtains professional diagnostic, preventive, routine, or therapeutic health care.
- The employee cares for a sick or injured parent, grandparent, spouse, child, brother, sister, parent-in-law, grandchild, or foster child, including helping that individual obtain diagnostic, preventive, routine, or therapeutic health treatment or accompanying the employee’s parent, grandparent, spouse, or parent-in-law to an appointment related to his or her long-term care.
- The employee is arranging for social or legal services or is relocating or obtaining medical care or counseling for a covered family member who is a victim of domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking.
- The employee cares for a covered family member because the school or business where that individual is normally located during the employee’s workday is closed for public health or safety reasons.
With the passage of this law, Vermont joins Connecticut (2012), California (2015), Massachusetts (2015), Oregon (2016), Washington, D.C. (2008), and over 25 local jurisdictions across the country in requiring some form of paid sick leave for employees.
For more information on paid sick leave laws nationwide, see the infographic, "Paid sick leave laws around the U.S. (Map)."
|  Susan Schoenfeld, JD, is a Senior Legal Editor for BLR’s human resources and employment law publications. Ms. Schoenfeld has practiced in the area of employment litigation and counseling, covering topics such as disability discrimination, wrongful discharge, sexual harassment, and general employment discrimination. She has litigated numerous cases before the U.S. Court of Appeals, state court, and at the U.S. Department of Labor.
In addition to litigating employment cases in state and federal court, she provided training and counseling to corporate clients regarding employment-related issues. Prior to entering private practice, Ms. Schoenfeld was an attorney with the Civil Rights Division at the U.S. Department of Labor in Washington, D.C., where she advised federal agencies, drafted regulations, conducted inspector training courses, and litigated cases for the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs, the Directorate of Civil Rights, and the Mine Safety and Health Administration. Ms. Schoenfeld received her undergraduate degree, cum laude, with honors, from Union College, and her law degree from the National Law Center at George Washington University. Questions? Comments? Contact Susan at sschoenfeld@blr.com for more information on this topic |