| Fair Employment Practices | All employers are subject to the Vermont Fair Employment Practises Act (VFEPA), which forbids discrimination based on racial, ethnic, religious, national origin, ancestry, gender, gender expression, sexual orientation, place of birth, age, HIV status, military status, and physical or mental health.
The law particularly forbids sexual harassment and retribution against anyone who files a discrimination claim. |
| Discussion of Wages | Employers cannot forbid workers from discussing their pay with coworkers under the VFEPA. Employees may not be required to sign a formal waiver from their employer that restricts their ability to talk or ask about other employees' pay or to disclose the amount of their pay. |
| Equal Pay | Employers in Vermont are prohibited from treating employees differently based on their sex by paying one sex's employees less for doing the same type of work that involves the same amount of skill, effort, and responsibility and is carried out in a similar environment. |
| Pregnancy Accommodation | The VFEPA requires a Vermont employer to make reasonable accommodations for a pregnant employee's condition, defined as a restriction on the employee's capacity to do their job due to pregnancy, childbirth, or a related medical condition. Regardless of whether a pregnancy-related condition qualifies as a handicap under the law, an employee is entitled to the same protections and is held to the same standards for reasonable accommodations as a qualified person with a disability. |
| Credit Checks | Vermont prohibits employers from using or looking into applicants' or employees' credit reports unless certain conditions apply, such as when the position requires access to private financial or payroll information, when the employer is a bank or credit union, or when the position is that of a police officer, paramedic, or firefighter. |
| Criminal Checks | Only after making a conditional employment offer is an employer permitted to request criminal history checks from the Vermont Criminal Information Centre (VCIC). The employer must hold a valid user's agreement with the center, and the applicant must grant written consent on a release form given by the VCIC. |
| Ban the Box | In Vermont, it is illegal for employers to inquire about a job applicant's criminal background. During a job interview or later in the recruiting process, an employer is not prohibited by the law from inquiring about an applicant's criminal history. However, prospective employees must be allowed to discuss their past, including post-conviction rehabilitation attempts. |
| Drug Testing | The capacity of an employer to demand that job candidates submit to drug testing as a condition of employment is constrained by Vermont's drug testing legislation. An employer may ask for a drug test only after an applicant has been given a conditional job offer that specifies that employment is contingent upon a negative drug test result. |
| Minimum Wage | Vermont's hourly minimum wage is $13.18. Every year on January 1, Vermont's minimum wage is increased to reflect inflation. |
| Overtime | For all hours worked past 40 in a workweek, an employer must pay an employee at least 1.5 times their regular hourly rate. |
| Meal and Rest Breaks | A Vermont company is required to give its workers a reasonable opportunity to eat and use the lavatory. |
| Breastfeeding Breaks | A Vermont employer must give an employee adequate time each day to express breast milk for a nursing kid and a suitable private location (not a bathroom cubicle) to do so for three years following the birth of the employee's child. Employers may pay workers for breaks to express breast milk, but they are not compelled to. |
| Child Labor | In general, minors under the age of 16 are not permitted to work during school hours, for more than 18 hours per week during school weeks (40 hours when school is not in session), for longer than three hours per day on school days (eight hours on non-school days), for more than six days per week, before 7:00 a.m., after 7:00 p.m. (after 9:00 p.m. June 1 through Labour Day), or before or after 7:00 a.m. on weekends. |
| Health Care Continuation | Dental care must be included in all group health plans provided to employers in Vermont. Any person whose coverage would stop due to the occurrence of a qualifying event (such as termination, a reduction in hours, a divorce, the loss of dependent child status, or death) must be given continuation coverage. No matter the qualifying event, the maximum duration of continuation coverage in Vermont is 18 months. The Vermont continuous coverage law likewise covers self-insured group plans. |
| Pay Frequency | Employees must receive a weekly salary from their employers. However, an employer is permitted to pay workers biweekly or semimonthly after giving them written notice. Paydays must fall six days or less after the end of the pay month. |
| Wage Deductions | Federal or state law permits the following deductions from an employee's pay: taxes, child support, payments for goods and services provided by the employer, employee benefit contributions, and payments for meals and lodging provided by the business. The written consent of the employee can be needed. |
| Family and Medical Leave | Vermont's Parental and Family Leave Act (PFLA) entitles qualified workers to up to 12 weeks of unpaid parental or family leave every calendar year.
When an employee or family member is seriously ill, employers with 15 or more employees are required to offer family leave. When a child is born or adopted and is under 16, an employer with ten or more employees must offer parental leave. |
| Paid Sick Leave | According to Vermont Earned Sick Time Law (VESTL), all employers conducting business or operating in Vermont are required to offer eligible workers paid sick leave for a variety of reasons, including their own or a family member's illness, injury, or need for diagnostic, preventive, routine, or therapeutic health care, as well as to accompany a family member to a long-term care appointment or for reasons related to domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking. |
| Other Time Off Requirements | A Vermont employer must abide by additional leave and time off requirements, such as town meetings, legislative, jury duty, witness, crime victim, and military leave, in addition to the PFLA and VESTL. |
| Smoke-Free Workplace | In all enclosed workplaces, Vermont forbids smoking, including using tobacco alternatives like electronic cigarettes. Businesses that don't sell food or drinks but offer a place for customers to buy and use tobacco alternatives and related paraphernalia are exempt from the ban. |
| Safe Driving Practices | Texting while operating a moving motor vehicle is forbidden in Vermont. Texting refers to utilizing a portable electronic device, such as a cell phone, PDA, laptop, or similar device, to read, write, and send electronic communications (such as text messages, instant messaging, and e-mails). |
| Final Pay | Employees terminated or laid off must get their final pay within 72 hours after the event. A worker who voluntarily quits their job is entitled to payment by the following regular payday or, in the absence of a regular payday, the following Friday.
If the firm has a policy or agreement specifying it, the employer must compensate employees for accrued vacation time. |
