Vermont

Vermont has passed Senate Bill 71, a comprehensive privacy law that will regulate how covered entities collect, use, disclose, sell, and protect personal data. The law is scheduled to take effect on January 1, 2028. To whom does the law apply? The law applies to people who conduct business in Vermont or produce products or services targeted at Vermont residents and meet one of several thresholds during the preceding calendar year. A business may be covered if: It controls or processes the perso…

On December 6, 2022, Vermont Governor Phil Scott announced that the state will launch a voluntary paid family and medical leave program that will provide workers in the state with such leave insurance by 2025. With the move, Vermont joins its neighbor New Hampshire as the second state with such

On August 12, 2020, the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit limited the scope of a nationwide injunction that had blocked the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) from implementing and enforcing the Inadmissibility on Publ

On August 12, 2020, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit limited the nationwide injunction on the Department of Homeland Security’s Public Charge Rule to three states: Connecticut, New York, and Vermont. Since August 14, 2019, exactly one year ago today, when DHS published the final vers

In a landmark ruling, the Vermont Supreme Court recently held that a patient had standing to sue both the hospital at which she was a patient and the employee who attended to her, for negligent disclosure of her personal health information to a third-party. Neither the Health Insurance Portability a

Vermont’s “An act relating to the prevention of sexual harassment” makes numerous changes to state law related to sexual harassment. The act provides expansive protections for both current and prospective employees and creates new restrictions and obligations for employers. The changes go into effec

Vermont’s recreational marijuana law, which goes into effect on July 1, 2018, lifts penalties for individuals possessing limited amounts of marijuana. However, the new law does not require employers to tolerate marijuana possession or use in the workplace. Further, employers may continue to test for

Vermont’s recreational marijuana law will take effect on July 1, 2018. (Click here for our previous blog summarizing this law and its impact on employers). On June 14, 2018, the Vermont Office of the Attorney General published the Guide to Vermont’s Laws on Marijuana in the Workplace. The Guide prov

The categories of individuals protected under Vermont’s anti-discrimination statute (21 V.S.A. §495) has been expanded to include crime victims.

Beginning July 1, 2018, employers in Vermont will be prohibited from requiring a prospective employee to disclose his or her salary and benefit history under legislation (H.B. 294) signed by Governor Phil Scott on May 11, 2018.

On May 11, 2018, Vermont Governor Phil Scott signed legislation restricting employers from making salary history inquiries. The new law, H. 294, effective July 1, 2018, prohibits asking a prospective, current, or former employee about or seeking information regarding his or her compensation history.

Vermont’s Governor Phil Scott signed a recreational marijuana law on January 22, 2018. The law is the first recreational marijuana law to be enacted by a state legislature without a ballot initiative. It will take effect on July 1, 2018.

The law prohibits an employer from requesting “criminal history record information,” including arrests, convictions, or sentences, on the initial employment application form, unless the individual is applying for a position for which state or federal law creates a mandatory or presumptive disqualifi

On May 3, 2016, Vermont Governor Peter Shumlin signed a bill into law that prohibits most employers from requesting criminal history information on an employment application. The law adds a new section to the state statutory provisions on “unlawful employment practices.” Vermont’s new law continues

Vermont Governor Peter Shumlin has made the Green Mountain State the most recent state in the nation to implement statewide “ban the box” legislation. Connecticut may soon follow, once Governor Dannel Malloy has sign legislation passed by the state legislature on May 4, 2016.

On March 9, 2016, Vermont Governor Peter Shumlin signed House Bill 187 into law, making Vermont the third state in New England and the fifth state in the United States – after California, Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Oregon – to enact a state-wide paid sick leave law. Beginning on January 1, 2017

If you were to ask most employers whether reporting is a core function of employee benefit plan administration, they would likely say yes, particularly as many are currently in the middle of completing IRS Forms 1094-C and 1095-C. On top of the numerous reporting requirements for group health plans

Vermont is close to becoming the fifth state, after Connecticut, California, Massachusetts, and Oregon, to mandate that employers provide their employees sick leave benefits.

The United States Department of Labor has signed a three-year Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Vermont Department of Labor that is designed to protect employees’ rights by preventing their misclassification as independent contractors or other non-employee statuses. According to the agreeme

Effective January 1, 2014, Vermont’s minimum wage will increase from $8.60 to $8.73 per hour for non-exempt employees, the Vermont Department of Labor announced. For service or tipped employees, the minimum cash wage will increase from $4.17 to $4.23 per hour, and the maximum tip credit an employer