Vermont Supreme Court: State Leave Act Does Not Require Paid Time Off During Unpaid Parental Leave

The Vermont Parental and Family Leave Act does not require employers to allow the accrual of paid vacation and sick time during an unpaid parental leave, the Vermont Supreme Court has held. Vermont Human Rights Comm’n & Stanley v. Vermont Agency of Transp., 2012 VT 45 (June 8, 2012). Observing that if an employee could demand accrual of paid leave during unpaid parental leave, then parental leave would not be unpaid leave, the Court said such a result was “not just inconsistent with, but contrary to,” an employer’s obligation only to provide unpaid parental leave. Accordingly, the Court affirmed dismissal of the employee’s claim under VPFLA.