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H.33 1
Introduced by Representatives Headrick of Burlington, Burrows of West 2
Windsor, Chapin of East Montpelier, Greer of Bennington, 3
Krasnow of South Burlington, LaMont of Morristown, Logan of 4
Burlington, McCann of Montpelier, McGill of Bridport, 5
Priestley of Bradford, Stevens of Waterbury, Tomlinson of 6
Winooski, Waszazak of Barre City, and White of Bethel 7
Referred to Committee on 8
Date: 9
Subject: Labor; employment practices; Parental and Family Leave Act; unpaid 10
leave 11
Statement of purpose of bill as introduced: This bill proposes to expand access 12
to unpaid family and medical leave and provide job-protected leave from 13
employment for reasons related to domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, 14
bereavement, and a qualifying exigency. This bill also proposes to eliminate 15
barriers for LGBTQ+ families in accessing caregiving leave and to establish 16
reporting requirements to track the impact of expanded access. 17
An act relating to expanding employee access to unpaid leave 18 BILL AS INTRODUCED H.33
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It is hereby enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Vermont: 1
Sec. 1. INTENT 2
It is the intent of the General Assembly to align Vermont’s family leave 3
policies with inclusive and equitable standards, ensuring that LGBTQ+ 4
families, low-income workers, and individuals in nontraditional family 5
structures have equal access to caregiving leave without undue burden. 6
Sec. 2. 21 V.S.A. § 471 is amended to read: 7
§ 471. DEFINITIONS 8
As used in this subchapter: 9
(1) “Bereavement leave” means a leave of absence from employment or 10
self-employment by an individual due to the death of the individual’s family 11
member that occurs not more than one year after the family member’s death. 12
Bereavement leave includes leave taken in relation to the administration or 13
settlement of the deceased family member’s estate. Leave taken in relation to 14
the administration or settlement of the deceased family member’s estate may 15
occur more than one year after the family member’s death. 16
(2) “Domestic partner” means an individual with whom the employee 17
has an enduring domestic relationship of a spousal nature, provided the 18
employee and the domestic partner: 19
(A) have shared a residence for at least six consecutive months; 20
(B) are at least 18 years of age; 21 BILL AS INTRODUCED H.33
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(C) are not married to or considered a domestic partner of another 1
individual; 2
(D) are not related by blood closer than would bar marriage under 3
State law; and 4
(E) have agreed between themselves to be responsible for each 5
other’s welfare. 6
(3) “Domestic violence” has the same meaning as in 15 V.S.A. § 1151. 7
(4) “Employer” means an individual, organization, or governmental 8
body, partnership, association, corporation, legal representative, trustee, 9
receiver, trustee in bankruptcy, and any common carrier by rail, motor, water, 10
air, or express company doing business in or operating within this State that a 11
person who for the purposes of parental leave, bereavement leave, safe leave, 12
and leave for a qualifying exigency employs 10 or more individuals who are 13
employed for an average of at least 30 hours per week during a year and for the 14
purposes of family leave employs 15 or more individuals for an average of at 15
least 30 hours per week during a year. 16
(2)(5) “Employee” means a person who, in consideration of direct or 17
indirect gain or profit, has been continuously employed by the same employer 18
for a period of one year for an average of at least 30 hours per week. For 19
purposes of safe leave only, “employee” means a person who in consideration 20
of direct or indirect gain or profit has been continuously employed by the same 21 BILL AS INTRODUCED H.33
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employer for a period of six months for an average of at least 20 hours per 1
week. 2
(3)(6) “Family leave” means a leave of absence from employment by an 3
employee who works for an employer that employs 15 or more individuals 4
who are employed for an average of at least 30 hours per week during the year 5
for one of the following reasons: 6
(A) the serious health condition of the employee; or 7
(B) the serious health condition of the employee’s child, stepchild or 8
ward who lives with the employee, foster child, parent, spouse, or parent of the 9
employee’s spouse family member. 10
(7) “Family member” means: 11
(A) regardless of age, an employee’s biological, adopted, or foster 12
child; an employee’s stepchild or legal ward; a child of the employee’s spouse 13
or civil union or domestic partner; a child to whom the employee stands in loco 14
parentis, regardless of legal documentation; an individual to whom the 15
employee stood in loco parentis when the individual was under 18 years of 16
age; or any individual for whom the employee provides caregiving 17
responsibilities similar to those of a parent-child relationship; 18
(B)(i) a parent of an employee or an employee’s spouse or civil union 19
or domestic partner, regardless of whether the relationship to the employee or 20 BILL AS INTRODUCED H.33
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the employee’s spouse or civil union or domestic partner is a biological, foster, 1
adoptive, or step relationship; 2
(ii) a legal guardian of an employee or employee’s spouse or civil 3
union or domestic partner; or 4
(iii) a person who stands in loco parentis for the employee or who 5
stood in loco parentis when the employee or employee’s spouse or civil union 6
or domestic partner was under 18 years of age; 7
(C) a person to whom the employee is legally married under the laws 8
of any state or a civil union or domestic partner of an employee; 9
(D) a grandparent, grandchild, or sibling of the employee or the 10
employee’s spouse or civil union or domestic partner, regardless of whether 11
the relationship to the employee or the employee’s spouse or civil union or 12
domestic partner is a biological, foster, adoptive, or step relationship; or 13
(E) any other individual with whom the employee has a significant 14
personal bond that is or is like a family relationship, regardless of formal 15
documentation, including individuals who rely on one another for caregiving, 16
emotional support, or other familial responsibilities; no specific evidence or 17
legal documentation shall be required to establish this relationship. 18
(4)(8) “Health care provider” means a licensed health care provider or a 19
health care provider as defined pursuant to 29 C.F.R. § 825.125. 20 BILL AS INTRODUCED H.33
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(9) “In loco parentis” means a relationship in which an individual has 1
day-to-day responsibilities to care for and support a child, regardless of 2
biological or legal ties. Financial support is not a requirement for this 3
relationship, recognizing caregiving roles beyond traditional definitions. 4
(5)(10) “Parental leave” means a leave of absence from employment by 5
an employee who works for an employer that employs 10 or more individuals 6
who are employed for an average of at least 30 hours per week during the year 7
for one of the following reasons: 8
(A) the employee’s pregnancy; 9
(B) the employee’s recovery from childbirth or miscarriage; 10
(C) the birth of the employee’s child and to care for or bond with the 11
child within one year after the child’s birth; or 12
(D) the initial placement of a child 18 years of age or younger with 13
the employee for the purpose of adoption or foster care and to care for or bond 14
with the child within one year after the placement for adoption or foster care. 15
(11) “Qualifying exigency” means a qualifying exigency identified 16
pursuant to 29 C.F.R. § 825.126 that is related to active duty service by a 17
family member in the U.S. Armed Forces. 18
(12) “Safe leave” means a leave of absence from employment by an 19
employee because: 20 BILL AS INTRODUCED H.33
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(A) the employee or the employee’s family member is a victim or 1
alleged victim of domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking; 2
(B) the employee is using leave for one of the following reasons 3
related to domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking: 4
(i) to seek or obtain medical care, counseling, or social or legal 5
services, either for themselves or for a family member; 6
(ii) to recover from injuries; 7
(iii) to participate in safety planning, either for themselves or for a 8
family member; 9
(iv) to relocate or secure safe housing, either for themselves or for 10
a family member; 11
(v) to meet with a State’s Attorney or law enforcement officer; or 12
(vi) to attend a hearing concerning an order against stalking or 13
sexual assault pursuant to 12 V.S.A. § 5133, when the employee seeks the 14
order as a plaintiff; and 15
(C) the employee is not the perpetrator or alleged perpetrator of the 16
domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking. 17
(6)(13) “Serious health condition” means: 18
(A) an accident, illness, injury, disease, or physical or mental 19
condition that: 20
(i) poses imminent danger of death; 21 BILL AS INTRODUCED H.33
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(ii) requires inpatient care in a hospital, hospice, or residential 1
medical care facility; or 2
(iii) requires continuing treatment by a health care provider; or 3
(B) rehabilitation from an accident, illness, injury, disease, or 4
physical or mental condition described in subdivision (A) of this subdivision 5
(6)(13), including treatment for substance use disorder. 6
(14) “Sexual assault” has the same meaning as in 15 V.S.A. § 1151. 7
(15) “Stalking” has the same meaning as in 15 V.S.A. § 1151. 8
(16) “U.S. Armed Forces” means: 9
(A) the U.S. Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, Space Force, and 10
Coast Guard; 11
(B) a reserve component of the U.S. Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine 12
Corps, Space Force, and Coast Guard; or 13
(C) the National Guard of any state. 14
Sec. 3. 21 V.S.A. § 472 is amended to read: 15
§ 472. LEAVE 16
(a)(1) During any 12-month period, an employee shall be entitled to take 17
unpaid leave for a period not to exceed 12 weeks: 18
(1)(A) for parental leave, during the employee’s pregnancy and 19
following the birth of an employee’s child or within a year following the initial 20 BILL AS INTRODUCED H.33
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placement of a child 16 years of age or younger with the employee for the 1
purpose of adoption.; 2
(2)(B) for family leave, for the serious health condition of the employee 3
or the employee’s child, stepchild or ward of the employee who lives with the 4
employee, foster child, parent, spouse, or parent of the employee’s spouse; or 5
(C) for a qualifying exigency. 6
(2) During any 12-month period, an employee may use up to two out of 7
the 12 weeks of leave available pursuant to subdivision (1) of this subsection 8
for bereavement leave. 9
(3) In addition to the leave provided pursuant to subdivisions (1) and (2) 10
of this subsection, during any 12-month period an employee shall be entitled to 11
take unpaid leave for a period not to exceed 12 weeks for safe leave. 12
(b) During the leave, at the employee’s option, the employee may use 13
accrued sick leave or, vacation leave or, any other accrued paid leave, not to 14
exceed six weeks or short-term disability insurance. Utilization of accrued 15
paid leave or short-term disability insurance shall not extend the leave 16
provided pursuant to this section. 17
* * * 18
(e)(1) An employee shall give the employer reasonable written notice of 19
intent to take leave under this subchapter section. Notice shall include the date 20
the leave is expected to commence and the estimated duration of the leave. 21 BILL AS INTRODUCED H.33
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(2) In the case of the adoption or birth of a child, an employer shall not 1
require that notice be given more than six weeks prior to the anticipated 2
commencement of the leave. 3
(3) In the case of an unanticipated serious health condition, a 4
miscarriage, an unanticipated need for safe leave, a premature birth, the death 5
of a family member, or a short-notice qualifying exigency, the employee shall 6
give the employer notice of the commencement of the leave as soon as 7
practicable. 8
(4)(A) In the case of a serious health condition of the employee or a 9
member of the employee’s family, an employer may require certification from 10
a health care provider to verify the condition and the amount and necessity for 11
the leave requested. 12
(B) An employer may require an employee to provide documentation 13
of the need for safe leave. An employee may provide documentation from any 14
one of the following sources: 15
(i) a court or a law enforcement or other government agency; 16
(ii) a domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking assistance 17
program; 18
(iii) a legal, clerical, medical, or other professional from whom the 19
employee, or the employee’s family member, received counseling or other 20
assistance concerning domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking; or 21 BILL AS INTRODUCED H.33
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(iv) a self-attestation by the employee describing the 1
circumstances supporting the need for safe leave; no further corroboration shall 2
be required unless otherwise mandated by law. 3
(C) An employer may require an employee to provide documentation 4
of the need for bereavement leave. An employee may provide any of the 5
following forms of documentation: 6
(i) a death certificate; 7
(ii) a published obituary; or 8
(iii) a written notice or verification of death, burial, or memorial 9
services from a mortuary, funeral home, burial society, crematorium, religious 10
organization, or governmental agency. 11
(D) An employer may require an employee to provide documentation 12
of the need for leave for a qualifying exigency as set forth in 29 C.F.R. 13
§ 825.309. 14
(E) An employer shall not disclose any private medical information 15
or information relating to a safe leave that the employer receives pursuant to 16
this subdivision (4) except to the extent the disclosure is permitted by law and: 17
(i) consented to by the employee in writing; 18
(ii) required pursuant to a court order; or 19
(iii) required pursuant to State or federal law. 20 BILL AS INTRODUCED H.33
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(4)(5) An employee may return from leave earlier than estimated upon 1
approval of the employer. 2
(5)(6) An employee shall provide reasonable notice to the employer of 3
the need to extend leave to the extent provided by this subchapter. 4
(f) Upon return from leave taken under this subchapter, an employee shall 5
be offered the same or comparable job at the same level of compensation, 6
employment benefits, seniority, or any other term or condition of the 7
employment existing on the day leave began. This subchapter subsection shall 8
not apply if, prior to requesting leave, the employee had been given notice or 9
had given notice that the employment would terminate. This subsection shall 10
not apply if the employer can demonstrate by clear and convincing evidence 11
that: 12
(1) during the period of leave the employee’s job would have been 13
terminated or the employee laid off for reasons unrelated to the leave or the 14
condition for which the leave was granted; or 15
(2) the employee performed unique services and hiring a permanent 16
replacement during the leave, after giving reasonable notice to the employee of 17
intent to do so, was the only alternative available to the employer to prevent 18
substantial and grievous economic injury to the employer’s operation. 19
(g)(1) An employer may adopt a leave policy more generous than the leave 20
policy provided by this subchapter. 21 BILL AS INTRODUCED H.33
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(2)(A) Nothing in this subchapter shall be construed to diminish an 1
employer’s obligation to comply with any collective bargaining agreement or 2
any employment benefit program or plan that provides greater leave rights than 3
the rights provided by this subchapter. 4
(B) A collective bargaining agreement or employment benefit 5
program or plan may not diminish rights provided by this subchapter. 6
(3) Notwithstanding the provisions of this subchapter, an employee may, 7
at the time a need for parental or family leave arises, waive some or all the 8
rights under this subchapter provided the waiver is informed and voluntary and 9
any changes in conditions of employment related to any waiver shall be 10
mutually agreed upon between employer and employee. 11
(h) Except for the serious health condition of the employee or safe leave 12
when the employee is the victim or alleged victim, an employee who does not 13
return to employment with the employer who provided the leave shall return to 14
the employer the value of any compensation that the employer paid to or on 15
behalf of the employee during the leave, except payments for accrued sick 16
leave or vacation leave. 17
Sec. 4. 21 V.S.A. § 472a is amended to read: 18
§ 472a. SHORT-TERM FAMILY LEAVE 19
(a) In addition to the leave provided in section 472 of this title, an 20
employee shall be entitled to take unpaid leave not to exceed four hours in any 21 BILL AS INTRODUCED H.33
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30-day period and not to exceed 24 hours in any 12-month period. An 1
employer may require that leave be taken in a minimum of two-hour segments 2
and may be taken for any of the following purposes: 3
(1) To participate in preschool or school activities directly related to the 4
academic educational advancement of the employee’s child, stepchild, foster 5
child, or ward who lives with the employee family member, such as a parent-6
teacher conference. 7
(2) To attend or to accompany the employee’s child, stepchild, foster 8
child, or ward who lives with the employee or the employee’s parent, spouse, 9
or parent-in-law family member to routine medical or dental appointments. 10
(3) To accompany the employee’s parent, spouse, or parent-in-law 11
family member to other appointments for professional services related to their 12
care and well-being. 13
(4) To respond to a medical emergency involving the employee’s child, 14
stepchild, foster child, or ward who lives with the employee or the employee’s 15
parent, spouse, or parent-in-law family member. 16
* * * 17
Sec. 5. 21 V.S.A. § 472c is amended to read: 18
§ 472c. LEAVE; ALLEGED CRIME VICTIMS; RELIEF FROM 19
STALKING OR ABUSE 20
* * * 21 BILL AS INTRODUCED H.33
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(b) In addition to the leave provided in section 472 of this title, an 1
employee shall be entitled to take unpaid leave from employment for the 2
purpose of attending a deposition or court proceeding related to: 3
* * * 4
(2) a relief from abuse hearing pursuant to 15 V.S.A. § 1103, when the 5
employee seeks the order as a plaintiff; or 6
(3) a hearing concerning an order against stalking or sexual assault 7
pursuant to 12 V.S.A. § 5133, when the employee seeks the order as plaintiff; 8
or 9
(4) a relief from abuse, neglect, or exploitation hearing pursuant to 10
33 V.S.A. chapter 69, when the employee is the plaintiff. 11
* * * 12
Sec. 6. 21 V.S.A. § 475 is added to read: 13
§ 475. REPORTING REQUIREMENTS 14
(a) The Commissioner of Labor shall adopt rules requiring employers to 15
track and report on the usage rate of leave taken under this subchapter. The 16
reports shall be submitted to the Commissioner of Labor and shall include: 17
(1) aggregated data on leave usage rates by all employees, including 18
those in nontraditional family structures, LGBTQ+ families, and chosen family 19
relationships; and 20 BILL AS INTRODUCED H.33
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(2) data on barriers or challenges reported by employees attempting to 1
access leave under this subchapter. 2
(b) The Commissioner of Labor shall compile data from the reports 3
submitted by employers and use the information to identify structural barriers 4
to accessing leave under this subchapter and make recommendations to 5
improve access and reduce equity gaps. 6
Sec. 7. EFFECTIVE DATE 7
This act shall take effect on July 1, 2025. 8