BILL AS INTRODUCED H.174
2025 Page 1 of 11
VT LEG #379953 v.1
H.174 1
Introduced by Representatives Casey of Montpelier and Headrick of 2
Burlington 3
Referred to Committee on 4
Date: 5
Subject: Executive; State Employees Labor Relations Act; Labor Relations 6
Board; grievances, unfair labor practices 7
Statement of purpose of bill as introduced: This bill proposes to remove 8
grievances from the Labor Relations Board workload and to require that the 9
final step in the grievance process be binding arbitration. This bill also 10
proposes to set deadlines for the handling of unfair labor practices before the 11
Labor Relations Board. 12
An act relating to the Vermont Labor Relations Board 13
It is hereby enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Vermont: 14
* * * Binding Arbitration * * * 15
Sec. 1. 3 V.S.A. § 904 is amended to read: 16
§ 904. SUBJECTS FOR BARGAINING 17
(a) All matters relating to the relationship between the employer and 18
employees shall be the subject of collective bargaining except those matters 19
that are prescribed or controlled by statute. The matters appropriate for 20 BILL AS INTRODUCED H.174
2025 Page 2 of 11
VT LEG #379953 v.1
collective bargaining to the extent they are not prescribed or controlled by 1
statute include: 2
(1) wages, salaries, benefits, and reimbursement practices relating to 3
necessary expenses and the limits of reimbursable expenses; 4
(2) minimum hours per week; 5
(3) working conditions; 6
(4) overtime compensation and related matters; 7
(5) leave compensation and related matters; 8
(6) reduction-in-force procedures; 9
(7) grievance procedures, including whether an appeal to the Vermont 10
Labor Relations Board or binding arbitration, or both, will constitute the final 11
step in a grievance procedure; 12
* * * 13
Sec. 2. 3 V.S.A. § 926 is amended to read: 14
§ 926. GRIEVANCES 15
(a) The Board shall hear and make a final determination on the grievances 16
of all employees who are eligible to appeal grievances to the Board. Grievance 17
hearings at the Board level shall be conducted in accordance with the rules and 18
regulations adopted by the Board. The right to institute grievance proceedings 19
extends to individual employees, groups of employees, and collective 20
bargaining units. 21 BILL AS INTRODUCED H.174
2025 Page 3 of 11
VT LEG #379953 v.1
(b) A collective bargaining agreement may provide for binding Binding 1
arbitration as a shall be the final step of a grievance procedure, rather than a 2
hearing by the Board. An agreement that includes a binding arbitration 3
provision Collective bargaining agreements shall also include the procedure 4
for selecting an arbitrator. 5
(c) If a collective Collective bargaining agreement provides for binding 6
arbitration as a final step of a grievance procedure, the agreement agreements 7
may also establish: 8
(1) procedural rules for conducting grievance arbitration proceedings; 9
(2) whether grievance arbitration proceedings will be confidential; and 10
(3) whether arbitrated grievance determinations will have precedential 11
value. 12
(d) An arbitrator chosen or appointed under this section shall have no 13
authority to add to, subtract from, or modify the collective bargaining 14
agreement. 15
(e) Any collective Collective bargaining agreement that contains a binding 16
arbitration provision pursuant to this section agreements shall include an 17
acknowledgement of arbitration that provides substantially the following: 18
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF ARBITRATION 19
(The parties) understand that this agreement contains a provision for binding 20
arbitration as a final step of the grievance process. After the effective date of 21 BILL AS INTRODUCED H.174
2025 Page 4 of 11
VT LEG #379953 v.1
this agreement, no grievance, submitted to binding arbitration, may be brought 1
to the Vermont Labor Relations Board. An employee who has declined 2
representation by the employee organization or whom the employee 3
organization has declined to represent or is unable to represent, shall be 4
entitled, either by representing himself or herself or with the assistance of 5
independent legal counsel, to appeal his or her grievance to the Vermont Labor 6
Relations Board as the final step of the grievance process in accordance with 7
the rules and regulations adopted by the Board. 8
(f) This section shall not apply to labor interest arbitration, which as used in 9
this chapter means the method of concluding labor negotiations by means of a 10
disinterested person to determine the terms of a labor agreement. 11
(g) A party may apply to the arbitrator for a modification of an award if the 12
application is made within 30 days after delivery of a copy of the award to the 13
applicant. An arbitrator may modify an award only if the arbitrator finds any 14
one of the following: 15
(1) There was an evident miscalculation of figures or an evident mistake 16
in the description of any person, thing, or property referred to in the award. 17
(2) The award was based on a matter not submitted to the arbitrator, and 18
the award may be corrected without affecting the merits of the decision on the 19
issues submitted. 20 BILL AS INTRODUCED H.174
2025 Page 5 of 11
VT LEG #379953 v.1
(3) The award was imperfect in form and the award may be corrected 1
without affecting the merits of the controversy. 2
(h) A party may apply to the Civil Division of the Superior Court for 3
review of the award provided the application is made within 30 days after 4
delivery of a copy of the award to the applicant or, in the case of a claim of 5
corruption, fraud, or other undue means, the application is made within 30 days 6
after those grounds are known or should have been known. The Civil Division 7
of the Superior Court shall vacate an arbitration award based on any of the 8
following: 9
(1) The award was procured by corruption, fraud, or other undue means. 10
(2) There was partiality or prejudicial misconduct by the arbitrator. 11
(3) The arbitrator exceeded his or her the arbitrator’s power or rendered 12
an award requiring a person to commit an act or engage in conduct prohibited 13
by law. 14
(i) The Board shall hear and make a final determination on the The 15
grievances of all retired individual employees of the University of Vermont, 16
groups of such retired individuals, and retired collective bargaining unit 17
members of the University of Vermont shall be submitted to binding 18
arbitration for a final determination. Grievances shall be limited to those 19
relating to compensation and benefits that were accrued during active 20
employment but are received after retirement. As used in this subsection, 21 BILL AS INTRODUCED H.174
2025 Page 6 of 11
VT LEG #379953 v.1
“grievance” means an allegation of a violation of a collective bargaining 1
agreement, employee handbook provision, early retirement plan, individual 2
separation agreement or other documented agreement, or rule or regulation of 3
the University of Vermont. 4
Sec. 3. 3 V.S.A. § 928 is amended to read: 5
§ 928. RULES 6
(a) The Board, as necessary to carry out the provisions of this chapter, shall 7
adopt and may amend and rescind rules consistent with this chapter. 8
(b) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (a) of this section, rules 9
adopted by the Board as they relate to grievance appeals shall provide: 10
(1) If a collective bargaining agreement provides that an appeal to the 11
Board will constitute the final step in the grievance procedure, all employees 12
and other persons authorized by this chapter shall have the right to appeal to 13
the Board in accordance with the rules of the Board. 14
(2) That a reasonable notice be given to the State agency or officer, and 15
State employee, and the representative concerned and to the Commissioner of 16
Human Resources. 17
(3) That all hearings of the Board shall be public and, unless both parties 18
concerned request that it be formal, hearings shall be informal and not subject 19
to the rules of pleadings, procedure, and evidence of the courts of the State. 20 BILL AS INTRODUCED H.174
2025 Page 7 of 11
VT LEG #379953 v.1
(4) That all parties in interest to any appeal shall be entitled to be heard 1
on any matter at issue. 2
(5) That in appeals from the decisions of the Department of Human 3
Resources or any State agency or officer, the State agency and officer and the 4
State employee shall be parties in interest, and the Commissioner of Human 5
Resources or the collective bargaining representative on motion, may intervene 6
as a party in interest. 7
(6) That the parties at interest shall have the right to present witnesses, 8
give evidence, and examine witnesses before the Board. 9
(7)(A)(i) That the name of any grievant whom the Board exonerates of 10
misconduct for which he or she was disciplined shall be redacted from the 11
version of the Board’s decision that is posted on the Board’s website. 12
(ii) Nothing in this subdivision (7)(A) shall be construed to require 13
the Board to redact the name of the grievant from any other version of the 14
Board’s decision or from any other documents related to the grievance. 15
(B) Nothing in this subdivision (7) shall be construed to modify an 16
individual’s right to privacy pursuant to any law, rule, or policy. 17 BILL AS INTRODUCED H.174
2025 Page 8 of 11
VT LEG #379953 v.1
Sec. 4. 3 V.S.A. § 941 is amended to read: 1
§ 941. UNIT DETERMINATION, CERTIFICATION, AND 2
REPRESENTATION 3
* * * 4
(i) The Board, by rule, shall prescribe a uniform procedure for the 5
resolution of employee grievances submitted through the collective bargaining 6
machinery. If the collective bargaining agreement does not provide that 7
binding arbitration will be the final step of the negotiated grievance procedure 8
pursuant to section 926 of this chapter, the final step of the negotiated 9
grievance procedure, if required, shall be a hearing and final determination by 10
the Board. Grievance hearings conducted by the Board shall be informal and 11
not subject to the rules of pleading procedure, and evidence of the courts of the 12
State. Any employee or group of employees included in a duly certified 13
bargaining unit may be represented before the Board by its bargaining 14
representative’s counsel or designated executive staff employees or by any 15
individual the Board may permit at its discretion. [Repealed.] 16
* * * 17
Sec. 5. 3 V.S.A. § 1001 is amended to read: 18
§ 1001. GRIEVANCES; APPLICANTS AND EXCLUDED PERSONNEL 19
* * * 20 BILL AS INTRODUCED H.174
2025 Page 9 of 11
VT LEG #379953 v.1
(c) Any dispute concerning the amount of a collective bargaining service 1
fee may be grieved as set forth in the collective bargaining agreement through 2
either an appeal to the Vermont Labor Relations Board in accordance with the 3
Board’s rules concerning grievances, or through binding arbitration. 4
* * * Unfair Labor Practices * * * 5
Sec. 6. 3 V.S.A. § 965 is amended to read: 6
§ 965. PREVENTION OF UNFAIR PRACTICES 7
(a) The Board may prevent any person from engaging in any unfair labor 8
practice listed in sections 961–962 of this title. Whenever a charge is made 9
that any person has engaged in or is engaging in any unfair labor practice, the 10
Board may issue and cause to be served upon that person a complaint stating 11
the charges in that respect and containing a notice of hearing before the Board 12
at a place and time therein fixed at least seven business days after the 13
complaint is served. The Board may amend the complaint at any time before it 14
issues an order based thereon on the complaint. No complaint shall issue 15
based on any unfair labor practice occurring more than six months prior to the 16
filing of the charge with the Board and the service of a copy thereof of the 17
charge upon the person against whom such charge is made, unless the person 18
aggrieved thereby individual filing the charge was prevented from filing the 19
charge doing so by reason of service in the U.S. Armed Forces, in which event 20 BILL AS INTRODUCED H.174
2025 Page 10 of 11
VT LEG #379953 v.1
the six-month period shall be computed from the day of his or her the 1
individual’s discharge. 2
(b) The person complained of shall have the right to file an answer to the 3
original or amended complaint and appear in person or otherwise and present 4
evidence in connection therewith with the complaint at the time and place 5
fixed in the complaint by the Board. In the discretion of the Board, any other 6
person may be permitted to intervene and present evidence in the matter. Any 7
proceeding under this section shall, so far as practicable, be conducted in 8
accordance with Rules of Evidence used in the courts. The Board shall 9
provide for the making of a transcript of the testimony presented at the hearing. 10
* * * 11
(f) No order of the Board shall require the reinstatement of any individual 12
as an employee who has been suspended or discharged or the payment to him 13
or her the individual of any back pay, if such the individual was suspended or 14
discharged for cause, except through the grievance procedures. 15
(g) The following timelines shall apply to charges brought under this 16
section: 17
(1) The party against whom an unfair labor practice charge is filed shall 18
file the answer not later than 14 days after receipt of service of the complaint. 19
(2) The Board shall hold a hearing on the unfair labor practice charge 20
not later than 90 days after the date upon which the answer is filed, absent 21 BILL AS INTRODUCED H.174
2025 Page 11 of 11
VT LEG #379953 v.1
extenuating circumstances. If extenuating circumstances require additional 1
time before a hearing is held, the Board shall promptly notify the parties of the 2
reason for the extension and set a new date and time for the hearing. 3
(3) Post-hearing briefs, if any, shall be filed not later than 14 days after 4
the hearing. 5
(4) The Board shall issue its decision on the unfair labor practice charge 6
not later than 30 days after the hearing or after receipt of the parties’ post-7
hearing briefs, whichever is later. 8
* * * Effective Date * * * 9
Sec. 7. EFFECTIVE DATE 10
This act shall take effect on July 1, 2025. 11