BILL AS INTRODUCED H.344
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VT LEG #379817 v.1
H.344 1
Introduced by Representatives Logan of Burlington, Bos-Lun of Westminster, 2
Casey of Montpelier, Cina of Burlington, Cordes of Bristol, 3
Headrick of Burlington, Hooper of Burlington, McCann of 4
Montpelier, McGill of Bridport, Priestley of Bradford, and 5
Tomlinson of Winooski 6
Referred to Committee on 7
Date: 8
Subject: Labor; employment practices; good cause termination of employment 9
Statement of purpose of bill as introduced: This bill proposes to establish a 10
good cause standard for termination of employment. 11
An act relating to creating a good cause standard for termination of 12
employment 13
It is hereby enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Vermont: 14
Sec. 1. 21 V.S.A § 495 is amended to read: 15
§ 495. UNLAWFUL EMPLOYMENT PRACTICE 16
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(b)(1) It shall be an unlawful employment practice for an employer to 18
discharge an employee for other than good cause shown. As used in this 19
subdivision, “good cause” means either a reasonable, good-faith reason for 20 BILL AS INTRODUCED H.344
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VT LEG #379817 v.1
discharge related to a legitimate business reason or that the employee has been 1
employed by the employer for fewer than 90 days. “Good cause” does not 2
include reasons for discharge that are trivial, arbitrary, capricious, or otherwise 3
unrelated to a legitimate business reason. A “legitimate business reason” 4
includes the employee’s failure to satisfactorily perform job duties. 5
(2) The provisions of this section shall not be construed to limit: 6
(A) the rights of employers to discharge employees for good cause 7
shown; or 8
(B) any other rights of employees provided pursuant to law or in a 9
contract or collective bargaining agreement. 10
(3) An employer shall post notice of the provisions of this subsection in 11
a form provided by the Commissioner in a place conspicuous to employees at 12
the employer’s place of business. 13
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Sec. 2. EFFECTIVE DATE 15
This act shall take effect on July 1, 2025. 16