Vermont 2025-2026 Regular Session

Vermont House Bill H0403 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	BILL AS INTRODUCED H.403
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6	6	H.403 1
7	7	Introduced by Representative Surprenant of Barnard 2
8	8	Referred to Committee on 3
9	9	Date: 4
10	10	Subject: Labor; agriculture; employment practices; minimum wages; 5
11	11	agricultural workers; farm employee housing 6
12	12	Statement of purpose of bill as introduced: This bill proposes to repeal the 7
13	13	exemption of agricultural workers from the applicability of the minimum wage 8
14	14	laws and to provide overtime pay for agricultural workers. This bill also 9
15	15	proposes to provide inspections to determine the adequacy of farm employee 10
16	16	housing and a mechanism to address violations of the Vermont Residential 11
17	17	Rental Housing Health and Safety Code. 12
18	18	An act relating to fair labor standards and housing standards for agricultural 13
19	19	workers 14
20	20	It is hereby enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Vermont: 15
21	21	Sec. 1. SHORT TITLE 16
22	22	This act may be cited as the “Agricultural Workers’ Fair Labor Standards 17
23	23	and Housing Act.” 18 BILL AS INTRODUCED H.403
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28	28	Sec. 2. 21 V.S.A. § 383 is amended to read: 1
29	29	§ 383. DEFINITIONS 2
30	30	As used in this subchapter: 3
31	31	(1) “Commissioner” means the Commissioner of Labor or designee. 4
32	32	(2) “Employee” means any individual employed or permitted to work by 5
33	33	an employer except: 6
34	34	(A) any individual employed in agriculture, provided the individual is 7
35	35	the agricultural employer’s parent, spouse, or child; 8
36	36	* * * 9
37	37	Sec. 3. 21 V.S.A. § 384 is amended to read: 10
38	38	§ 384. EMPLOYMENT; WAGES 11
39	39	(a)(1) Beginning on January 1, 2022, an employer shall not employ any 12
40	40	employee at a rate of less than $12.55, and on each subsequent January 1, the 13
41	41	minimum wage rate shall be increased by five percent or the percentage 14
42	42	increase of the Consumer Price Index, CPI-U, U.S. city average, not seasonally 15
43	43	adjusted, or successor index, as calculated by the U.S. Department of Labor or 16
44	44	successor agency for the 12 months preceding the previous September 1, 17
45	45	whichever is smaller, but in no event shall the minimum wage be decreased. 18
46	46	The minimum wage shall be rounded off to the nearest $0.01. 19
47	47	* * * 20 BILL AS INTRODUCED H.403
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52	52	(b) Notwithstanding subsection (a) of this section, an employer shall not 1
53	53	pay an employee less than one and one-half times the regular wage rate for any 2
54	54	work done by the employee in excess of 40 hours during a workweek. 3
55	55	However, this subsection shall not apply to: 4
56	56	* * * 5
57	57	(9) Any individual employed in agriculture, provided the employee 6
58	58	receives not less than one and one-half times the regular wage rate for any 7
59	59	work done by the employee in excess of 60 hours per week, effective January 8
60	60	1, 2026. This subdivision shall not apply if the individual is the agricultural 9
61	61	employer’s parent, spouse, or child. 10
62	62	* * * 11
63	63	Sec. 4. 6 V.S.A. chapter 213 is added to read: 12
64	64	CHAPTER 213. ADEQUACY OF FARM EMPLOYEE HOUSING 13
65	65	§ 4751. DEFINITIONS 14
66	66	As used in this chapter: 15
67	67	(1) “Farm” has the same meaning as in section 2.14 of the Required 16
68	68	Agricultural Practices. 17
69	69	(2) “Farm employee” means an individual employed by a farm 18
70	70	employer for farming. 19
71	71	(3) “Farm employee housing” means housing owned or controlled by a 20
72	72	farm employer, whether located on or off the farm premises and provided for 21 BILL AS INTRODUCED H.403
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77	77	the occupancy of the farm employee and the farm employee’s family or 1
78	78	household members. 2
79	79	(4) “Farm employer” means a person engaged in farming who is: 3
80	80	(A) required to obtain a large farm permit or medium farm permit 4
81	81	under chapter 215 of this title; or 5
82	82	(B) is subject to the Required Agricultural Practices under chapter 6
83	83	215 of this title and who earns at least one quarter of their annual gross income 7
84	84	from the business of farming. 8
85	85	(5) “Farming” has the same meaning as in section 2.16 of the Required 9
86	86	Agricultural Practices. 10
87	87	(6) “Secretary” means the Secretary of Agriculture, Food and Markets. 11
88	88	§ 4752. ADEQUACY OF FARM EMPLOYEE HOUSING; INSPECTION 12
89	89	(a) When the Secretary conducts a scheduled inspection of a farm under 13
90	90	chapter 215 of this title, the Secretary shall determine if farm employee 14
91	91	housing is in use on the farm and shall survey farm employees regarding the 15
92	92	adequacy, availability, and safety of the farm employee housing. 16
93	93	(b)(1) To facilitate the survey of the farm employee housing, the Secretary 17
94	94	shall provide farm employees with a form containing questions regarding the 18
95	95	farm employee housing. The form shall, at a minimum, include the following 19
96	96	questions: 20 BILL AS INTRODUCED H.403
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101	101	(A) Is the farm employee housing provided voluntarily or are you 1
102	102	required to reside in the farm employee housing as a condition of employment? 2
103	103	(B) Was the farm employee housing provided in clean working 3
104	104	order? 4
105	105	(C) Does the farm employer provide proper and timely maintenance, 5
106	106	without undue delay? 6
107	107	(D) Do you pay rent for the farm employee housing? 7
108	108	(E) If you pay rent, does the rent reduce your net wages below the 8
109	109	prevailing minimum wage? 9
110	110	(F) Does the farm employee housing provide sleeping areas with 10
111	111	doors or other ability to maintain privacy? 11
112	112	(G) Is the farm employee housing provided with adequate heat, 12
113	113	safety, ventilation, windows, or temperature control? 13
114	114	(2) If the Secretary knows prior to an inspection that farm employees 14
115	115	reside in farm employee housing on a farm, the Secretary shall make the form 15
116	116	required in subdivision (1) of this subsection available to the farm employees 16
117	117	prior to the inspection. 17
118	118	(3) The Secretary shall ensure that the form provided to farm employees 18
119	119	is accessible in multiple languages and shall provide interpretation or 19
120	120	translation services if necessary for a farm employee to complete the form. 20 BILL AS INTRODUCED H.403
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125	125	(c) If the Secretary determines that a farm employer has obstructed the 1
126	126	completion of a survey form under this section, the Secretary may assess an 2
127	127	administrative penalty against the farm employer under the Secretary’s 3
128	128	authority in chapter 1 of this title. 4
129	129	§ 4753. FILING WITH DIVISION OF FIRE SAFETY 5
130	130	(a) A copy of each form submitted by a farm employee to the Secretary 6
131	131	under this section shall be submitted to the Division of Fire Safety to inform 7
132	132	whether the Division should conduct an inspection of the farm employee 8
133	133	housing to determine whether or not it is safe for occupation. 9
134	134	(b) If the Division of Fire Safety conducts an inspection of farm employee 10
135	135	housing, the Division shall assess whether the farm employee housing satisfies 11
136	136	the requirements of the Vermont Residential Rental Housing Health and Safety 12
137	137	Code and shall conduct an inspection consistent with the requirements of 20 13
138	138	V.S.A. § 2677. 14
139	139	(c) If the Division of Fire Safety determines that the farm employee 15
140	140	housing is in violation of the Vermont Residential Rental Housing Health and 16
141	141	Safety Code, the Division shall provide the farm employer the opportunity to 17
142	142	comply with requirements and timelines in the inspection report. 18
143	143	(d) If a farm employer fails to comply with a Division of Fire Safety 19
144	144	requirement or timeline, the Division may impose an administrative penalty 20 BILL AS INTRODUCED H.403
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149	149	reasonably related to the severity of the violation, not to exceed $1,000.00 per 1
150	150	violation. 2
151	151	Sec. 5. EFFECTIVE DATE 3
152	152	This act shall take effect on July 1, 2025. 4