Vermont 2025-2026 Regular Session

Vermont Senate Bill S0037 Latest Draft

Bill / Introduced Version Filed 01/29/2025

                            BILL AS INTRODUCED 	S.37 
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S.37 1 
Introduced by Senators Clarkson, Ram Hinsdale and White 2 
Referred to Committee on  3 
Date:  4 
Subject: Labor; unemployment compensation; eligibility; employment; partial 5 
unemployment benefits  6 
Statement of purpose of bill as introduced:  This bill proposes to provide that 7 
wages earned for work that would not qualify an individual to receive 8 
unemployment insurance benefits shall not be counted when determining an 9 
individual’s weekly unemployment insurance benefit amount, and to make 10 
individuals who work for an educational institution in any capacity other than 11 
an instructional, research, or principal administrative capacity eligible for 12 
unemployment insurance between academic terms. 13 
An act relating to unemployment insurance eligibility and benefits 14 
Sec. 1.  21 V.S.A. § 1338a is amended to read: 15 
§ 1338a.  DISREGARDED EARNINGS 16 
(a)  An individual shall be deemed “partially unemployed” in any week of 17 
less than full-time work if the wages earned by the individual with respect to 18 
such the week are less than the weekly benefit amount the individual would be 19 
entitled to receive if totally unemployed and eligible.  As used in For purposes 20  BILL AS INTRODUCED 	S.37 
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of this section, “wages” in any one week includes only that amount of 1 
remuneration earned by the individual in employment, rounded to the nearest 2 
dollar that is in excess of 50 percent of the individual’s weekly wage wages in 3 
employment. 4 
* * * 5 
Sec. 2.  21 V.S.A. § 1343 is amended to read: 6 
§ 1343.  CONDITIONS 7 
* * * 8 
(c)  Benefits are payable on the basis of service in employment as defined in 9 
subdivisions 1301(6)(A)(ix) and (x) of this subchapter, in the same amount, on 10 
the same terms, and subject to the same conditions as benefits payable on the 11 
basis of other service subject to this chapter, except that: 12 
(1)  With respect to services performed in an instructional, research, or 13 
principal administrative capacity for an educational institution, benefits shall 14 
not be payable on the basis of such the services for any week of unemployment 15 
commencing during the period between two successive academic years or 16 
terms (or, when an agreement provides instead for a similar period between 17 
two regular but not successive terms, during such period) or during a period of 18 
paid sabbatical leave provided for in the individual’s contract, to any 19 
individual if the individual performs such the services in the first of the 20 
academic years or terms and if there is a contract or reasonable assurance that 21  BILL AS INTRODUCED 	S.37 
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the individual will perform services in any such capacity for any educational 1 
institution in the second of the academic years or terms. 2 
(2)  With respect to services performed in any other capacity for an 3 
educational institution, benefits shall not be payable on the basis of such 4 
services to any individual for any week of unemployment that commences 5 
during a period between two successive academic years or terms if the 6 
individual performs such services in the first of the academic years or terms 7 
and there is a reasonable assurance that the individual will perform such 8 
services for any educational institution in the second of the academic years or 9 
terms, except that if benefits are denied to any individual under this 10 
subdivision and the individual was not offered an opportunity to perform such 11 
services for the educational institution for the second of the academic years or 12 
terms, the individual shall be entitled to a retroactive payment of the benefits 13 
for each week for which the individual filed a timely claim for benefits and for 14 
which benefits were denied solely by reason of this subdivision. [Repealed.] 15 
(3)  With respect to any services described in subdivision (1) or (2) of 16 
this subsection, benefits shall not be payable on the basis of services in any 17 
such capacities to any individual for any week that commences during an 18 
established and customary vacation period or holiday recess if the individual 19 
performs such the services in the period immediately before the vacation 20 
period or holiday recess, and there is a reasonable assurance that the individual 21  BILL AS INTRODUCED 	S.37 
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will perform such the services in the period immediately following the 1 
vacation period or holiday recess. 2 
(4)  With respect to any services described in subdivision (1) or (2) of 3 
this subsection, benefits shall not be payable on the basis of services in any 4 
such capacities as specified in subdivisions (1), (2), and (3) of this subsection 5 
to any individual who performed such the services in an educational institution 6 
while in the employ of an educational service agency.  As used in this 7 
subdivision, the term “educational service agency” means a governmental 8 
agency or governmental entity that is established and operated exclusively for 9 
the purpose of providing such services to one or more educational institutions. 10 
* * * 11 
Sec. 3.  EFFECTIVE DATE 12 
This act shall take effect on passage. 13