Vermont 2025-2026 Regular Session

Vermont Senate Bill S0090 Compare Versions

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

Old	New	Differences
1	1	BILL AS INTRODUCED S.90
2	2	2025 Page 1 of 8
3	3
4	4
5	5	VT LEG #379374 v.1
6	6	S.90 1
7	7	Introduced by Senator Vyhovsky 2
8	8	Referred to Committee on 3
9	9	Date: 4
10	10	Subject: Labor; employment practices; criminal history checks; credit checks; 5
11	11	drug testing 6
12	12	Statement of purpose of bill as introduced: This bill proposes to prohibit 7
13	13	employers from conducting criminal history checks, credit checks, and drug 8
14	14	testing in relation to employees and prospective employees unless there is a 9
15	15	direct relationship between the information sought and the employee or 10
16	16	prospective employee’s job. 11
17	17	An act relating to employee privacy protections 12
18	18	It is hereby enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Vermont: 13
19	19	Sec. 1. 21 V.S.A. § 495i is amended to read: 14
20	20	§ 495i. EMPLOYMENT BASED ON CREDIT INFORMATION; 15
21	21	PROHIBITIONS 16
22	22	* * * 17
23	23	(b) An employer shall not: 18
24	24	(1) fail or refuse to hire or recruit, discharge, or otherwise discriminate 19
25	25	against an individual with respect to employment; compensation; or a term, 20 BILL AS INTRODUCED S.90
26	26	2025 Page 2 of 8
27	27
28	28
29	29	VT LEG #379374 v.1
30	30	condition, or privilege of employment because of the individual’s credit report 1
31	31	or credit history; or 2
32	32	(2) inquire about an applicant’s or employee’s credit report or credit 3
33	33	history. 4
34	34	(c)(1) An employer is exempt from the provisions of subsection (b) of this 5
35	35	section if one or more of the following conditions are met: 6
36	36	(A) The information is required by State or federal law or regulation. 7
37	37	(B) The position of employment involves access to confidential 8
38	38	financial information. 9
39	39	(C) The employer is a financial institution as defined in 8 V.S.A. 10
40	40	§ 11101(32) or a credit union as defined in 8 V.S.A. § 30101(5) and the 11
41	41	employer can demonstrate that the information has a direct relationship to the 12
42	42	job duties of the specific position of employment. 13
43	43	(D) The position of employment is that of a law enforcement officer 14
44	44	as defined in 20 V.S.A. § 2351a, emergency medical personnel as defined in 15
45	45	24 V.S.A. § 2651(6), or a firefighter as defined in 20 V.S.A. § 3151(3). 16
46	46	(E) The position of employment requires a financial fiduciary 17
47	47	responsibility to the employer or a client of the employer, including the 18
48	48	authority to issue payments, collect debts, transfer money, or enter into 19
49	49	contracts. 20 BILL AS INTRODUCED S.90
50	50	2025 Page 3 of 8
51	51
52	52
53	53	VT LEG #379374 v.1
54	54	(F) The employer can demonstrate that the information is a valid and 1
55	55	reliable predictor of employee performance in the specific position of 2
56	56	employment and has a direct relationship to the job duties of the specific 3
57	57	position of employment. 4
58	58	(G) The position of employment involves access to an employer’s 5
59	59	payroll information and the employer can demonstrate that the information has 6
60	60	a direct relationship to the job duties of the specific position of employment. 7
61	61	(2) An employer that is exempt from the provisions of subsection (b) of 8
62	62	this section may not use an employee’s or applicant’s credit report or history as 9
63	63	the sole factor in decisions regarding employment; compensation; or a term, 10
64	64	condition, or privilege of employment. 11
65	65	* * * 12
66	66	(e) An employer shall not discharge or in any other manner discriminate 13
67	67	against an employee or applicant who has filed a complaint of unlawful 14
68	68	employment practices in violation of this section or who has cooperated with 15
69	69	the Attorney General or a State’s Attorney in an investigation of such practices 16
70	70	or who is about to lodge a complaint or cooperate in an investigation or 17
71	71	because the employer believes that the employee or applicant may lodge a 18
72	72	complaint or cooperate in an investigation The provisions against retaliation in 19
73	73	subdivision 495(a)(8) of this subchapter shall apply to this section. 20
74	74	* * * 21 BILL AS INTRODUCED S.90
75	75	2025 Page 4 of 8
76	76
77	77
78	78	VT LEG #379374 v.1
79	79	Sec. 2. 21 V.S.A. § 495j is amended to read: 1
80	80	§ 495j. CRIMINAL HISTORY RECORDS; EMPLOYMENT 2
81	81	APPLICATIONS 3
82	82	(a) Except as provided in subsection (b) of this section, an employer shall 4
83	83	not request criminal history record information on its initial employee 5
84	84	application form nor inquire about an applicant’s criminal history during a job 6
85	85	interview. An employer may only inquire about a prospective employee’s 7
86	86	criminal history record during an interview or convictions or recent arrests that 8
87	87	have not yet been judicially adjudicated under this subsection once the 9
88	88	prospective employee has been deemed otherwise qualified for the position 10
89	89	receives a conditional offer of employment and the inquiry has a direct 11
90	90	relationship to the job duties of the specific position. If the information 12
91	91	provided has a direct relationship to the job duties of the specific position, the 13
92	92	employer may withdraw the conditional offer of employment. In considering 14
93	93	whether the provided information has a direct relationship to the job duties of 15
94	94	the specific position, the employer shall consider: 16
95	95	(1) the job duties of the specific position; 17
96	96	(2) the nature and gravity of the offense; 18
97	97	(3) the passage of time since the offense occurred or the prospective 19
98	98	employee completed a prison sentence; 20 BILL AS INTRODUCED S.90
99	99	2025 Page 5 of 8
100	100
101	101
102	102	VT LEG #379374 v.1
103	103	(4) the age of the prospective employee at the time the offense occurred; 1
104	104	and 2
105	105	(5) the legitimate interest of the employer in protecting the property and 3
106	106	safety and welfare of specific individuals or the general public. 4
107	107	(b)(1) An employer may inquire about criminal convictions on an initial 5
108	108	employee application form if the following conditions are met: 6
109	109	(A)(i) the prospective employee is applying for a position for which 7
110	110	any federal or State law or regulation creates a mandatory or presumptive 8
111	111	disqualification based on a conviction for one or more types of criminal 9
112	112	offenses; or 10
113	113	(ii) the employer or an affiliate of the employer is subject to an 11
114	114	obligation imposed by any federal or State law or regulation not to employ an 12
115	115	individual, in either one or more positions, who has been convicted of one or 13
116	116	more types of criminal offenses; and 14
117	117	(B) the questions on the application form are limited to the types of 15
118	118	criminal offenses creating the disqualification or obligation. 16
119	119	* * * 17
120	120	(c) If an employer inquires about a prospective employee’s criminal history 18
121	121	record information, the prospective employee, if still eligible for the position 19
122	122	under applicable federal or State law, must be afforded an opportunity to 20 BILL AS INTRODUCED S.90
123	123	2025 Page 6 of 8
124	124
125	125
126	126	VT LEG #379374 v.1
127	127	explain the information and the circumstances regarding any convictions, 1
128	128	including postconviction rehabilitation. 2
129	129	(d) An employer who violates the provisions of this section shall be 3
130	130	assessed a civil penalty of up to $100.00 $1,000.00 for each violation. 4
131	131	(e) As used in this section: 5
132	132	(1) “Criminal history record” has the same meaning as set forth in 20 6
133	133	V.S.A. § 2056a. [Repealed.] 7
134	134	(2) “Employee” has the same meaning as set forth in section 495d of 8
135	135	this chapter. 9
136	136	(3) “Employer” has the same meaning as set forth in section 495d of this 10
137	137	chapter. 11
138	138	Sec. 3. 21 V.S.A. § 512 is amended to read: 12
139	139	§ 512. DRUG TESTING OF APPLICANTS; PROHIBITIONS; 13
140	140	EXCEPTIONS 14
141	141	* * * 15
142	142	(b) Exception. An employer may require an applicant for employment to 16
143	143	submit to a drug test only if all of the following conditions are met: 17
144	144	(1) Conditional offer of employment. The applicant has been given an 18
145	145	offer of employment conditioned on the applicant receiving a negative test 19
146	146	result. 20 BILL AS INTRODUCED S.90
147	147	2025 Page 7 of 8
148	148
149	149
150	150	VT LEG #379374 v.1
151	151	(2) Notice. The applicant received written notice of the drug testing 1
152	152	procedure and a list of the drugs to be tested. The notice shall also state that a 2
153	153	positive test for therapeutic levels of medically prescribed drugs tested, 3
154	154	including cannabis for symptom relief, will not be reported. The notice 4
155	155	required under this subdivision may shall not be waived by the applicant. 5
156	156	(3) Administration. The drug test is administered in accordance with 6
157	157	section 514 of this title. 7
158	158	(4) Relationship to job duties. Information relating to the applicant’s 8
159	159	possible use of drugs has a direct relationship to the applicant’s ability to 9
160	160	perform the job duties of the specific position that has been offered. 10
161	161	Sec. 4. 21 V.S.A. § 513 is amended to read: 11
162	162	§ 513. DRUG TESTING OF EMPLOYEES; PROHIBITIONS; 12
163	163	EXCEPTIONS 13
164	164	* * * 14
165	165	(c) Exception. Notwithstanding the prohibition in subsection (a) of this 15
166	166	section, an employer may require an individual employee to submit to a drug 16
167	167	test if all the following conditions are met: 17
168	168	(1) Probable cause. The employer or an agent of the employer has 18
169	169	probable cause to believe the employee is using or is under the influence of a 19
170	170	drug on the job. 20 BILL AS INTRODUCED S.90
171	171	2025 Page 8 of 8
172	172
173	173
174	174	VT LEG #379374 v.1
175	175	(2) Employee assistance program. The employer has available for the 1
176	176	employee tested a bona fide rehabilitation program for alcohol or drug abuse 2
177	177	and such program is provided by the employer or is available to the extent 3
178	178	provided by a policy of health insurance or under contract by a nonprofit 4
179	179	hospital service corporation. 5
180	180	(3) Employee may not be terminated. The employee may shall not be 6
181	181	terminated if the test result is positive and the employee agrees to participate in 7
182	182	and then successfully completes the employee assistance program; however, 8
183	183	the employee may be suspended only for the period of time necessary to 9
184	184	complete the program, but in no event longer than three months. The 10
185	185	employee may be terminated if, after completion of an employee assistance 11
186	186	program, the employer subsequently administers a drug test in compliance with 12
187	187	subdivisions (1) and, (4), and (5) of this subsection and the test result is 13
188	188	positive. 14
189	189	(4) Administration of test. The drug test is administered in accordance 15
190	190	with section 514 of this title. 16
191	191	(5) Relationship to job duties. Information relating to whether the 17
192	192	employee is using or is under the influence of a drug on the job has a direct 18
193	193	relationship to the employee’s ability to perform the employee’s job duties. 19
194	194	Sec. 5. EFFECTIVE DATE 20
195	195	This act shall take effect on July 1, 2025. 21