The following are bills recently introduced that might be of interest to Vermont employers. Text and other information about a bill’s status are available by clicking on the linked bill number. Note that official statements of purpose might not fully reflect the purpose or effect of the bill. If “SHORT FORM” is noted, the text of the bill is still pending. If you have any questions about the bills listed below, please contact us at info@aivt.org. If you are interested in other legislation introduced during this Legislature or during past sessions, you can click here.
House Bills
H.420: This bill proposes to establish a tax increment financing project development program, administered by the Vermont Economic Progress Council, to authorize municipalities in flood impacted communities to use statewide education property tax and municipal property tax increment to pay for improvements.
H.417: This bill proposes to prohibit the use of certain artificial dyes in competitive food and food and beverages served as part of a school district or an approved independent school’s food programs.
H.412: This bill proposes to make multiple changes related to housing, including changes to land use planning, Act 250, municipal and regional planning, housing programs, and tax increment financing.
H.403: This bill proposes to repeal the exemption of agricultural workers from the applicability of the minimum wage laws and to provide overtime pay for agricultural workers. This bill also proposes to provide inspections to determine the adequacy of farm employee housing and a mechanism to address violations of the Vermont Residential Rental Housing Health and Safety Code.
H.401: This bill proposes to exempt a food manufacturing establishment with gross annual receipts of less than $30,000.00 from licensing fees. It further proposes to exempt from licensing requirements an individual manufacturing and selling bakery products from the individual’s own home kitchen where the individual has gross annual receipts of less than $30,000.00.
H.398: This bill proposes to amend certain provisions governing the Vermont Economic Development Authority.
H.391: This bill proposes to require that businesses disclose the amount of revenue they earn on transactions involving personally identifiable information.
H.390: This bill proposes to restrict certain digital advertisers from being able to own both a buying and selling digital advertisement brokerage and to require certain digital advertisers to adhere to ethical business practices, including the use of reasonable diligence in avoiding conflicts of interest and acting in the best interests of its customers.
H.374: This bill proposes to repeal the Commissioner of Labor’s authority to recommend a subminimum wage for individuals with a disability.
H.356: This bill proposes to establish the Unemployment Compensation Benefit Modernization Advisory Committee for the purpose of advising the Department of Labor regarding the implementation and deployment of technological upgrades to the delivery system for unemployment compensation benefits.
H.354: This bill proposes to direct the Public Utility Commission to establish a thermal efficiency benefits charge.
H.353: This bill proposes to incorporate economic equity and beneficial electrification into the State energy policy.
H.348: This bill proposes to create an Extreme Temperature Worker Protection Act to protect workers exposed to extreme heat or cold in the workplace from occupational illnesses, injuries, and death by requiring employers to create a plan to evaluate and control temperature-related hazards in the workplace.
H.347: This bill proposes to increase the minimum wage to $20.00 per hour, to repeal the exemption of agricultural workers from the applicability of the minimum wage laws, and to phase in overtime pay for agricultural workers. This bill also proposes to eliminate the tipped minimum wage. This bill also proposes to set a minimum salary that an employee must earn to qualify as an executive, administrative, or professional employee for purposes of being exempt from the minimum wage and overtime laws. This bill also proposes to remove the authority of the Commissioner of Labor to recommend a subminimum wage for individuals with disabilities. This bill also proposes to remove the prospective repeal, effective July 1, 2026, of the Attorney General’s authority to investigate and enforce complaints of employee misclassification.
H.345: This bill proposes to prohibit the sale, offer for sale, or distribution into the commerce of the State of any glitter containing intentionally added synthetic polymer microparticles.
H.344: This bill proposes to establish a good cause standard for termination of employment.
H.338: This bill proposes to allow striking workers to receive unemployment compensation.
H.337: This bill proposes to require the Commissioner of Labor to make public enforcement actions taken against employers for violations of wage and hour, prevailing wage, and child labor laws.
H.336: This bill proposes to enhance enforcement of employment laws by permitting employees, representative organizations, and whistleblowers to bring civil actions on behalf of the Commissioner of Labor to enforce certain provisions of Title 21 of the Vermont Statutes Annotated.
H.335: This bill proposes to require employers and subcontractors working on State construction projects to maintain accurate payroll records, to preserve the records for three years, and to open the records for inspection by the Commissioner of Labor or the Attorney General. This bill also proposes that the payroll records be subject to public inspection and copying under the Vermont Public Records Act.
H.334: This bill proposes to restrict the use of noncompete agreements that prohibit individuals from competing with their former employers. This bill also proposes to restrict the use of “stay-or-pay” provisions that require employees to repay certain costs to an employer when separating from employment.
H.333: This bill proposes to provide collective bargaining rights to agricultural workers.
H.332: This bill proposes to create the Small Business Technical Assistance Exchange, which would provide grants and professional and technical assistance to certain businesses in Vermont.
H.319: This bill proposes to amend multiple environmental subjects. The bill would extend by a year the date by which an assessment of the end-of-life management of certain battery types shall be conducted and requires the battery stewardship organization in the State to complete the assessment instead of the Agency of Natural Resources. The bill also clarifies when a fuel dealer can deliver to a category one tank that does not have a valid permit or otherwise may result in a release to the environment. The bill would provide that information submitted to the Department of Environmental Conservation under the Healthy Homes Initiative shall be considered confidential. In addition, the bill would extend multiple deadline dates for reporting or rulemaking for specific flood safety, river corridor, wetlands, and dam programs.
H.306: This bill proposes to prohibit deed restrictions or covenants on property zoned for commercial or industrial uses if the restriction or covenant prohibits or has the effect of prohibiting use of the property for commercial or industrial purposes.
H.295: This bill proposes to require employers to pay out unused accrued vacation leave upon an employee’s separation from employment.
H.289: This bill proposes to change the Renewable Energy Standard to the Clean Energy Standard. It would also provide funding for electric vehicle incentives. It would also make multiple amendments to the Global Warming Solutions Act.
H.263: This bill proposes to establish a right for employees to disconnect from communications from employers during nonworking hours.
H.262: This bill proposes to restrict the use of electronic monitoring of employees and the use of automated decision systems for employment-related decisions.
H.261: This bill proposes to establish a 32 hour workweek by requiring employers to pay overtime for hours worked in excess of 32 and making corresponding amendments to other employment statutes.
H.260: This bill proposes to prohibit the 10 manufacture, sale, delivery, or distribution in commerce of food containing 11 brominated vegetable oil, potassium bromate, propylparaben, or red dye no. 3.
H.253: This bill proposes to enact housing policy that advances Vermont’s housing and climate goals, while reducing costs and growing the economy, by (1) establishing a revolving fund at the Vermont Housing Finance Agency (VHFA) that incentivizes development of low cost, climate- and labor-friendly modular housing, (2) creating a new Act 250 designation called workforce housing zones, and (3) prioritizing water and wastewater systems within the newly designated workforce housing zones.
H.250: This bill proposes to require a written notice regarding the presence of perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances in firefighting station wear sold by a manufacturer or other person in the State effective July 1, 2026. It further proposes to prohibit the sale and distribution in the State of personal protective equipment and firefighting station wear containing perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances effective July 1, 2028.
H.238: This bill proposes to phase out and ultimately prohibit the manufacture, sale, or distribution for sale of consumer products containing added perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). The bill would authorize both the Secretary of Natural Resources and the Attorney General to enforce the requirements for consumer products containing PFAS, with the Attorney General enforcing under consumer protection laws. In addition, a consumer harmed by a consumer product containing PFAS would be authorized to bring a consumer protection action for damages.
H.235: This bill proposes to provide that wages earned for work that would not qualify an individual to receive unemployment insurance benefits shall not be counted when determining an individual’s weekly unemployment insurance benefit amount, and to make individuals who work for an educational institution in any capacity other than an instructional, research, or principal administrative capacity eligible for unemployment insurance between academic terms.
Senate Bills
S.93: This bill proposes to provide data privacy protections to Vermonters.
S.90: This bill proposes to prohibit employers from conducting criminal history checks, credit checks, and drug testing in relation to employees and prospective employees unless there is a direct relationship between the information sought and the employee or prospective employee’s job.
S.88: This bill proposes to create a new enhanced incentive for locally owned and controlled employee-owned businesses within the Vermont Employment Growth Incentive Program (VEGI).
S.78: This bill proposes to create the Vermont-Ireland Trade Commission to advance bilateral trade, investment, and cultural exchange between Vermont and Ireland.
S.71: This bill proposes to provide data privacy and online surveillance protections to Vermonters.
S.70: This bill proposes to add various provisions to Vermont’s laws that protect the personal information of its residents, including requiring data brokers to provide notice of security breaches, to certify that the personal information it discloses will be used for a legitimate purpose, and to delete the personal information of consumers who make such a request through the use of an accessible deletion mechanism.