Governor Peter Shumlin issued the following statement after the House gave preliminary approval to H187, earned sick leave legislation.The Vermont House approved the Earned Paid Leave bill, in a vote of 72-63, last Thursday night.
“I want to thank Reps. Tristan Toleno, Sarah Copeland-Hanzas, Helen Head, and Speaker Shap Smith for their leadership on this important measure. Most Vermonters agree that if you’re sick you shouldn’t be faced with the decision to either go to work and put others at risk or miss work, sacrifice your paycheck, and potentially lose your job. Many employers already provide fair earned leave policies. But some do not and that puts many Vermonters in a difficult and unfair situation. In the past, I have been skeptical of proposals that did not do enough to recognize the costs and burdens to businesses this legislation might create. This bill addresses those concerns in a balanced and thoughtful way to provide this important benefit to Vermonters.”
The components of the bill are:
- Sets a minimum standard of paid time off for most employees in Vermont using a calculation of one hour of paid time off earned for every 40 hours worked. The bill sets a minimum floor of three days off starting in 2016 and moving up to five days off in 2018.
- Employers with more generous paid time off policies are unaffected.
- Businesses are allowed to implement a waiting period before new hires can use the paid days off - 1,400 hours or one-year of work, whichever comes first.
- The bill excludes some categories of workers, including seasonal and temporary workers. Part-time employees are included.
See howstate representatives voted
SEE BILL:H.187An act relating to absence from work for health care and safety
Meanwhile, the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) is expressing disappointed in today's vote by the House of Representative to support mandated paid leave. In a statement it said that the 72-63 vote shows that as the session progresses more and more House members are hearing the voice of small business.
"Small business in Vermont has been attempting to recover from a disastrous business climate in this state and instead of focusing on tax and regulatory reforms that could actually assist Main Street, the legislature found it prudent to debate a stricter regulatory environment on our members, this time targeting the day to day operations of small employers and those that work for them by dictating paid leave for business owners, regardless of size," according to Shawn Shouldice who serves as NFIB Vermont's state director.
It is unclear if the Senate will take up the issue that could ultimately require employees to accrue one hour of paid leave for every 30-40 hours worked.
"This is legislation that anyone in business will tell you is a solution in search of a problem, continued Shouldice, there is no reason for the government to interfere with the relationships workers have with their employers, including the disruption of flexibility to balance work and family and employers the confidence that their places of business are predictably staffed. Today's measure is a step backwards for both employer and employee in the small business community and we can only hope that Senate will put the brakes on this mandate."