Vermont employers should ensure compliance with an update to the state’s Parental and Family Leave Act (PFLA). H. 461, which took effect on July 1, expands PFLA and now covers individuals in nontraditional family structures. Here are the top things employers need to know about the update and a four-step action plan for qualified employers.

Eligibility

If a Vermont employer has at least 10 employees who work 30 or more hours per week, they are covered by parental leave, bereavement leave, safe leave, and leave for a qualified emergency. Employers with at least 15 employees who work 30 or more hours per week are also covered by family leave provisions for the employee’s own or family member’s serious health condition.

Compliance Checklist

Employers in Vermont will need to review and potentially revise leave policies now that PFLA does the following:

Expands the definition of “family member” to include “domestic partner”;

Broadens parental leave to include an employee’s recovery from childbirth or miscarriage, or to care for a foster child;

Offers new types of leave, including bereavement leave, safe leave, and military “qualified exigency” leave; and

Allows employees to take up to 12 weeks of unpaid time off per year for bereavement leave, safe leave, and military “qualified exigency” leave.

H.461 aims to ensure protections for LGBTQ+ families, workers with low income, and other Vermont employees with unique family circumstances. We’ll go into more detail below on how each...

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