A bill aimed at giving workers in Vermont paid time off for illness or other emergencies is back before the Senate.
Hearings will begin Tuesday in the Senate Economic Development Committee on S.15, which would grant workers seven earned leave days off a year, or a total of 56 hours. The leave could be used for personal illness, illness in the family or absences due to domestic violence, sexual violence or stalking.
It was introduced by Sen. Philip Baruth, D-Chittenden, and, if passed, would make Vermont the fourth state in the nation, after Connecticut, California and Massachusetts, to enact a paid leave law.
President Barack Obama praised the concept in his State of the Union address last week as policy he wants to see enacted state-by-state.
“Today, we’re the only advanced country on Earth that doesn’t guarantee paid sick leave or paid maternity leave to our workers,” the president said. “Forty-three million workers have no paid sick leave. Forty-three million. Think about that. And that forces too many parents to make the gut-wrenching choice between a paycheck and a sick kid at home.”
The bill would require that employees in Vermont “accrue a minimum number of hours of paid sick time annually and prohibits employers from penalizing employees who use their accrued sick time.”
Citing a fringe benefits study conducted by the Vermont Department of Labor in 2013, the bill claims that roughly 60,000 Vermont workers lack paid leave.
The bill contains definitions for what “Combined Time Off,” means — a policy “wherein the employer provides time off for vacation, sickness, personal reasons, or holidays, and the employee has the option to use all of the leave for whatever purpose he or she chooses.”
Under the proposed legislation, an employee would accrue “not less than one hour of earned sick time for every 30 hours worked; (and) an employer may require a waiting period for new hires.”
The sick time could be used for the employee themselves if they are sick or injured or in need of testing for a health-related concern, and also would cover an employee’s needed time off to care for a sick or injured parent, grandparent, spouse or family member.
The bill would also allow the time off to be used for the employee themselves or a family member who is the victim of domestic violence, sexual assault or stalking, or who is relocating as a result of any of those three situations.
The Main Street Alliance – Vermont, is advocating for passage of the bill again this year, said Lindsay DesLauriers, director of the organization. The national nonprofit organization, which is new to Vermont, works with business owners to try to find solutions to challenging policies, DesLauriers said Monday.
DesLauriers expects a House bill will also be introduced by Rep. Tristan Toleno, D-Brattleboro, who runs a catering company. She said Toleno “has a really great perspective on this issue, because much like the businesses we’re working with, he believes in finding a solution that is balanced.”
The organization spoke to more than 250 businesses and conducted a statewide survey, which has been shared with the sponsoring legislators, DesLauriers said.
Gov. Peter Shumlin has not endorsed the bill, but he has suggested the legislation should be discussed. Former Gov. Madeleine Kunin co-facilitated a two-day event in which paid leave was debated and refined.
Baruth’s bill requires that new employees work 500 hours before they are eligible for the leave benefit. The new bill excludes seasonal workers from the 500-hour minimum, DesLauriers said.
“We know that in this economy more and more bread winners are working multiple part-time jobs to support themselves and their families,” she said.
Five major cities, including San Francisco, Washington, D.C., Seattle, Portland, Ore., and New York City have legislation that requires employers to offer paid sick leave.
If it passes, the law would take effect Jan. 1, 2016.