Vermont Becomes the Second State to Offer a Voluntary Paid Family and Medical Leave Program

Follow us on LinkedIn to see future News.

June 27, 2023

Vermont is launching a voluntary program for paid family and medical leave called the Vermont Family and Medical Leave Insurance Plan (“VT-FMLI”).  Vermont’s private and non-state public employers are not required to offer their employees the benefits afforded through the program.  However, Governor Phil Scott encourages employers to participate in the program to give Vermont workers access to affordable paid family and medical leave insurance by 2025.  With the enactment of VT-FMLI, which will be rolled out in three phases, Vermont will become the second state to offer a voluntary paid family and medical leave program, following its neighbor state, New Hampshire.

Due to the voluntary nature of the VT-FMLI and Vermont’s partnership with The Hartford as the plan administrator, Vermont legislators hope that the state’s private sector employers will be able to tailor a plan that best suits their businesses’ and employees’ needs.

Eligible employees will be able to receive up to 60 percent wage replacement for six weeks of leave in a 12-month period for qualifying events.  The leave is not job-protected and may be taken on an intermittent basis.  Qualifying events include:

• the birth of a child and care for the newborn child up to one year after birth
• the adoption of a child or foster care placement, and care for the newly placed child for up to one year after placement
• caring for an employee’s spouse, child, stepchild, foster child, ward who lives with the employee, parent, or parent of the employee’s spouse who has a serious health condition
• a serious health condition that makes the employee unable to perform the essential functions of their job
• any qualifying exigency arising from the fact that the employee’s spouse, child, or parent is a covered military member on covered active duty, or the need to care for a covered service member with a serious injury or illness if the eligible employee is the service member’s spouse, son, daughter, parent, or next of kin (i.e., military caregiver leave)

Beginning July 1, 2023, VT-FMLI will enter its first phase, starting with the Vermont state employee workforce.  By July 1, 2024, VT-FMLI will enter its second phase to include private and non-state public employers with two or more employees.  And, by 2025, VT-FMLI will enter its final phase, allowing individuals who work for Vermont employers that do not offer VT-FMLI, self-employed Vermonters, and employers with one employee, to purchase coverage through VT-FMLI’s individual purchasing pool.

VT-FMLI plan options are currently being developed for employers in the second and third phases.  Interested employers should speak with their current benefit brokers or representatives from The Hartford to learn more details about the plans as they become available.

This article is designed to provide one perspective regarding recent legal developments, and is not intended to serve as legal advice. Always consult an attorney with specific legal issues.