This guide provides essential information about Vermont sick leave and how it applies to your business beginning January 1, 2018. The law applies to any employer with at least one employee in Vermont who works at least an average of 18 hours per week during the year. New employers are not subject to the law for one year after hiring their first employee.
Accrual Rate:
All eligible employees must receive at least 40 hours of sick and safe leave per year. Employers may either:
- Accrue paid sick time for employees at a rate of 1 hour for every 52 hours worked, capped at 40 hours annually.
- Grant up front 40 hours of paid sick time at the beginning of each year.
Carryover:
- Accrued and unused sick time must carryover, but annual usage may be capped at 40 hours.
- No carryover is required if sick leave allotment is frontloaded at the start of the year.
There are other requirements under the state sick leave law, which you may read more about here. Some of these requirements are also detailed further below. Employers can also read up on general sick leave best practices here.
Employee Eligibility & Use
Employees are entitled to paid sick leave, with a few exceptions. Employees may use earned sick time for themselves or a family member for any of the following reasons:
- The employee’s or a family member’s illness, injury, or medical condition that requires homecare, professional medical diagnosis, or care, or obtaining preventive, routine, or therapeutic health treatment.
- Accompanying the employee’s parent, grandparent, spouse, or parent-in-law to an appointment related to their long-term care.
- To seek social, legal, medical, or counseling services if an employee or their family member is a victim of, or is relocating due to, domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking.
- To care for a family member whose school or place of care is closed due to public health or safety reasons.
Some employees are exempt from this law, such as those employed for 20 or fewer weeks in a 12-month period in a job scheduled to last 20 or fewer weeks, certain per diem employees, substitute teachers, those under 18 years of age, sole proprietors or partner owners, and certain executives.
You should review the law and resources at the bottom of this page to understand additional requirements under the Vermont law, such as increments of use, how hours are determined for exempt and salaried employees, how pay is calculated, who is a “family member,” what type of notice and documentation an employer may require, pay statement requirements, and how sick time is handled upon termination of employment.
Interaction with an Employer’s Existing Policies
An employer’s paid time off (PTO) plan or other type of paid leave (including sick or vacation time) can satisfy this law if, at a minimum, the plan meets the law’s requirements (e.g., accrual, carryover, and use requirements of sick leave, etc.). Additionally, nothing prohibits an employer from providing more generous leave policies than the minimum required by the law.
Notice Requirements
Employers must provide written notice to each employee at the time of hiring. Employers must also post a notice of the Earned Sick Time Law where employees are likely to see it and in languages spoken by employees. The poster is available for download here: Vermont Earned Sick Time Poster.
If you set up a separate sick leave policy in Justworks as a PEO customer, we will automatically add this balance information to employees' paystubs, and it is available to your employees at any time when they log into the Justworks platform.
Limitations on Paid Sick Leave
Employees in Vermont begin accruing sick leave on their first day of work, and must be allowed to use earned sick time no later than one year after employment begins.
An employer is not required to pay out accrued, unused paid sick time when an employee separates from employment with the employer.
Keep in mind that if an employee who was discharged is rehired within one year of separation, they are entitled to resume where they left off with their waiting period but not their banked time. Employees who voluntarily quit and are rehired do not receive any entitlements.
Resources & Notes
- Help Center: Sick and Safe Leave
- Vermont Department of Labor: Vermont Earned Sick Time Rules
- Vermont: Vermont Earned Sick Time Law Frequently Asked Questions
- Mineral: Vermont Sick Leave*
*Be sure you’re logged into your Justworks account with administrator permissions to access Mineral, which is included for Justworks PEO customers. If you’d like to learn more about Justworks PEO, contact Support at 888-534-1711.
Disclaimer
This material has been prepared for informational purposes only, and is not intended to provide, and should not be relied on for, legal or tax advice. If you have any legal or tax questions regarding this content or related issues, then you should consult with your professional legal or tax advisor.