Currently, under Vermont’s Family and Parental Leave Act, an employee may take up to 12 weeks of unpaid parental or family or a combination of these types of leave during any 12-month period (only 12 weeks per year of leave are available). Vermont has amended the Act by expanding current family and parental leave options for employees and adding bereavement leave, safe leave, and leave for a qualifying exigency.
Regarding family leave, employees can currently take leave to care for certain family members with serious health conditions. Eligible “family members” will now include the following:
- regardless of age, an employee’s biological, adopted, or foster child; an employee’s stepchild or legal ward; a child of the employee’s spouse or civil union or domestic partner; or a child to whom the employee stands in loco parentis, regardless of legal documentation; an individual to whom the employee stood in loco parentis when the individual was under 18 years of age; or any individual for whom the employee provides caregiving responsibilities similar to those of a parent-child relationship;
- a parent of an employee or an employee’s spouse or civil union or domestic partner, regardless of whether the relationship to the employee or the employee’s spouse or civil union or domestic partner is a biological, foster, adoptive, or step relationship;
- a legal guardian of an employee or employee’s spouse or civil union or domestic partner; or
- a person who stands in loco parentis for the employee or who stood in loco parentis when the employee or employee’s spouse or civil union or domestic partner was under 18 years of age;
- a person to whom the employee is legally married under the laws of any state or a civil union or domestic partner of an employee; or
- a grandparent, grandchild, or sibling of the employee or the employee’s spouse or civil union or domestic partner, regardless of whether the relationship to the employee or the employee’s spouse or civil union or domestic partner is a biological, foster, adoptive, or step relationship.
Parental leave will now include leave for all of the following reasons:
- pregnancy;
- the employee’s recovery from childbirth or miscarriage;
- the birth of the employee’s child and to care for or bond with the child within one year after the child’s birth; or
- the initial placement of a child 18 years of age or younger with the employee for the purpose of adoption or foster care and to care for or bond with the child within one year after the placement for adoption or foster care.
“Bereavement leave” means a leave of absence from employment or self-employment by an individual due to the death of their family member that occurs not more than one year after the family member’s death. Bereavement leave includes leave taken in relation to the administration or settlement of the deceased family member’s estate. Leave taken in relation to the administration or settlement of the deceased family member’s estate may not occur more than one year after the family member’s death. During any 12-month period, an employee may use up to two weeks of leave for bereavement leave, with not more than five workdays to be taken consecutively.
“Safe leave” means a leave of absence from employment by an employee because:
- the employee or the employee’s family member is a victim or alleged victim of domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking;
- the employee is using leave for one of the following reasons related to domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking:
- to seek or obtain medical care, counseling, or social or legal services, either for themselves or for a family member;
- to recover from injuries;
- to participate in safety planning, either for themselves or for a family member;
- to relocate or secure safe housing, either for themselves or for a family member;
- to respond to a fatality or near fatality related to domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking, either for themselves or for a family member; or
- to meet with a State’s Attorney or law enforcement officer, either for themselves or for a family member; and
- the employee is not the perpetrator or alleged perpetrator of the domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking.
“Qualifying exigency” means a qualifying exigency identified pursuant to 29 C.F.R. § 825.126 that is related to active duty service by a family member in the U.S. Armed Forces.
Parental leave, bereavement leave, safe leave, and leave for a qualifying exigency must be provided by employers with 10 or more individuals who are employed for an average of at least 30 hours per week during a year. Family leave must be provided by employers with 15 or more individuals for an average of at least 30 hours per week during a year. It will still be the case that only 12 weeks per year of leave are available for parental leave, family leave, bereavement leave, safe leave, or leave for a qualifying exigency, or some combination thereof.
Eligible employees are those who have been continuously employed by the same employer for a period of one year for an average of at least 30 hours per week or meet the service requirement set forth in 29 C.F.R. § 825.801.
“Short-term family leave” is also available under Vermont’s Family and Medical Leave Act, and that has undergone a slight revision as well. This leave, previously available for specific activities related to an employee’s child, stepchild, foster child, ward, parent, spouse, or parent-in-law, will now be extended to cover these same circumstances when they involve any of the employee’s “family members,” as defined above.
The changes go into effect on July 1, 2025.
