Vermont — Leave Laws

Current Law (through June 30, 2026): Vermont's Parental and Family Leave Act (PFLA) applies to employers with 10 or more employees (averaging at least 30 hours per week during a year) for parental, bereavement, safe, and qualifying exigency leave, and to employers with 15 or more employees (same averaging method) for family leave, as defined in 21 V.S.A. § 471(4). The law establishes separate thresholds for parental-related (including bereavement and safe leave) and family leave.

Change Effective July 1, 2026: The statutory thresholds will be eliminated effective July 1, 2026, at which time the PFLA will apply to all Vermont employers. The amendment consolidates parental and family leave protections under a single "family leave" category with universal employer coverage.

Authority:

• 21 V.S.A. § 471 (definitions of "employer," current law)
• Act H.66 (2024), amending § 471 to expand coverage (effective July 1, 2026)

Source: 21 V.S.A. § 471 Source (amendment): H.66 summary, Vermont Legislature

Eligible employees may take up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave in any 12-month period for parental leave, family leave, safe leave, or a qualifying exigency. Within that 12-week total, employees may use up to 2 weeks for bereavement leave (taken upon the death of a family member or to settle an estate), with no more than 5 workdays taken consecutively. The 12-week entitlement is an aggregate limit across all covered leave types.

Source: 21 V.S.A. § 472

To qualify for leave under Vermont's Parental and Family Leave Act, an individual must meet the statutory definition of "Employee" in 21 V.S.A. § 471(5). The statute sets a dual requirement: continuous employment for a period of one year by the same employer, and an average of at least 30 hours per week during that period. Both elements must be satisfied.

Continuous employment means uninterrupted service with the same employer. The statute does not define a permissible gap or break in service, nor does it specify whether approved leaves of absence toll or preserve continuous-employment status. Vermont Department of Labor guidance on this question is not published in an accessible primary-source format as of May 29, 2026.

One-year period is measured backward from the date the employee seeks to commence leave. The statute does not specify whether this is 52 weeks, 365 days, or 12 calendar months, and no Vermont regulation or published agency interpretation clarifies the measurement. Practitioners typically apply a 52-week lookback by analogy to the FMLA's eligibility structure, but that analogy is not codified in Vermont law.

30-hour weekly average is calculated over the one-year qualifying period. An employee who worked 40 hours per week for six months and 20 hours per week for six months would average 30 hours and satisfy the threshold. The statute does not address how to treat paid time off, approved leave, or furlough periods in the averaging calculation.

The statutory text in subsection (5) includes the phrase "or meets the service requirement set forth in" followed by a reference that is not rendered in the current online publication of the statute. This language suggests an alternative eligibility pathway—likely alignment with the federal Family and Medical Leave Act's 1,250-hour requirement in the preceding 12 months—but the incomplete statutory text prevents confirmation. Practitioners relying on an hours-worked alternative should consult the enrolled bill or the Vermont Statutes Annotated in print.

Coordination with employer-size thresholds. An employee who satisfies the tenure and hours test under § 471(5) is eligible only if employed by a covered employer under § 471(4)—10 or more employees (averaging 30+ hours per week) for parental, bereavement, safe, and qualifying-exigency leave; 15 or more for family leave. Both the employee-eligibility and employer-coverage tests must be met.

Source: 21 V.S.A. § 471(5)

Vermont's Parental and Family Leave Act (PFLA) imposes specific employee notice obligations, primarily governed by 21 V.S.A. § 472(e).

General Parental and Family Leave (foreseeable events): Employees must provide "reasonable written notice" stating the start date and duration of leave. For birth or adoption, notice should be given as early as practicable but not more than six weeks before the leave is to begin. If six weeks' notice is not possible, employees must provide notice as soon as practicable after learning of the need for leave (§ 472(e)(1)-(2)).

Non-Foreseeable Leave (serious illness, emergency): When the need for leave is not foreseeable (such as the serious illness of the employee or family member), the requirement shifts to "as soon as practicable"—that is, notice must be given without delay after the employee becomes aware leave is necessary (§ 472(e)(3)).

Other PFLA-eligible leave (safe leave, bereavement, qualifying exigency): Statutory text in § 472(e) does not expressly reference notice rules for safe leave, bereavement, or qualifying exigency leave, but these categories fall within the broader PFLA protections (see definitions in § 471). In practice, employers should default to the general "reasonable notice" or "as soon as practicable" standards unless separate rules are specified elsewhere in statute.

Documentation: For parental or family leave, employers may require written certification—such as documentation from a health care provider—of the necessity of leave as permitted by § 472(e)(4). For leave categories not named in § 472(e), documentation rights (if any) may derive from other sections or remain unaddressed in statute.

Employer policies: The PFLA does not expressly prohibit employers from adopting stricter notice rules, but any additional requirements must not result in the denial of statutorily protected leave.

Source: 21 V.S.A. § 472(e)

Under Vermont’s Parental and Family Leave Act (PFLA), found at 21 V.S.A. § 472(f), an employee who returns from qualifying leave is entitled to be reinstated to “the same or comparable job at the same level of compensation, employment benefits, seniority, or any other term or condition of the employment existing on the day leave began.” This job-restoration right is categorical in the statutory text.

Two statutory exceptions limit the restoration right:

1. If, prior to the start of leave, the employee or employer had given notice that the employment would terminate, the right to reinstatement does not apply.
2. The employer may also deny reinstatement if it demonstrates by clear and convincing evidence that during the leave, the employee’s job would have been terminated or the employee laid off for reasons unrelated to the leave or the condition for which leave was granted.

Key points about these exceptions:

• The "clear and convincing evidence" standard is a high evidentiary burden: employers should be ready to document that the termination or layoff truly would have occurred even if the employee had not taken leave.
• Restoration is to a job comparable in pay, benefits, seniority, and all other terms of employment—not just the "title."

The Vermont Supreme Court, in Woolaver v. State (2003), analyzed these rules and confirmed they operate as written: job-restoration is the default, but employers may assert the exceptions if properly documented. The court emphasized the high standard for employers and the narrowness of the exceptions.

Source: 21 V.S.A. § 472(f)

Under the Vermont Parental and Family Leave Act (PFLA), employers are required to maintain group health insurance, if provided before the leave, during the period of an employee's leave under the same terms that coverage would have been provided if the employee had continued working. This statutory continuation mirrors the federal FMLA standard and is codified at 21 V.S.A. § 472(h).

Health insurance continuation (section 472(h)): If the employer continues to provide health insurance for employees on leave, the employer must offer coverage at the same level as prior to the leave. The statute provides that "the employer shall continue to provide health insurance benefits for the employee and any dependents" for the duration of the leave on the "same terms" as if the employee had continued in active employment.

Employee's share of premiums: The employer may require the employee on leave to continue paying their share of the health insurance premiums as a condition of continued coverage. This requirement must not exceed what the employee would have paid if working, and can be enforced through direct payments or another arrangement stipulated in advance. If timely payment is not made, coverage may lapse as permitted in the employer's standard policy for non-leave employees.

Other employment benefits: Statutory language expressly addresses only health insurance; continuation requirements for other benefits such as retirement or pension contributions are not addressed in the PFLA statute. Unless the employer's policy dictates otherwise, these additional benefits are not required to be continued under Vermont law during the leave period (unlike the job-restoration right, which does apply more broadly).

Source: 21 V.S.A. § 472(h)

Vermont’s Parental and Family Leave Act (PFLA) defines "serious illness" for purposes of family leave eligibility to mean: an "accident, disease, or physical or mental condition" that either (A) requires in-patient care in a hospital, hospice, or residential medical care facility, or (B) requires "continuing in-home care under the supervision of a health care provider." (21 V.S.A. § 471(9)). The statutory language closely follows—but does not expressly incorporate by reference—the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) definition of "serious health condition" (see 29 U.S.C. § 2611(11)), which also hinges on in-patient care or continuing treatment by a health care provider. However, Vermont law uses its own phrasing and does not automatically expand with changes to the federal definition.

Key elements of Vermont's definition:

• The triggering condition may be physical or mental.
• In-patient care means admission into a hospital, hospice, or similar institution for at least one overnight stay.
• Continuing in-home care must be supervised by a licensed health care provider, but Vermont law does not expound on the frequency, duration, or minimum level of medical oversight required.

The statute does not further define "continuing in-home care" or explicitly incorporate the broader FMLA catch-all for conditions that incapacitate an individual for more than three days and require ongoing treatment. While Vermont’s standard is substantially similar to the FMLA, employers should apply the specific Vermont statutory criteria—note that the state standard is not dynamically updated alongside federal changes.

Source: 21 V.S.A. § 471(9)