Bill
H 461
Expands Vermont unpaid, job-protected family leave to cover nontraditional families and new needs (safe leave, bereavement, exigency), with updated eligibility.
Status & timeline
- Enacted as Act No. 32 (2025). Delivered to Governor May 16, 2025; signed into law May 22, 2025.
- Effective date: July 1, 2025.
- Primary sponsor: Rep. Emilie Krasnow.
Purpose
- To expand and clarify job‑protected unpaid leave under Vermont’s Parental and Family Leave Act so that workers in nontraditional family structures (including LGBTQ+ families), low‑income workers, airline flight crew meeting FMLA special rules, and others have more equitable access to caregiving, bereavement, safe, and qualifying‑exigency leave.
Key provisions and changes
- Expanded definitions
- “Family member” is broadened to explicitly include (regardless of age or biological/legal status) parents, step/ foster/ adopted children, children of a spouse/civil union/domestic partner, individuals for whom an employee stands in loco parentis, grandparents, grandchildren, and siblings.
- “In loco parentis” clarified to mean day‑to‑day caregiving/responsibility for a child; financial support is not required.
- “Domestic partner” and related terms defined to cover enduring spousal‑like relationships.
- Eligibility & employer size thresholds
- “Employee”: generally someone continuously employed by the same employer for one year averaging at least 30 hours/week (or meeting federal FMLA service requirements at 29 C.F.R. §825.801).
- Employer coverage thresholds differ by leave type:
- Parental leave, bereavement leave, safe leave, and qualifying‑exigency leave: employers with 10 or more workers (average ≥30 hrs/week).
- Family leave (serious health condition of employee or family member): employers with 15 or more workers (average ≥30 hrs/week).
- Parental leave
- Parental leave definition expanded to expressly include recovery from childbirth or miscarriage and to care for foster children.
- Initial placement age for adoption/foster care references updated (drafts indicate movement from 16 to 18 in some sections).
- Safe leave (domestic violence / sexual assault / stalking)
- New job‑protected “safe leave” for when an employee or family member is a victim or alleged victim of domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking.
- Permitted uses include seeking medical/legal services, counseling, safety planning, relocating/secure housing, attending hearings or meetings with law enforcement/State’s Attorney, and responding to related fatalities.
- Eligible employees may take up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job‑protected safe leave in a 12‑month period.
- Bereavement leave
- Employees may take up to two weeks of bereavement leave within one year of a family member’s death. No more than five workdays may be taken consecutively for bereavement.
- Qualifying exigency leave
- Employees may take leave for qualifying exigencies related to a family member’s active duty in the U.S. Armed Forces (aligned with 29 C.F.R. §825.126).
- Job protection
- Leaves created or expanded by the act are unpaid but job‑protected for eligible employees.
Who is affected
- Vermont employees who meet the service and employer‑size tests described above (including flight crew meeting FMLA special rules).
- Employers doing business in Vermont: compliance responsibilities vary by the type of leave and size of employer.
- Family caregivers and individuals in nontraditional family structures benefit from broader definitions and clearer protections.
Notes and implementation
- The act modifies statutory definitions and leave entitlements; administrative guidance and employer policy updates will be needed before the July 1, 2025 effective date.
- The Act summary prepared by legislative counsel highlights the main effects but is not authoritative for statutory interpretation; consult the final statute text for compliance.
Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.
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