Early last month, legislators sat around their committee table and shared stories of loss. Rep. Mary Howard, D-Rutland, said she would wipe tears from her eyes on her morning drive to work after the death of her husband.
Other lawmakers joined in 鈥� and no one was off topic.
They were discussing a bill, , which could widen the circumstances under which employees can take unpaid time off. It would also expand the definition of family under state time-off laws, changing language to include more non-traditional family structures.
The bill would guarantee employees in Vermont can take two weeks of unpaid time off from work after the death of a family member. It also introduces what鈥檚 often called 鈥� or 12 weeks of unpaid time off from work if they or a family member are experiencing domestic or sexual violence. In both cases, the bill applies only to employers with 10 or more workers.
The changes would let people enduring domestic or sexual violence to 鈥渁ttend to their most urgent needs,鈥� said Anne Ward, executive director for Mosaic Vermont, which supports survivors of sexual violence in Washington County.
Ward explained that taking safe leave could make someone more likely to file a protective order or seek medical services.
鈥淎 bill like this gives you the opportunity to reach out for help, contact an advocate, let somebody know that this is happening,鈥� she said, an opportunity that often comes only in the workday.
The bill was assigned to a Senate committee on March 26 after clearing the House.
Ward said the bill would also allow parents or guardians to take off work to help their child in cases of sexual abuse. It would cause more harm if a child鈥檚 caregiver was put out of a job while trying to support them or trying to get help themselves, she said, especially since many people she works with live paycheck to paycheck.
They鈥檙e going to use 鈥渢he minimal amount of time necessary,鈥� she said.
Legislators in the House Committee on General and Housing seemed to agree on the near equal importance of taking leave after the death of a family member. The bill would let Vermonters take two weeks of unpaid leave from work within a year of the death of a family member.
The issue is personal to Rep. Emilie Krasnow, D-South Burlington, the bill鈥檚 lead sponsor. It鈥檚 one of the reasons she ran for office, she said.
鈥淚 was a caretaker for my mother for many years before she passed away鈥� two years ago, said Krasnow. The lawmaker鈥檚 father died when she was a child, and she remembers her mother taking a leave from work because of it.
The goal is for employees to take leave without risking or losing their jobs, Krasnow said. People dealing with loss 鈥渟hould be able to have the right to come back to work and take that time,鈥� Krasnow said.
In House committee meetings throughout the second week of March, lawmakers considered the potential strain on small businesses.
A business would have to have at least 10 employees to be affected by the bill. Lawmakers seemed to concede that those businesses are large enough to bear the burden of employee leave. Multiple legislators suggested that employees don鈥檛 do their best work when dealing with trauma or loss.
In March meetings, House lawmakers also seemed to agree on expanding the legal definition of family, regarding leave from work, to include a much broader array of relationships.
The bill would let employees take leave from work for a partner who isn鈥檛 a spouse 鈥� or for a child who isn鈥檛 biologically or legally theirs, as long as they have parent-like responsibilities. The expansions are especially meant to protect LGBTQ+ people, who are less common family arrangements.
Everyone should have the same time-off benefits 鈥渞egardless of who they are and who they love and who their family is,鈥� said Krasnow.
Johanna de Graffenreid, the public policy manager for Vermont Businesses for Social Responsibility, told lawmakers the bill would level the playing field. She pointed out that neighboring states like Maine and New York define family more broadly under the law.
鈥淲e would be catching up,鈥� de Graffenreid said.
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