On March 9, 2016, Vermont Governor Peter Shumlin signed legislation (H.B. 187) making Vermont the fifth state to enact a statewide paid sick leave law, joining California, Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Oregon. Under the law, which will go into effect for most Vermont employers on January 1, 2017, employers must allow employees to accrue and use at least 24 hours (or three days) of earned sick time in a 12-month period. Employers with five or fewer employees who are employed for an average of at least 30 hours per week do not have to comply with the new law until January 1, 2018.
Beginning January 1, 2019, employers must allow employees to accrue and use at least 40 hours (or five days) of earned sick time in a 12-month period.