Vermont § 483 - Use of earned sick time

§ 483. Use of earned sick time

• (a) An employee may use earned sick time accrued pursuant to section 482 of this subchapter
  for any of the following reasons: (1) The employee is ill or injured. (2) The employee obtains professional diagnostic, preventive, routine, or therapeutic
  health care. (3) The employee cares for a sick or injured parent, grandparent, spouse, child, brother,
  sister, parent-in-law, grandchild, or foster child, including helping that individual
  obtain diagnostic, preventive, routine, or therapeutic health treatment, or accompanying
  the employee’s parent, grandparent, spouse, or parent-in-law to an appointment related
  to that individual’s long-term care. (4) The employee is arranging for social or legal services or obtaining medical care or
  counseling for the employee or for the employee’s parent, grandparent, spouse, child,
  brother, sister, parent-in-law, grandchild, or foster child, who is a victim of domestic
  violence, sexual assault, or stalking or who is relocating as the result of domestic
  violence, sexual assault, or stalking. As used in this section, “domestic violence,”
  “sexual assault,” and “stalking” shall have the same meanings as in 15 V.S.A. § 1151. (5) The employee cares for a parent, grandparent, spouse, child, brother, sister, parent-in-law,
  grandchild, or foster child, because the school or business where that individual
  is normally located during the employee’s workday is closed for public health or safety
  reasons. (b) If an employee’s absence is shorter than a normal workday, the employee shall use
  earned sick time accrued pursuant to section 482 of this subchapter in the smallest
  time increments that the employer’s payroll system uses to account for other absences
  or that the employer’s paid time off policy permits. Nothing in this subsection shall
  be construed to require an employer to permit an employee to use earned sick time
  in increments that are shorter than one hour. (c) An employer may limit the amount of earned sick time accrued pursuant to section 482
  of this subchapter that an employee may use to no more than 40 hours in a 12-month
  period. (d)(1) Except as otherwise provided in subsection 484(a) of this subchapter, earned sick
  time that remains unused at the end of an annual period shall be carried over to the
  next annual period and the employee shall continue to accrue earned sick time as provided
  pursuant to section 482 of this subchapter. However, nothing in this subdivision shall
  be construed to permit an employee to use more earned sick time during an annual period
  than any limit on the use of earned sick time that is established by the employee’s
  employer pursuant to subsection (c) of this section. (2) If, at an employer’s discretion, an employer pays an employee for unused earned sick
  time accrued pursuant to section 482 of this subchapter at the end of an annual period,
  then the amount for which the employee was compensated does not carry over to the
  next annual period. (e) Upon separation from employment, an employee shall not be entitled to payment for
  unused earned sick time accrued pursuant to section 482 of this subchapter unless
  agreed upon by the employer. (f)(1) An employee who is discharged by the employee’s employer after completing a waiting
  period required pursuant to subsection 482(b) of this subchapter and is subsequently
  rehired by the same employer within 12 months after the discharge from employment
  shall begin to accrue and may use earned sick time without a waiting period. However,
  the employee shall not be entitled to retain any earned sick time that accrued before
  the time of the discharge unless agreed to by the employer. (2) An employee who voluntarily separates from employment after completing a waiting period
  required pursuant to subsection 482(b) of this subchapter and is subsequently rehired
  by the same employer within 12 months after the separation from employment shall not
  be entitled to accrue and use earned sick time without a waiting period unless agreed
  to by the employer. (g) An employer shall not require an employee to find a replacement for absences, including
  absences for professional diagnostic, preventive, routine, or therapeutic health care. (h) An employer may require an employee planning to take earned sick time accrued pursuant
  to section 482 of this subchapter to: (1) make reasonable efforts to avoid scheduling routine or preventive health care during
  regular work hours; or (2) notify the employer as soon as practicable of the intent to take earned sick time
  accrued pursuant to section 482 of this subchapter and the expected duration of the
  employee’s absence. (i)(1) If an employee is absent from work for one of the reasons listed in subsection (a)
  of this section, the employee shall not be required to use earned sick time accrued
  pursuant to section 482 of this subchapter and the employer will not be required to
  pay for the time that the employee was absent if the employer and the employee mutually
  agree that either: (A) the employee will work an equivalent number of hours as the number of hours for which
  the employee is absent during the same pay period; or (B) the employee will trade hours with a second employee so that the second employee works
  during the hours for which the employee is absent and the employee works an equivalent
  number of hours in place of the second employee during the same pay period. (2) Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to prevent an employer from adopting
  a policy that requires an employee to use earned sick time accrued pursuant to section
  482 of this subchapter for an absence from work for one of the reasons set forth in
  subsection (a) of this section. (j) An employer shall post notice of the provisions of this section in a form provided
  by the Commissioner in a place conspicuous to employees at the employer’s place of
  business. An employer shall also notify an employee of the provisions of this section
  at the time of the employee’s hiring. (k) Use of earned sick time accrued pursuant to section 482 of this subchapter shall not
  diminish an employee’s rights under sections 472 and 472a of this chapter. (l) The provisions against retaliation set forth in section 397 of this title shall apply to this subchapter. (m) An employer who violates this subchapter shall be subject to the penalty provisions
  of section 345 of this title. (n) The Commissioner shall enforce this subchapter in accordance with the procedures established
  in section 342a of this title. However, the appeal provision of subsection 342a(f) shall not apply to any enforcement
  action brought pursuant to this subsection. (Added 2015, No. 69 (Adj. Sess.), § 4, eff. Jan. 1, 2017; amended 2023, No. 85 (Adj. Sess.), § 105, eff. July 1, 2024.)