This week in the Legislature: Crossover deadline occupies committees
Crossover — the deadline for bills to be passed out of committees in the Statehouse — is Friday, and that means lawmakers will be scrambling to nail down language for a large number of bills that are...
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Senate committee to take up paid leave this week
Senate Majority Leader Phil Baruth summarizes the priorities for the 2014 legislative session, as identified by caucus members Thursday. Photo by Alicia Freese/VTDigger A bill aimed at giving workers...
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Lawmakers propose 10 bills to support working families
Rep. Chris Pearson, P-Burlington. VTDigger file photoA group of Democratic and Progressive lawmakers have put forward 10 bills intended to support working families in Vermont. These bills come as the...
View Article‘Sodexo’ bill fails in the Senate
The so-called “Sodexo” bill failed in the Senate on Tuesday. The legislation would have prohibited companies from penalizing employees who use sick leave time. The 14-12 vote came as something of a...
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Paid sick leave bill revivified
Members of the Vermont Workers’ Center demonstrate in support of the earned sick day bill at the Statehouse in early March 2014. Photo by Anne Galloway/VTDigger The so-called paid sick leave bill,...
View ArticleMichele Kropp: There’s more to the paid leave debate than money
Editor’s note: This commentary is by Michele Kropp, who is COO/CMO of Gringo Kitchens in Manchester. Yesterday, I got up at the crack of dawn so I could have the privilege of having my voice heard in...
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‘Compromise’ sick leave bill has Shumlin’s support
Cathy Lamberton of the Association of General Contractors testifies before the House General, Housing and Military Affairs Committee. Photo by Erin Mansfield/VTDigger A more business-friendly version...
View ArticleSanders Announces Family Values Agenda
WASHINGTON, June 11 – Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) today outlined a family values agenda, a package of legislation to provide paid family and medical leave, paid sick leave and paid vacation. “When you...
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Paid leave groups gather public input at forums
Kerry Secrest, a Brattleboro resident who serves on the Vermont Commission on Women, speaks Tuesday morning during a forum on paid family and medical leave at the Latchis Theatre in Brattleboro. Photo...
View ArticleVermont Women’s Commission receives $173,000 to study paid leave
Advocates for statewide paid family and medical leave received a boost Tuesday with the announcement of a federal grant to study the concept. The Vermont Commission on Women will receive $173,794 to...
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Summit spotlights financial woes faced by women
Laura Hale, of the Vermont Coalition of Clinics for the Uninsured, speaking at the Women’s Economic Security Summit on Oct. 8. Photo by Erin Mansfield/VTDigger. Women are less economically secure than...
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Senate hears dueling views of House’s paid leave bill
Lindsay DesLauriers, center, head of the Main Street Alliance, stands among supporters at a news conference at Red Hen Bakery in Middlesex. File photo by Viola Gad/VTDiggerBusiness owners are split...
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Montpelier Sneak Peek: End of session deja vu? Pot, paid leave and Act 46 on...
House Chamber, Vermont Statehouse. Photo by Roger Crowley/VTDigger The past two weeks have been deja vu all over again at the Statehouse. House members have been scrambling around in end-of-session...
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Senate panel trims some workers from paid sick leave bill
Sen. Kevin Mullin, R-Rutland. File Photo by Anne Galloway/VTDiggerA Senate committee Thursday voted 5-0 to approve to a paid sick time bill that contains some significant differences from a House...
View ArticleSenate approves paid sick leave
The state Senate on Wednesday approved a new mandate requiring all businesses in Vermont to offer sick leave benefits to employees. The legislation will now go back to the House, where lawmakers may...
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UPDATED: Doyle triggers Senate revote next week on paid sick leave
State Sen. Bill Doyle, R-Washington, appears in the Montpelier Fourth of July parade on July 3, 2015. Photo by Roger Crowley/VTDigger A last-ditch, behind-the-scenes effort to dilute a sick leave bill...
View ArticleLisman urges Senate to reconsider paid leave mandate and pass exemption for...
News Release — Lisman for Governor February 4, 2016 Media Contact: Shawn Shouldice, 802-279-0092 Gubernatorial candidate Bruce Lisman this morning called on the Vermont State Senate to reconsider their...
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Session 2016 preview: Way paved for passage of paid sick leave
Lindsay DesLauriers, center, head of the Main Street Alliance, stands among supporters at a news conference at Red Hen Bakery in Middlesex in September 2013. File photo by Viola Gad/VTDigger A bill...
View ArticleSenate gives initial approval to paid sick leave bill
The Senate gave a preliminary nod to a labor bill on Tuesday that gives workers the right to earn sick leave time. The legislation, H.187, has been in the works for more than a decade and was passed by...
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Obama official encourages Vermont to adopt paid sick leave bill
Chris Lu, deputy secretary of the Department of Labor. U.S. Deputy Secretary of Labor Chris Lu stopped in Montpelier Monday as part of a national tour to support cities and states that are considering...
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