Gov. Phil Scott’s administration announced that a voluntary paid family and medical leave program will now be available to private employers in Vermont.
The program, administered by The Hartford, a Connecticut insurance giant, has offered paid family and medical leave to state employees since July 2023.
Starting Feb. 15, all private employers in the state with at least two or more employees will be eligible to purchase the insurance, called Vermont Family and Medical Leave Insurance. Benefits will take effect July 1.
The program offers insurance plans for people who need to take time off work to care for a child or family member, recover from illness, or for leave related to a family member’s military service.
Plans on offer include between six and 26 weeks of paid leave per year and pay 60% to 70% of an employee’s standard wages.
“Providing all Vermonters with access to affordable paid family and medical leave, without imposing a new mandatory tax, is truly a win-win,” the governor said in a Thursday press release announcing the expansion.
Currently, the program costs the state $2 million a year “to support current state employees, who are enrolled in the program and serve as the anchor of the pool,” Jason Maulucci, a spokesperson for Scott, told VTDigger in an email. February’s expansion will cost the state no extra money, Maulucci said.
Next year, the program will expand again to allow individuals with non-participating employers, self-employed people and employers with only one employee to purchase insurance.
The expansion of the opt-in program highlights the stalled legislative effort to create a more expansive, mandatory paid leave program.
Legislators have tried for years to pass such a program, to no avail. Last year, Senate leaders balked at a bill passed by the House that would have allowed up to 12 weeks of paid family and medical leave, funded through a 0.55% payroll tax.
Lawmakers said last spring that they would revisit the bill in the current session, but it’s not clear whether the legislation has a path forward this year.
