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The Twin State Voluntary Leave Plan Proposed By Vermont & New Hampshire Governors


Last Wednesday, New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu and Vermont Governor Phil Scott held a joint press conference in which they unveiled their "Twin State Voluntary Leave Plan".  This proposal would provide voluntary paid family and medical leave to workers in both states.  Under the proposal, enrolled public and private sector employees in New Hampshire and Vermont would be eligible for 60% wage replacement for six weeks at competitive rates for qualifying events.  What would count as a qualifying event under this plan you ask?  The birth of a child, the adoption of a child, the fostering of a child, a serious health condition that makes the employee unable to perform essential functions of his/her job, an urgent situation involving a close relative that is an active duty member of the military, or the need to care for a close relative that faces a serious health program would all qualify.

This inevitably then leads to the question of "Ok, how are you going to pay for it?"  Under the Twin State Voluntary Leave Plan, New Hampshire and Vermont would select an insurance carrier (or carriers) through a coordinated request for proposal process to assume the risk and manage the benefit and claims under the plan.  The insurer/s would then develop a state rate.  (The state rate would be the per employee cost that each state would pay to provide a Family Medical Leave Insurance plan to its employees.  Under this proposal, each state would provide the paid leave to its  approximately 18,000 public employees in New Hampshire and Vermont as a new benefit.  It is expected that it would cost Vermont about $2.5 million per year.  Costs for public employees in New Hampshire are not readily available at this time.)  For private employers, depending on the number of employees they have the the level of participation among employees in The Twin State Voluntary Leave Plan, insurance rates would vary.

For those wondering, while both Governors of New Hampshire and Vermont are Republicans, Democrats control both state legislatures.  Democrats in both states were quick to criticize the Twin State Voluntary Leave Plan after it was announced, calling it a "PR stunt" and "useless".  It is notable that both Governors vetoed paid leave programs within the past year, although those bills were vetoed in part because they included a small income tax (to pay for the leave) and included mandatory individual participation, which Republicans in both states opposed.  Whether this proposal will gain traction in either state remains a bit of a mystery.  I would not be surprised if one (or both states) ended up creating a different bi-partisan proposal instead, with enough support among Republicans and Democrats to gain traction and become law.


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