Skip to main content

Vermont Governor Vetoes Statewide Paid Family Leave Bill


Last Friday, Vermont Governor Phil Scott vetoed a piece of legislation that would have provided up to 12 weeks of paid family leave to many workers in the state.

Readers might recall that last January, Governor Scott joined with New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu to introduce the Twin State Voluntary Leave Plan.  That Twin State Voluntary Leave Plan would be voluntary (yes, it is obvious from the name but I wanted to clarify) and would have provided workers up to 6 weeks of paid family and medical leave, funded by an insurance carrier.  Democrats were quick to criticize both of the Republican Governors, calling the Twin State Voluntary Leave Plan a "PR stunt" and "useless".

As a result, we got this piece of legislation introduced in the Vermont Legislature which would have made the paid family leave mandatory (rather than the Twin State's voluntary proposal) and provided up to double the amount of paid leave.  However, Governor Scott vetoed this legislation over concerns about how it would be funded (via a $29 million payroll tax.)

With that being said, Vermont House Speaker Mitzi Johnson has suggested there might be enough votes in the Vermont Legislature to override the Governor's veto.  Stay tuned (well to both this, and the results of the Iowa caucus which still have yet to be announced as of this morning...)



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

NLRB: Discussion Among Employees About Tip Pooling is Protected Concerted Activity

  This Advice Memorandum from the National Labor Relations Board’s Associate General Counsel, Jayme Sophir, addressed whether employees which discussed and complained about tip pooling at work constituted protected concerted activity. In relevant part, an employer in New York operated a chain of steakhouses.  While tip pooling was in place at these steakhouses, some of the employees objected to it on the grounds that it was not transparent and improperly divided tips among the workers.  Employees were told not to complain or talk to each other about the tip pool and were told that doing so would endanger their jobs.  Despite the employer later attempting to provide some clarity as to how the tips were being divided, rancor still existed among some employees.  At one point, the employees were told by a general manager that some employees that had been talking about the tip pool were “cleared out” and the employer would continue to do so. In the Advice Memorandum,...
Post a Comment
Read more

Breaking: Labor Secretary Rumored to Be Leaving Administration

A few hours ago, word leaked out that Labor Secretary Marty Walsh (“Walsh”) is in the midst of negotiations to head up the NHL Players Union and leave his position at the Labor Department. Walsh, who has served as the sole Labor Secretary under President Biden, has taken part in a labor renaissance of sorts as support for organized labor has increased during his term as Labor Secretary (although the number of workers that have joined a union over the past two years has not grown as mush as some expected.)  He has also overseen the ongoing negotiations with rail workers over a new contract, although that matter is still on shaky ground and playing out as we speak. As for who might step into the vacant Labor Secretary role, there are already rumblings that President Biden should nominate Deputy Labor Secretary Julie Su (a strong labor advocate) or even a progressive like Senator Bernie Sanders.  Until Walsh officially gives his notice, however, I would expect some/many potential...
Post a Comment
Read more

San Diego Rolls Back Vaccine Mandate For City Workers

Last Tuesday, the San Diego City Council voted to do away with the vaccine mandate for city employees. The city’s vaccine mandate that was in place required city workers to get the coronavirus vaccine or risk termination.  Perhaps to this surprise of no one, the city’s policy came under fire with 14 employees being terminated and over 100 other employees resigning.  With the coronavirus subsiding, including in Southern California, the San Diego City Council took action. Now, bear in mind, the repeal of the vaccine mandate does not take place immediately. With that being said, the mandate will be repealed March 8th.  I suppose the question now is, what other cities or regions follow San Diego’s lead? For additional information:   https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/politics/story/2023-01-24/san-diego-repeals-controversial-covid-19-vaccine-mandate-citing-drop-in-cases-hospitalizations
Post a Comment
Read more