Committee asks counsel to draft bill preventing concurrent parental-family leave and workers' compensation

Legislative Counsel Sophie Zdapny told the House Committee on General and Housing on Feb. 5 that a short-form measure under consideration would prevent employers from running parental and family leave concurrently with workers' compensation leave.

"The goal being that employers not run...the entitlement to unpaid leave under the parental family leave...not run concurrently," Zdapny said during a presentation explaining the policy and legal context. She summarized the differences between the two systems: workers' compensation is a no-fault, paid remedy that typically provides medical cost coverage and replacement wages (often around two-thirds of pre-injury pay), and Vermont's Parental and Family Leave Act provides unpaid job‑protected leave of up to 12 weeks in a 12‑month period for qualifying serious health conditions.

Why it matters: If employers are allowed to run leaves concurrently, an employee who is receiving workers' compensation benefits while out of work may have that time count against the 12‑week PFLA entitlement, reducing the amount of job‑protected unpaid leave available later. Counsel said the short form is intended to preserve the employee's PFLA pool after a workers' compensation absence, while critics warned it could increase costs and disruption for small employers.

Committee members pressed on practical mechanics and eligibility thresholds. Zdapny told the committee the state PFLA threshold differs from federal law: Vermont treats employers with as few as 10 employees averaging 30 hours per week as covered for some leave purposes, while the federal Family and Medical Leave Act generally uses a 50‑employee threshold. She also noted Vermont's workers' compensation law includes a reinstatement provision that can secure an employee's position if they return within two years.

After discussion, the committee directed Legislative Counsel to draft bill language that would prohibit concurrent running of workers' compensation leave and PFLA leave and to include an employer‑size cutoff left as a placeholder for later debate. Members asked that counsel return with several example thresholds and, if the measure advances, to solicit testimony from the original requesters and from business representatives to assess costs and operational impacts. The committee did not act by formal vote during the hearing.

Next steps: Counsel will prepare draft language with a size threshold for future committee consideration and possible public testimony; the committee indicated it would later set hearings for stakeholder input.