House advances omnibus fair‑employment bill that limits noncompetes for health workers and hourly staff

The Vermont House on April 29 advanced S.230, a wide‑ranging fair‑employment measure that clarifies teachers’ leave eligibility, tightens workplace protections for survivors, and places new limits on noncompete agreements for hourly workers and health‑care providers.

Representative Bartley (member from Fairfax), speaking for the Committee on General and Housing, said the bill includes technical corrections and a new targeted approach to noncompetes. He told colleagues the bill “focuses on two different groups, nonexempt employees and health care providers,” and described the intent as preventing contracts that “may significantly limit a worker's ability to move within the labor market.”

Key provisions the committee highlighted include: clarifying that employers bear the burden of showing a teacher has not met the 1,250‑hour threshold for leave eligibility; adding certain survivors to the Fair Employment Practices Act definition of ‘‘crime victim’’ to extend workplace protections; and, in Section 3(b), voiding specific restrictive clauses in health‑care provider contracts — including geographic or time‑based bans on providing care, limits on notifying patients about employment changes, non‑disparagement clauses that conflict with Vermont law, and forum‑selection clauses requiring disputes be litigated outside Vermont. The bill also specifies the new restrictions apply prospectively to agreements entered on or after 07/01/2026, leaving existing contracts intact.

The committee reported S.230 favorably with amendment on a unanimous vote (11‑0‑0). After the committee presentation, the House approved the committee's request to propose the amendment to the Senate by voice vote and ordered a third reading.

Supporters told the committee they heard extensive testimony from a broad range of stakeholders. The bill summary and committee report circulated in the chamber say the measure is intended to protect workers while preserving legitimate contractual arrangements for nonclinical business‑support services.

The next procedural step is a third reading in the House; under the parliamentary sequence reported on the floor the House proposed the committee amendment to the Senate and ordered the bill for third reading.