Act No. 117 Page 1 of 1
2024
This act summary is provided for the convenience of the public and members of the General Assembly. It
is intended to provide a general summary of the act and may not be exhaustive. It has been prepared by the
staff of the Office of Legislative Counsel without input from members of the General Assembly. It is not
intended to aid in the interpretation of legislation or to serve as a source of legislative intent.
Act No. 117 (S.102). An act relating to expanding employment protections and collective
bargaining rights
Subjects: Education; labor; executive; employment practices; fair employment
practices; certification procedure; collective bargaining; employee speech
This act prohibits employers from penalizing or threatening an employee because the
employee declines to attend a meeting or participate in a communication that has the
primary purpose of conveying the employer’s opinion regarding a religious or political
matter. This act also permits domestic workers who are employed in a household with
five or more domestic employees to collectively bargain. This act also permits
bargaining units subject to the State Employees’ Labor Relations Act, the Judiciary
Employees’ Labor Relations Act, the Teachers’ Labor Relations Act, the Municipal
Labor Relations Act, and the State Labor Relations Act to form a union without a secret
ballot election if a majority of the employees in the bargaining unit sign a petition in
support of forming the union. Finally, this act creates the Agricultural Worker Labor and
Employment Laws Study Committee to study the labor and employment laws that apply
to Vermont agricultural workers, to develop a proposal for legislation to permit Vermont
agricultural workers to collectively bargain, and to identify additional potential changes
to labor and employment laws in relation to agricultural workers.
Effective Date: July 1, 2024
VT LEG #377599 v.2


Statutes affected:
As Introduced: 21-495, 21-1502, 3-941, 16-1992, 21-1581, 21-1584, 21-1724
As Passed By the Senate -- Official: 21-495, 21-1502, 3-941, 16-1992, 21-1581, 21-1584, 21-1724
As Passed By the Senate -- Unofficial: 21-1502, 3-941, 16-1992, 21-1581, 21-1584, 21-1724
As Passed by Both House and Senate -- Official: 21-495, 21-1502, 3-941, 16-1992, 21-1581, 21-1584, 21-1724
As Passed by Both House and Senate -- Unofficial: 21-1502, 3-941, 16-1992, 21-1581, 21-1584, 21-1724
As Enacted: 21-1502, 3-941, 16-1992, 21-1581, 21-1584, 21-1724