Employers should adhere to any written agreements they have with employees regarding vacation time. These agreements can be outlined in an employee handbook, a memorandum, correspondence, or similar documents.
Vermont Labor Laws
Vermont Minimum Wage
In 2021, the minimum wage in Vermont is set at $11.75 per hour.
Vermont Labor Law Posters
Simplify labor law compliance and make workplace policies visible with J. J. Keller state and federal labor law posters.
History of Vermont Labor Laws
Before increasing to $11.75 per hour in 2021, Vermont’s minimum wage was $10.96 in 2020 and $10.78 in 2019.
Municipality Minimum Wage Laws
Vermont does not have a law that prohibits municipalities from setting their own minimum wage rates. However, no cities in the state have opted to establish their own rates.
Vermont Minimum Wage Exemptions
According to Vermont statutes, certain employees are exempt from minimum wage requirements, including:
- Individuals employed in agriculture
- Individuals employed in domestic service in or around a private home
- Individuals employed by the United States
- Individuals working for publicly supported nonprofit organizations, except for laundry employees, nurses’ aides, or practical nurses
- Individuals in bona fide executive, administrative, or professional roles
- Individuals delivering newspapers or advertising to homes
- Taxicab drivers
- Outside salespersons
- Students working during the school year or regular vacation periods
Vermont Posting Requirements
Required posters:
- Child Labor
- Employment Protections for Victims of Crime
- Family Leave
- Minimum Wage
- Safety and Health Protection on the Job
- Accommodations for Pregnant Employees
- Employee Reinstatement
- Safety Records Notice to Employees
- Prohibition Against Sexual Harassment
- Earned Sick Time
- Smoking Is Prohibited
- Unemployment Insurance
- Workers' Compensation
Tipped Wage in Vermont
In 2021, the tipped minimum wage in Vermont is $5.88 per hour. When an employee’s tips are added to this base wage, their total hourly rate must reach at least $11.75. If it does not, the employer is required to make up the difference.
According to the Vermont Department of Labor, a “service or tipped employee” is defined as an employee of a hotel, motel, tourist establishment, or restaurant who customarily and regularly receives more than $120 per month in tips for direct and personal customer service.
Overtime Wage in Vermont
Vermont statutes require employers to pay at least one-and-a-half times the regular wage rate for any work exceeding 40 hours in a workweek.
However, some employees are exempt from this overtime requirement, including:
- Employees of any retail or service establishment
- Employees of certain amusement or recreational establishments
- Employees of hotels, motels, or restaurants
- Certain employees of hospitals, public health centers, nursing homes, maternity homes, therapeutic community residences, and residential care homes
- Employees of businesses engaged in the transportation of persons or property, to whom the overtime provisions of the federal Fair Labor Standards Act do not apply (but these provisions apply to all other employees of such businesses)
- Employees of a political subdivision of the state
- State employees who are covered by the federal Fair Labor Standards Act
Child Labor Laws in Vermont
Children who are 14 and 15 years old may work outside of school hours under the following conditions:
- No more than three hours on a school day or 18 hours in a school week
- No more than eight hours on a non-school day or 40 hours in a non-school week
- Not before 7 a.m. or after 7 p.m., except from June 1 through Labor Day, when evening hours are extended to 9 p.m.
Employer Recordkeeping Requirements in Vermont
Vermont law mandates that employers maintain records of the hours worked and wages paid to each employee for a minimum of two years.
Additionally, the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) requires employers to keep the following records for at least three years:
- Employee’s full name and Social Security number
- Address, including zip code
- Birth date, if under 19
- Sex and occupation
- Time and day of the week when the employee’s workweek begins
- Hours worked each day and total hours worked each workweek
- Basis on which the employee’s wages are paid
- Regular hourly pay rate
- Total daily or weekly straight-time earnings
- Total overtime earnings for the workweek
- All additions to or deductions from the employee’s wages
- Total wages paid each pay period
- Date of payment and the pay period covered by the payment
Vermont Labor Law Questions & Answers
Yes, businesses with two or more employees must comply with the Vermont minimum wage law.
For 14- and 15-year-old employees, work hours are limited to three hours on a school day (eight hours on a non-school day) and 18 hours during a school week (40 hours during a non-school week).
Yes, overtime must be paid for any hours worked over 40 in a workweek.
Vermont law requires employers to provide employees with a “reasonable opportunity” to eat and use toilet facilities.
Vermont Labor Law Posters
Simplify labor law compliance and make workplace policies visible with J. J. Keller state and federal labor law posters.