New Family Flexibility Law in Vermont
A new law went into effect in Vermont effective January 1, 2014. The law concerns an employee’s right to request flexible working arrangements. All Vermont employers are subject to this law. The law gives the employee the right to request flexible working arrangements for any reason and requires each employer to consider such requests twice per calendar year.
The law defines “flexible working arrangement” as “intermediate or long term changes in the employee’s regular working arrangements, including changes in the number of days or hours worked, changes in the time the employee arrives at or departs from work, work from home, or job-sharing.”
If an employee makes this request in writing then the employer must respond in writing. We would recommend that all discussions following a request should be documented.
The employer may decline the request based on a variety of factors such as:
(1) the burden of additional costs
(2) the effect on aggregate employee morale
(3) the effect on ability to meet consumer demand
(4) an inability to reorganize work among existing staff
(5) an inability to recruit additional staff
(6) a detrimental impact on business quality or performance
(7) an insufficiency of work during periods employee proposes to work
(8) planned structural changes to the business
The employer should document and be prepared to defend their position. The law also states that the employee should suffer no retaliation for having asked for this change in working arrangements.
If you have any questions on this new law, please call us today at 877-352-2121, or e-mail us at beready@clark-mortenson.com.
