MONTPELIER, Vt. (AP) - Vermont Gov. Phil Scott has signed a two-year contract with the state workers union that will allow 8,500 state employees to be eligible for a state-funded paid leave benefit.
The Republican’s new contract with the Vermont State Employees Association was ratified by union members in late November, Vermont Public Radio reported.
The contract’s funding still needs to be approved by the Legislature before it can take effect.
According to Scott’s administration, the benefit will allow state workers to receive 60% of their wages for up to six weeks while on leave for the birth of a child, personal illness or to care for an ailing family member. The state predicts the benefit will cost about $2.5 million a year.
Administration officials also said they will work with prospective insurers to ensure that any non-government employees in Vermont will be able to opt into the state employee’s paid leave plan.
Commissioner of Financial Regulation Michael Pieciak said the program would cost about $260 per person annually, according to preliminary estimates.
Last year, Scott proposed a paid leave program that non-government workers could opt into. Lawmakers rejected that. Democrats in the Legislature have instead pushed for a paid leave plan that all workers would be eligible for and would be funded by a payroll tax.
Steve Howard, executive director of the Vermont State Employees Association, said the union still supports a benefit program for all Vermonters despite the latest contract.
If the paid leave program in the new contract does not pass, employees will receive a 0.25% pay increase next year.
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