Vermont ( VT ) Employment Discrimination Law in the Workplace

August 25th, 2006 Posted by Karen

It is nice, after I have just researched several states with minimal employment discrimination laws in the workplace, to come across Vermont. This state has given a good expansion to the standards set by the federal employment discrimination laws in the workplace. One major difference is that disabled employees are protected without concern being placed on the employee’s attempts to discuss the disability with the employer, to an extent.

Vermont’s employment discrimination laws in the workforce make it illegal to discriminate on the basis of age (18 and over), ancestry, color, handicap, HIV status, national origin, place of birth, race, religion, sex, or sexual orientation. These statues also make smaller businesses (1 or more employees) accountable where the federal government only holds businesses with 15 or more employees accountable.

Claims in Vermont can be filed with one of two agencies: the state agency, the Civil Rights Unit of the Vermont Attorney General’s Office (CRU), or the federal agency, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). These agencies will work together to resolve you claim as long as you file in one agency and request that your claim be cross-filed with the other. The EEOC can be contacted at (617) 565-3200 or TTY: (617) 565-3204 and the CRU can be contacted at (888) 745-9195 or TTY: (802) 828-3665.

Claims through either agency must be filed within 300 days of the date of the discriminatory act. You only need to file with one agency and request that your claim be cross-filed with the other. File early to avoid delays due to legalities in the filing process as these delays can push your past the deadline. Retaining an attorney is a big help, but is not required.

If your claim is not resolved by these agencies, you may need to pursue it in court. Vermont does not require you to file with the CRU before you file a case in the state courts, but the federal courts do require that you file your claim through the EEOC before you are able to file in the federal court system. Additionally, the EEOC must release your claim by giving you one of two documents: “Dismissal and Notice of Rights,” or “Right to Sue.” A claim filed in federal court must be filed within 90 days of receiving either of the above documents. Although state law is a bit unclear and you may be able to file later, the general rule is that lawsuits filed in Vermont’s state court system have a 3 year time limit from the time the discriminatory act occurred.

Vermont has made an excellent attempt provide good coverage in their employment discrimination laws in the workplace. They offer coverage to several sets of people who are not covered through federal government standards and provide better coverage for disabled employees.

Last 10 posts by Karen

« Utah ( UT ) Employment Discrimination Law in the Workplace
Virginia ( VA ) Employment Discrimination Law in the Workplace »
Posted in Discrimination, Employment Laws, Hostile Environment, Vermont

RELATED LINKS

Subscribe to RSS

Subscribe to this blog via email
Delivered by FeedBurner
add