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The Vermont sexual discrimination law in the workplace can be found under the Vermont Fair Employment Practices Act which prohibits employers from discriminating against its employers on the basis of sex.

This law defines “employer” as anyone who has one or more employees in the state. The employers do not have to be within Vermont as long as they have employees within the state. This differs from the federal law because Title VII only refers to employers who have fifteen or more employees. “Employees” under the law are those who are gainfully employed by an employer as defined above.

There are several areas of discrimination covered under this law. First of all job conditions, hiring and firing cannot be determined using an employee’s gender as a basis for these decisions. Furthermore, unequal pay is also illegal: employers of Vermont employees cannot pay a person of one sex less than that of someone of another sex because of gender when the jobs require equal levels of skill, effort and conditions. Additionally, sexual harassment falls under sexual discrimination when such conduct relates to condition of employment or creates hostile working environments.

Two different agencies investigate claims in Vermont: Private employees go through the Civil Rights Division of the Attorney General’s Office and state employees go through the Vermont Human Rights Commission.

Private employees can file claims against their employers by contacting the Civil Rights Division within 300 days of the alleged discriminatory act. You’ll need to fill out their Employment Questionnaire which you can get from the Division or online. After they receive your questionnaire, a Division staff member will draft a formal complaint which you’ll need to have notarized. The Division will then send the complaint to your employer and give him or her a chance to respond to the claim. Both of you will be asked to participate in mediation at this point.

If mediation doesn’t work, an investigator will begin gathering further information about the claim and will then make either a reasonable cause or no reasonable cause decision. If the investigator finds reasonable cause to believe that your rights have been violated, you and your employer will once again enter a settlement phase. If this still is unsuccessful, the Attorney General might file the complaint in state court.

If you want to go through the federal courts instead of the Division, you’ll have to first request a “Right to Sue” letter from the EEOC. However, in Vermont you can go directly to the state courts without first contacting the Division. You’ll want to contact a lawyer to find out which option is best for your case.

State employees must go through the Vermont Human Rights Commission. To file a claim, you must contact the Commission within one year of the incident. You’ll be asked to describe the incident and a Commission staff member will prepare a formal complaint. The Commission will then send the complaint to your employer. After that, an investigator will gather information and prepare an Investigative Report. This report will be sent to the Commissioners and you and your employer will both be able to present your case during a Commission meeting. The Commission will then decide if there is reasonable cause to believe that your rights have been violated. Cases that have reasonable cause will enter a settlement process. If it’s not settled in six months, the Commission can decide whether to close the case or take it to court.

Both employers and employees need to know their rights and responsibilities when it comes to sexual discrimination in the workplace. Furthermore, all employers should have a current Vermont Complete Labor Law Poster posted in the workplace.

If you work in Vermont and have a complaint about age discrimination with your employer, you may contact the Vermont Human Rights Commission in Montpelier. The commission’s tasks include enforcing employment laws, mediating disputes and acting as a resource for the employee and business. Additionally, the commission suggests that if you work for the State of Vermont, you should contact its offices. Now, if you work for a non-state employer, you should contact the Civil Rights Division of the Vermont Attorney General’s office. Federal government employees are urged to contact the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).

If the complaint is taken up by the state commission, the staff will try to begin the investigation within 30 days of the date the charge is filed. If the investigation takes longer than six months, all parties will be notified of the reasons. The commission makes an effort to resolve disputes informally through conference and conciliation. Should the commission find grounds for unlawful discrimination, it may begin legal proceedings under one of several Vermont laws aimed at discrimination.

Keep in mind that state guidelines apply to all workers 18 and over, while federal guidelines begin at age 40. The definition of employer in the state law does not set a minimum number of employees, and under state law, a worker may seek compensatory or other damages in court, in addition to the findings of the commission. Recently, a Vermont electric power company was the target of an age discrimination complaint from a 57-year-old man who claimed he was passed over for promotion because of his age. The company has asked the judge to dismiss the complaint, stating that the employee did not raise the age issue when he was passed over for the promotion twice before.

Then in 2002, a group of IBM workers who were laid off claimed that the company was guilty of age discrimination. The complaint stated that the number of employees laid off rapidly increased for those 45 and older, including 67% of those between 60 and 65 (compared to 20% of those younger than 46).

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.