The Vermont Statutes Online
The Statutes below include the actions of the 2025 session of the General Assembly.
NOTE: The Vermont Statutes Online is an unofficial copy of the Vermont Statutes Annotated that is provided as a convenience.
Subchapter
001
:
CONDITIONS FOR EMPLOYMENT
(Cite as: 21 V.S.A. § 305)
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§ 305. Nursing mothers in the workplace
(a) For an employee who is a nursing mother, the employer shall for three years after
the birth of a child:
(1) Provide reasonable time, either compensated or uncompensated, throughout the day to
express breast milk for her nursing child. The decision to provide compensated time
shall be in the sole discretion of the employer, unless modified by a collective bargaining
agreement.
(2) Make a reasonable accommodation to provide appropriate private space that is not a
bathroom stall.
(b) An employer may be exempted from the provisions of subsection (a) of this section
if providing time or an appropriate private space for expressing breast milk would
substantially disrupt the employer’s operations.
(c) An employer shall not retaliate or discriminate against an employee who exercises
or attempts to exercise the rights provided under this section. The provisions against
retaliation in subdivision 495(a)(8) of this title and the penalty and enforcement provisions of section 495b of this title shall apply to this section.
(d) In lieu of an enforcement action through the Vermont Judicial Bureau, the Attorney
General or a State’s Attorney may enforce the provisions of this section by bringing
a civil action for temporary or permanent injunctive relief, economic damages, including
prospective lost wages for a period not to exceed one year, and investigative and
court costs. The Attorney General or a State’s Attorney may conduct an investigation
of an alleged violation and enter into a settlement agreement with the employer. Such
investigation shall not be a prerequisite to bringing a court action. (Added 2007, No. 144 (Adj. Sess.), § 2; amended 2013, No. 31, § 4; 2017, No. 74, § 32.)