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Senate hears employee-rights, noncompete and unionization proposals; assistant attorneys general press for bargaining rights
Summary
Witnesses urged the committee to back bills that would create a good-cause discharge standard, ban most noncompetes, restore a workplace "right to sit" and allow assistant attorneys general to vote on union representation; labor groups and assistant AGs highlighted retention and recruitment concerns.
The Senate Economic Development, Housing & General Affairs Committee heard testimony Feb. 20 on a package of employee-rights measures and on a request from assistant attorneys general to be allowed to form a collective bargaining unit.
David Bickenbergen, representing Working Vermont, described a multi-part bill (draft 2025-0653) that would establish a good-cause termination standard, ban most noncompete agreements, and create a workplace "right to sit" in jobs that do not require continuous standing. "This bill is really in line with, I see this as a beacon to the rest of the country to come work in Vermont," Bickenbergen said, framing the changes as recruitment and workforce-development tools.
On noncompetes, the committee heard proponents cite a…
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