House orders third reading of bill extending equal-pay protections to additional categories

The Vermont House advanced H 751, a bill that would expand the state's equal-pay protections by adding several protected characteristics to the statute that prohibits unequal pay.

Member from Middletown Springs, reporting for the General Affairs and Housing Committee, framed the bill around Equal Pay Day and argued that protections tied solely to gender are not sufficient. "Broadly speaking, women still only earn 84¢ for each dollar that men earn," the member said, and described H 751 as aligning the list of protected classes for pay with the broader list of classes protected against employment discrimination under the Vermont Fair Employment Practices Act.

The measure would add color, religion, place of birth, crime-victim status, ancestry, and disability to subsection 7, which prohibits unequal pay based on protected characteristics or classes, making the list of protected categories consistent across related statutory sections. The member said the committee discussed the bill at length, heard from the Vermont Commission on Women, advocates from the Vermont Network Against Domestic Violence, legislative counsel, and the Office of the Attorney General's civil rights unit, and reported the bill favorably.

On the floor the House voted by voice; the presiding officer announced the ayes had it and third reading was ordered. The transcript indicates the prior Act 80 (S 103) had recently expanded other protected categories in Vermont law.

Next steps: H 751 was ordered to third reading; a future floor session will consider final passage.