House committees back amendment to S.313 folding in leave, employment and health-care noncompete changes

The House Commerce and House General committees on Tuesday advanced an amendment to S.313 that incorporates five previously-passed measures, including technical fixes to the Parental and Family Leave Act and the Fair Employment Practices Act, a clarification about elected municipal offices under wage and overtime law, and a ban on noncompete agreements for health‑care providers.

Sophie Zidaney of the Office of Legislative Council, who presented the amendment, told members the draft adds sections 8A through 8E to S.313 to fold in language that had passed in other forms. "So there'll be section 8A through 8E," she said, and described the components as largely clarifying and aligning language rather than introducing new substantive policy.

Zidaney said 8A inserts a Code of Federal Regulations citation to handle a narrow eligibility issue under the federal Family and Medical Leave Act that uses teachers as an example; the change places the burden on employers to show eligibility under federal rules. Section 8B amends the Fair Employment Practices Act to mirror last session's Parental and Family Leave Act language expanding safe-leave protections to survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault and stalking and listing acceptable documentation, including self-attestation, so FEPA claims are not blocked by inconsistent wording.

Another provision removes a misleading line in FEPA that could be read to allow mandatory retirement of tenured faculty at age 70, a practice federal law has barred since 1994, Zidaney said. Section 8D clarifies that elected and appointed municipal offices are not considered employees for purposes of minimum wage and overtime, language Zidaney said was requested by the Vermont League of Cities and Towns and the Department of Labor to reflect existing practice.

The amendment's section 8E addresses agreements not to compete for health‑care providers. Zidaney said the provision—derived from earlier H.205 language—would prohibit noncompete clauses for health‑care providers, limit non‑solicit and disparagement clauses, exempt nonclinical business‑support services, define "health‑care provider," and funnel enforcement through the Fair Employment Practices Act. "So it's not disrupting any existing agreements," she said, noting the bill would apply prospectively to agreements entered on or after July 1, 2026.

A member said prior consideration of related language raised concerns about solicitation on Department of Corrections property and that administrators had warned a veto was likely unless that specific language was removed. A committee member said Sarah Clark, the Secretary of Administration, worked with legislators and supported retaining the other provisions; lawmakers used S.313 as a vehicle to keep the beneficial elements while removing the veto‑vulnerable clause.

Committee members sought clarification on several points: one lawmaker asked which underlying bill the CFR citation related to and Zidaney said it aligns with the Parental and Family Leave Act; another asked about the origin of the municipal‑office exclusion and was told it had been introduced as H.556 and requested by municipal and labor stakeholders.

The Committee on General and Housing took a straw poll and reported the result as favorable (the transcript records a spoken count of "six zero"). House Commerce then held a separate straw poll and likewise reported the amendment favorable; the transcript contains multiple spoken numeric counts and the precise final tally is inconsistent in the record. Chair closed the meeting and said legislators would reconvene on the floor at 1:00 p.m.

Votes at a glance: Committee on General and Housing — straw poll reported "favorable" (transcript: "six zero"); House Commerce — straw poll reported "favorable" (final numeric tally unclear in transcript).