Vermont Statutes Title 21 Sec. 495_v2
Terms Used In Vermont Statutes Title 21 Sec. 495_v2
- Allegation: something that someone says happened.
- Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.
- Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
- Crime victim: means any of the following:
- Employee: means every person who may be permitted, required, or directed by any employer, in consideration of direct or indirect gain or profit, to perform services. See
- Employer: means any individual, organization, or governmental body including any partnership, association, trustee, estate, corporation, joint stock company, insurance company, or legal representative, whether domestic or foreign, or the receiver, trustee in bankruptcy, trustee, or successor thereof, and any common carrier by mail, motor, water, air, or express company doing business in or operating within this State, and any agent of such employer, that has one or more individuals performing services for it within this State. See
- Employment agency: means every person, corporation, association, or governmental body representative thereof engaged in the business of advertising for advising, classifying, training, or referral of persons for employment within this State, or that at the direction of any employer advertises, locates, advises, classifies, trains, refers, or selects persons to engage in any employment. See
- following: when used by way of reference to a section of the law shall mean the next preceding or following section. See
- gender identity: means an individual's actual or perceived gender identity, or gender-related characteristics intrinsically related to an individual's gender or gender-identity, regardless of the individual's assigned sex at birth. See
- Harass: means to engage in unwelcome conduct based on an employee's race, color, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, ancestry, place of birth, age, crime victim status, or physical or mental condition that interferes with the employee's work or creates a work environment that is intimidating, hostile, or offensive. See
- Individual with a disability: means any natural person who:
- Labor organization: means any organization or association that represents not less than five employees and that exists for the purpose, in whole or in part, of dealing with employers concerning grievances, labor disputes, wages, rates of pay, hours, promotions, or other terms and conditions of employment. See
- Person: shall include any natural person, corporation, municipality, the State of Vermont or any department, agency, or subdivision of the State, and any partnership, unincorporated association, or other legal entity. See
- Precedent: A court decision in an earlier case with facts and law similar to a dispute currently before a court. Precedent will ordinarily govern the decision of a later similar case, unless a party can show that it was wrongly decided or that it differed in some significant way.
- Qualified individual with a disability: means :
- sexual orientation: means female or male homosexuality, heterosexuality, or bisexuality. See
- State: when applied to the different parts of the United States may apply to the District of Columbia and any territory and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. See
- Testify: Answer questions in court.
§ 495. Unlawful employment practice
(a) It shall be unlawful employment practice, except where a bona fide occupational qualification requires persons of a particular race, color, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, ancestry, place of birth, age, crime victim status, or physical or mental condition:
(1) For any employer, employment agency, or labor organization to harass or discriminate against any individual because of race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, place of birth, crime victim status, or age or against a qualified individual with a disability.
(2) For any person seeking employees or for any employment agency or labor organization to cause to be printed, published, or circulated any notice or advertisement relating to employment or membership indicating any preference, limitation, specification, or discrimination based upon race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, place of birth, crime victim status, age, or disability.
(3) For any employment agency to fail or refuse to classify properly or refer for employment or to otherwise harass or discriminate against any individual because of race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, place of birth, crime victim status, or age or against a qualified individual with a disability.
(4) For any labor organization to limit, segregate, or qualify its membership with respect to any individual because of race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, place of birth, crime victim status, or age or against a qualified individual with a disability.
(5) For any employer, employment agency, labor organization, or person seeking employees to discriminate against, indicate a preference or limitation, refuse properly to classify or refer, or to limit or segregate membership on the basis of a person’s having a positive test result from an HIV-related blood test.
(6) For any employer, employment agency, labor organization, or person seeking employees to request or require an applicant, prospective employee, employee, prospective member, or member to have an HIV-related blood test as a condition of employment or membership, classification, placement, or referral.
(7) For any employer, employment agency, labor organization, or person seeking employees to discriminate between employees on the basis of sex, race, national origin, sexual orientation, or gender identity or against a qualified individual with a disability by paying wages to employees of one sex, race, national origin, sexual orientation, or gender identity or an employee who is a qualified individual with a disability at a rate less than the rate paid to employees of the other sex or a different race, national origin, sexual orientation, or gender identity or without the physical or mental condition of the qualified individual with a disability for equal work that requires equal skill, effort, and responsibility and is performed under similar working conditions. An employer who is paying wages in violation of this section shall not reduce the wage rate of any other employee in order to comply with this subsection.
(A) An employer may pay different wage rates under this subsection when the differential wages are made pursuant to:
(i) A seniority system.
(ii) A merit system.
(iii) A system in which earnings are based on quantity or quality of production.
(iv) A bona fide factor other than sex, race, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, or physical or mental condition. An employer asserting that differential wages are paid pursuant to this subdivision (7)(A)(iv) shall demonstrate that the factor does not perpetuate a differential in compensation based on sex, race, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, or physical or mental condition; is job-related with respect to the position in question; and is based upon a legitimate business consideration.
(B)(i) No employer may do any of the following:
(I) Require, as a condition of employment, that an employee refrain from disclosing the amount of his or her wages or from inquiring about or discussing the wages of other employees.
(II) Require an employee to sign a waiver or other document that purports to deny the employee the right to disclose the amount of his or her wages or to inquire about or discuss the wages of other employees.
(ii) Unless otherwise required by law, an employer may prohibit a human resources manager from disclosing the wages of other employees.
(C) Nothing in this subdivision (a)(7) shall be construed to:
(i) create any new rights for an employer to inquire about a characteristic of an employee that is otherwise unknown to the employer upon which pay discrimination is prohibited pursuant to the provisions of this subdivision (a)(7); or
(ii) diminish an employee’s right to privacy under any other law, or pursuant to an applicable contract or collective bargaining agreement.
(8) An employer, employment agency, or labor organization shall not discharge or in any other manner discriminate against any employee because the employee:
(A) has opposed any act or practice that is prohibited under this chapter;
(B) has lodged a complaint or has testified, assisted, or participated in any manner with the Attorney General, a State‘s Attorney, the Department of Labor, or the Human Rights Commission in an investigation of prohibited acts or practices;
(C) is known by the employer to be about to lodge a complaint, testify, assist, or participate in any manner in an investigation of prohibited acts or practices;
(D) has disclosed his or her wages or has inquired about or discussed the wages of other employees; or
(E) is believed by the employer to have acted as described in subdivisions (A) through (D) of this subdivision.
(b) The provisions of this section shall not be construed to limit the rights of employers to discharge employees for good cause shown.
(c) The provisions of this section prohibiting discrimination on the basis of age shall apply for the benefit of persons 18 years of age or older.
(d)(1) An employee shall not have a cause of action in negligence for any injury occurring to the employee on the account of an employer complying with subdivisions (a)(5) and (6) of this section.
(2) A person shall not have a cause of action in negligence for any injury occurring to the person on account of an employer complying with subdivisions (a)(5) and (6) of this section.
(e) The provisions of this section prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity shall not be construed to prohibit or prevent any religious or denominational institution or organization, or any organization operated for charitable or educational purposes, that is operated, supervised, or controlled by or in connection with a religious organization, from giving preference to persons of the same religion or denomination or from taking any action with respect to matters of employment that is calculated by the organization to promote the religious principles for which it is established or maintained.
(f) [Repealed.]
(g) Notwithstanding any provision of this subchapter, an employer shall not be prohibited from establishing and enforcing reasonable workplace policies to address matters related to employees’ gender identity, including permitting an employer to establish a reasonable dress code for the workplace.
(h) Nothing in this section shall require an employer to disclose the wages of an employee in response to an inquiry by another employee, unless the failure to do so would otherwise constitute unlawful employment discrimination. Unless otherwise required by law, nothing in this section shall require an employee to disclose his or her wages in response to an inquiry by another employee.
(i) An agreement to settle a claim of a violation of subsection (a) of this section shall not prohibit, prevent, or otherwise restrict the employee from working for the employer or any parent company, subsidiary, division, or affiliate of the employer. Any provision of an agreement to settle a claim of a violation of subsection (a) of this section that violates this subsection shall be void and unenforceable with respect to the individual who made the claim.
(j) Except for claims alleging a violation of subdivision (a)(7) of this section or disparate impact discrimination an employee shall not be required to demonstrate the existence of another employee or individual to whom the employee’s treatment can be compared to establish a violation of this section.
(k) Notwithstanding any State or federal judicial precedent to the contrary:
(1) harassment and discrimination need not be severe or pervasive to constitute a violation of this section; and
(2) behavior that a reasonable employee with the same protected characteristic would consider to be a petty slight or trivial inconvenience shall not constitute unlawful harassment or discrimination pursuant to this section. (Added 1963, No. 196, § 1; amended 1971, No. 9, eff. Feb. 25, 1971; 1975, No. 198 (Adj. Sess.), § 1; 1981, No. 65, § 1; 1987, No. 176 (Adj. Sess.), §§ 1, 2; 1987, No. 176 (Adj. Sess.), §§ 1, 2; 1991, No. 135 (Adj. Sess.), § 15; 1999, No. 19, § 4; 1999, No. 103 (Adj. Sess.), § 1; 2001, No. 81 (Adj. Sess.), § 1, eff. April 25, 2002; 2005, No. 10, § 1; 2007, No. 41, § 18; 2013, No. 31, § 2; 2013, No. 35, § 2; 2013, No. 96 (Adj. Sess.), § 129; 2017, No. 113 (Adj. Sess.), § 145; 2017, No. 184 (Adj. Sess.), § 1; 2023, No. 6, § 249, eff. July 1, 2023; 2023, No. 80, § 1, eff. July 1, 2023.)
§ 495l. Social media account privacy; prohibitions
(a) As used in this section:
(1) “Social media account” means an account with an electronic medium or service through which users create, share, and interact with content, including videos, still photographs, blogs, video blogs, podcasts, instant or text messages, e-mail, online services or accounts, or Internet website profiles or locations. “Social media account” does not include an account provided by an employer or intended to be used primarily on behalf of an employer.
(2) “Specifically identified content” means data, information, or other content stored in a social media account that is identified with sufficient particularity to distinguish the individual piece of content being sought from any other data, information, or content stored in the account. “Specifically identified content” shall not include a username, password, or other means of authentication for the purpose of accessing an employee’s or applicant’s social media account.
(b) An employer shall not require, request, or coerce an employee or applicant to do any of the following:
(1) disclose a username, password, or other means of authentication, or turn over an unlocked personal electronic device for the purpose of accessing the employee’s or applicant’s social media account;
(2) access a social media account in the presence of the employer;
(3) divulge or present any content from the employee’s or applicant’s social media account; or
(4) change the account or privacy settings of the employee’s or applicant’s social media account to increase third-party access to its contents.
(c) An employer shall not require or coerce an employee or applicant to add anyone, including the employer, to his or her list of contacts associated with a social media account.
(d) No agreement by an employee to waive his or her rights under this section shall be valid.
(e)(1) Nothing in this section shall preclude an employer from requesting an employee to share specifically identified content for the purpose of:
(A) complying with the employer’s legal and regulatory obligations;
(B) investigating an allegation of the unauthorized transfer or disclosure of an employer’s proprietary or confidential information or financial data through an employee’s or an applicant’s social media account; or
(C) investigating an allegation of unlawful harassment, threats of violence in the workplace, or discriminatory or disparaging content concerning another employee.
(2) Nothing in this section shall prohibit or restrict a law enforcement agency, as defined in 15 V.S.A. § 1151(5), from requesting or requiring:
(A) an applicant to provide access to the applicant’s social media account as part of a screening or fitness determination during the hiring process; or
(B) an employee to provide access to the employee’s social media account in relation to a continued fitness determination or an allegation or investigation of employee misconduct, a violation of policy, or a violation of law.
(3) Nothing in this section shall restrict or otherwise prohibit a law enforcement agency, as defined in 15 V.S.A. § 1151(5), from retaining any social media account information acquired pursuant to this subsection, provided that the information shall be protected in accordance with law and the law enforcement agency’s policy.
(4) Nothing in this section shall be construed to prevent an employer from complying with the requirements of State or federal law.
(f) Nothing in this section shall preclude an employer from requesting or requiring an employee to provide a username or password that is necessary to access an employer-issued electronic device.
(g) An employer shall not discharge or in any other manner retaliate against an employee who exercises or attempts to exercise his or her rights 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. (Added 2017, No. 37, § 1, eff. Jan. 1, 2018.)