Pregnant workers in Vermont have new legal protections in the workplace this year. As of January 1, 2018, employees experiencing healthy, uncomplicated pregnancies and needing reasonable workplace accommodations, such as rest breaks, a stool to lean or sit on, more frequent bathroom breaks, not lifting over a certain weight, flexible scheduling, or time off for medical appointments, are protected when making those requests, and unless they impose an undue hardship, employers must grant them.

Today at one o’clock Governor Scott signed H.294, a new law prohibiting inquiries about salary history.  

Equal Pay Day’s date symbolizes how far into the year women must work to earn what men earned in the previous year due to the gender wage gap.

Brattleboro’s Emilie Kornheiser kicks off the Vermont Commission on Women’s (VCW) statewide community listening project at the River Garden this Friday, as part of Brattleboro’s Strolling of the Heifers noontime Brown Bag Lunch series.  Her discussion, “Women and the Economy,” will center on the place, needs, and strengths of women in Brattleboro.  This event is FREE and open to the public.  Thoughts and comments will help shape VCW’s policy work for women and families.  More info at strollingofthe

Ensuring Vermont has enough high-quality, affordable child care is essential to supporting gender equality in the workplace, according to a new report co-authored by Let’s Grow Kids (LGK) and the Vermont Commission on Women (VCW). The report outlines policy recommendations—including increasing investments in Vermont’s Child Care Financial Assistance Program and passing paid family leave—as key strategies to supporting working women and their families.

Read our mid-session legislative update.

   More than Choice? A Review of the Gender Pay Gap, was prepared by the Economic and Labor Market Information Division of the Vermont Department of Labor.   It includes a section titled, Why It Matters, as well as these recommendations:

Change The Story VT (CTS), a multi-year initiative fueled by the Vermont Women’s Fund, the Vermont Commission on Women, and Vermont Works for Women, released the first of a series of briefs called “Women, Work and Wages in Vermont” in January.  Much of this data is not regularly collected or published. All of it is specific to Vermont, and all is critical - not just in what it reflects about women, but in its  implications for Vermont’s economic future.

Change The Story VT (CTS), a multi-year initiative fueled by the Vermont Women’s Fund, the Vermont Commission on Women, and Vermont Works for Women, released the first of a series of briefs called “Women, Work and Wages in Vermont” in January.  Much of this data is not regularly collected or published. All of it is specific to Vermont, and all is critical - not just in what it reflects about women, but in its  implications for Vermont’s economic future.