Bereavement Leave in Vermont
Yes, bereavement leave is required in Vermont
As of July 2025, Vermont's Parental and Family Leave Act explicitly includes bereavement as a qualifying reason for unpaid, job-protected leave. Bereavement leave is drawn from the employee's available 12-week leave entitlement. Vermont's law offers one of the broadest definitions of family members, including persons for whom the employee has caregiving responsibilities. Employers with 10 or more employees are covered.
Key details
| Paid leave required? | No — Leave is unpaid, but employees may use accrued paid leave such as vacation or sick time. |
|---|---|
| Employer size | Applies to employers with 10+ employees |
| Qualifying relationships | spouse, civil union partner, domestic partner, child, parent, grandparent, grandchild, sibling, persons for whom the employee has caregiving responsibilities |
| Consecutive days required? | Varies — Bereavement leave is taken from the employee's 12-week Parental and Family Leave entitlement under the expanded Parental and Family Leave Act. |
| Effective date | July 1, 2025 |
| Statute | 21 V.S.A. §471 et seq. (Parental and Family Leave Act, as amended by Act 32 of 2025) |
Bereavement leave in Vermont: what you need to know
Vermont explicitly includes bereavement as a qualifying reason for job-protected leave under the expanded Parental and Family Leave Act. As of July 2025, employees at employers with 10 or more employees can use their 12-week leave entitlement for bereavement. The leave is unpaid, but employees may use accrued paid time off.
Vermont's law is notable for its exceptionally broad definition of qualifying relationships. Beyond the standard list of spouses, children, parents, and siblings, Vermont covers anyone for whom the employee has caregiving responsibilities. This is the most inclusive family member definition of any state with bereavement-related protections, recognizing that many people provide care for individuals outside traditional family structures.
Vermont's economy is small and specialized, with significant employment in healthcare (UVM Medical Center), higher education (UVM, Middlebury, Norwich), tourism and outdoor recreation (ski resorts, fall foliage tourism), agriculture (particularly dairy), and a growing technology sector. The state's tight labor market means most employers offer bereavement leave to attract and retain workers.
Vermont also has a paid sick leave law (earned sick time) that requires employers to provide up to 40 hours of paid sick leave per year. This provides an additional avenue for paid time off during bereavement, supplementing the unpaid job-protected leave under the Parental and Family Leave Act.
Vermont's small communities mean that deaths are felt broadly. In small towns where everyone knows each other, employers and coworkers are often personally affected by the same loss. This community dynamic typically means more informal support and understanding around bereavement, though the legal protection of the Parental and Family Leave Act provides a formal backstop.
Vermont's relatively small employer base means that workers often know their employer personally, which can cut both ways during bereavement. A sympathetic employer may offer more time off than any law requires. An unsympathetic one might create pressure to return quickly. The expansion of the Parental and Family Leave Act to cover bereavement provides a legal backstop that protects workers in the latter situation. The formal protection matters most precisely when the informal relationship is not enough.
More Vermont workplace laws
Check other workplace law topics for Vermont:
Frequently asked questions about bereavement leave in Vermont
Bereavement leave is drawn from your 12-week Parental and Family Leave entitlement. The leave is unpaid but job-protected. You may use accrued PTO or earned sick time to receive pay. The law applies to employers with 10 or more employees.
Vermont has the broadest definition of any state: spouses, civil union partners, domestic partners, children, parents, grandparents, grandchildren, siblings, and persons for whom the employee has caregiving responsibilities. This last category is uniquely broad.
Vermont's earned sick time law provides up to 40 hours of paid sick leave per year. While bereavement is not explicitly listed, the law covers health needs broadly. This paid time can supplement the unpaid job-protected leave under the Parental and Family Leave Act.
If the resort has 10 or more employees, the Parental and Family Leave Act applies, and bereavement is a qualifying reason for leave. Seasonal workers must meet eligibility requirements. Smaller resorts with fewer than 10 employees are not covered.
The explicit inclusion of bereavement was added by Act 32 of 2025, effective July 1, 2025. Before this expansion, the Parental and Family Leave Act covered childbirth, adoption, and serious illness but did not specifically address bereavement.