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VLWC Legislative History (1999-2006)
2005-2006 (Tipped Minimum
Wage Increase, Tracking Impact of Low-Wage Employers, Mandatory Sick Days, &
Support Fairer Budget & Tax Priorities)
2004-2005
(Minimum Wage Increased from $7.00 to $7.25 + COLA, Extension of Basic Needs
Budget)
2003-2004
(Tax Policy, Minimum Wage Rule Changes, Non-Retaliation)
2002-2003 (Minimum Wage Increased from
$6.25 to $7.00)
2001-2002 (State Contractors & LW,
Minimum Wage Struggle Begins)
1999 (Livable Income Summer Study
Report)
2005-2006 (Tipped
Minimum Wage Increase, Tracking Impact of Low-Wage Employers, Mandatory Sick
Days, & Support Fairer Budget & Tax Priorities)
(summary coming soon!)
Read more about the 2006-2006 session. Click here.
2004-2005 (Minimum Wage Increased from $7.00 to $7.25 + COLA, Extension of Basic Needs Budget)
In
the final hours of the 2005 Vermont Legislative session, the
House and Senate reached a compromise on S. 80 to
increase the minimum wage from $7.00 to $7.25 on Jan. 1, 2006 and
then increase the rate by a cost-of-living-adjustment (COLA) based
on the CPI-U index every January 1st starting in 2007. This bill makes Vermont the
first state in the country to legislate an annual cost of living
adjustment to our state minimum wage. The three states with
COLAs on their state minimum wage rates changes their laws based on
ballot initiatives (WA, OR, and FL). This increase will make
Vermont the fourth highest minimum wage in 2006 based on the
status of other minimum wage legislation in other states so far this
year.
Sadly, Governor Jim Douglas decided to sign the bill into law
behind closed doors on June 28th, 2005. Increasing the wages of over
10,000 Vermonters deserves more public education and acknowledgement
than the Governor afforded Vermont's working people with his private
handling of this important bill!
H. 72,
Unlawful
Employment Practices Bill Passes,
passed both bodies last week on Equal Pay Day (April 19th).
The bill is currently in front of the Governor who is expected to
sign it into law. H. 72 will make it unlawful for employers to
retaliate against their workers for discussing wages. It also makes
it illegal for employers to include a clause in the personnel manual
dictating that workers cannot discuss wages and then force workers
to sign the document. This bill is a great victory for low-wage
workers who will have further protection to discuss wages and then
possibly start a union. Also, women and people of color will have
additional protection when trying to discover differences in
salaries and compensation rates for equal work with male, white
co-workers.
H. 403, Livable Wage/Basic Needs Study
Passes
This bill was introduced to instruct the Vermont Joint Fiscal Office (JFO) to
calculate the livable wage figures on an annual basis within the
Basic Needs Budget Study. As introduced, the bill also instructed the JFO and
Legislative Joint Fiscal Committee to review the methodology for the
Study every two years. The livable wage figures are a vital resource
for setting wages and for expanding the discussion on poverty by
providing an alternative economic indicator (livable wage vs.
federal poverty line). Many
Vermont workers, non-profit organizations, governmental agencies,
and businesses use the Study and livable wage figures for such
purposes. During
the last week of the session the Senate amended the bill to produce
the study every other year with a supplement report during the
interterm year to reflect major changes in the cost of living in
Vermont. The House concurred with the changes in the last days of
the session. The livable wage figures will now be produced on a 2
year basis. The next study is schedule to be produced in January of
2007.
To read more about the 2005 legislative session, click here.
2003-2004
(Tax Policy, Minimum Wage Rule Changes, Non-Retaliation)
H.381, Non-Retaliation
Bill for Employee Wage Disclosure
H.381 contains a provision that makes it unlawful for an employer to
discharge or discriminate against an employee for disclosing her or his
wages to another employee. This bill will protect low-wage workers who are
often pressured by employers not to discuss their wages with colleagues
which is particularly helpful when organizing and educating co-workers
about livable wage in the workplace. H.381 will also provide another tool
for women and people of color to combat wage discrimination in the
workplace by allowing workers to discuss wages and discover if there are
wage disparities between them and their white male co-workers.
Unfortunately, the bill never made it out of the House Committee on General and
Housing & Military Affairs. It will be reintroduced in 2005.
Minimum Wage Rules Change
In September,
the Vermont Department of Labor & Industry finalized
the Minimum Wage Rules which dictate what deductions may be made from a
worker’s paycheck in Vermont. The new rules can be read on their website
and they went into effect on September 1st. You can read the rules at
http://www.state.vt.us/labind/Wagehour/rule-final.htm. In
January 2004, the Vermont Department of Labor and Industry proposed
changes to the rules which govern the Vermont minimum wage. These rules
define what deductions an employer can make from an employee's paycheck
for uniforms and employer-provided housing. The Vermont Livable Wage
Campaign believed these changes were a direct contradiction to the
increase of the Vermont minimum wage rate from $6.25 an hour to $6.75 an
hour on January 1, 2004 and called for the Department not make these
changes to the rules.
The uniform and housing rules have remained the same thanks to over 300 Vermonters contacting Labor & Industry to oppose these changes. The final rules contain clear and more concise language. The uniform language is clearer than the previous rules--absolutely NO deductions may be made for maintenance or providing a uniform. For room and board, employees are still required to provide written authorization for goods or services deductions (i.e. housing or board), otherwise the employer needs to have proof of the employee's intention to pay for these goods/services. Also, caps on the amount allowed to be deducted from employee paychecks for room and board remain in place. All in all, this is a victory for our Campaign! Thank you to all of you for your support on this fight!
Governor Douglas' Tax Policy
At the beginning of the legislative session, Governor Douglas proposed
a three-part tax reform plan. First he proposed closing a loophole in the corporate income
tax that will force large multi-state companies to pay more in taxes. He
also called for changes in the capital gains tax that will affect mainly
high income individuals and make them pay more taxes. These changes would
produce millions in additional revenue for the state. However, the
Governor insisted on making the tad reform package
"revenue neutral" by cutting income taxes. Savings to low and
moderately income Vermonters will be minimal under the Governor's plan.
The majority of income tax filers would see less than $50 in savings per
year. Families with income of $25,000 a year and less would receive just
$3 in savings. A revenue neutral policy means the state will lose the
opportunity to use the money to address numerous unmet needs (e.g., child
care subsidies for low income Vermonters, health care, affordable housing, infrastructure, etc.).
Over twenty organizations, including the Peace & Justice Center and Vermont Livable Wage Campaign, joined together to support closing the corporate loophole and increasing the capital gains tax but in opposition to the income tax cuts as proposed by the Governor. The tax policy changes were not implemented this session.
2002-2003 (Minimum Wage
Increased from $6.25 to $7.00)
In the spring of 2003, the Vermont Livable Wage Campaign
lobbied to increase the minimum wage in Vermont. We started with the goal
of increasing the minimum wage rate by $1.00 with a COLA
(cost-of-living-adjustment) attached. In the end, the Legislature approved
a $0.75 increase from $6.25 to $6.75 in Jan
2004 and then to $7.00 in Jan 2005. This increase in the base wage for
Vermont workers will place Vermont in the top 5 states in the United
States for highest minimum wage rates. Over ten thousand Vermonters
received a raise thanks to this increase. Unfortunately, the COLA
provision was unsuccessful during this session.
During the debate, VLWC protested when the Governor dropped his support for the COLA by organizing a “flip-flop” action on the state house lawn to bring attention to the Governor’s position. Over 15 people took part in the action which received wide media coverage and helped increase Vermonter’s awareness of the COLA provision.