Vermont is moving forward with expanding access to quality retirement savings options for employees of smaller businesses. The House voted overwhelmingly in favor of S.135, an economic omnibus bill that included the public retirement plan. The bill passed the Senate in early April, and is now in Conference Committee awaiting final approval before it heads …
The paid family leave insurance proposal, H.196, has been approved by the Vermont House! After hours of debate, representatives acted to advance the bill to the Senate by a vote of 88-58, where it will likely be taken up next year. Despite being significantly weakened throughout the committee process, H.196 still provides an important benefit …
Yesterday, the House Appropriations Committee advanced H.196, the paid family leave insurance proposal. This is great news! The paid family leave bill has had months of testimony from citizens, business owners, advocates, and experts, and is finally expecting a vote on the House floor next week. This proposal would allow workers to take …
This session, the Vermont Senate passed a bill that would have weakened the state’s existing strong law banning gifts from pharmaceutical and medical device companies to Vermont medical professionals. More and more, researchers are finding that gifts – even as seemingly insignificant as a free meal – have a real impact on consequent decisions made …
S.135, an economic omnibus bill that includes the establishment of a public retirement plan for Vermonters, has successfully passed through the Senate! Now in the House Commerce and Economic Development and Government Operations committees, the bill follows recommendations from a report brought to the legislature earlier this year by the Public Retirement Study Committee, chaired …
After weeks of testimony, the paid family and medical leave bill was passed out of the House General, Housing & Military Affairs Committee last Friday. H.196 proposes a statewide family and medical leave insurance (VT FaMLI) program that would provide up to 12 weeks of paid time off for employees needing extended time for a …
The numbers don’t look good: almost half of all private-sector employees in Vermont lack access to a retirement plan through their employer, and for those who are able to save, it’s often “insufficient”. In fact, the average balance for Vermonters with defined contribution accounts is the lowest in the country.Better retirement savings would strengthen the …
We all know that balancing life and work can be hard- and after a birth, serious injury, or long-term illness, that balance can be near impossible. This is especially true when workers and their families are forced to choose between a paycheck, and staying home to care for themselves or a loved one. Most countries …
Paid Family & Medical Leave: Supporting VT workers & small businesses Read More »
VPIRG joined over 300 other farming, beekeeping, farm worker, religious, food safety, and conservation advocacy groups this week in calling for the U.S. Department of Justice to put consumer and farmer interests above corporate interests, by conducting a thorough investigation of the proposed mergers between the world’s largest agrochemical and seed companies – Bayer AG …
300+ advocacy organizations join in national opposition to mega-mergers Read More »
After VPIRG released our 31st annual Trouble in Toyland report and data from Vermont’s Toxic Free Families Act the responses from manufacturers and the toy industry were a bit puzzling. Instead of addressing known and possible carcinogens contained in their products, or ways to ensure parents know when toys are recalled, they wanted to make …
