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Read. Follow. Verify.Vermont expands equal pay protections across all protected classes in employment
Last action · February 5, 2025: Read first time and referred to the Committee on General and HousingSponsor: Thomas Stevens
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What This Bill Would Do
Vermont H.149 prohibits employers, employment agencies, and labor organizations from paying lower wage rates to employees based on race, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, color, religion, ancestry, place of birth, age, crime victim status, or physical or mental condition for equal work. The measure takes effect July 1, 2025.
Workers across all gain explicit legal protections ensuring equal compensation for equal work, while employers are barred from lowering other workers' pay rates to achieve compliance.
Who It Would Affect
Groups the bill's text would affect if enacted, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.
Employees
Workers across all protected classes gain the right to equal pay for equal work under state law.
Employers
Employers must ensure compensation structures comply with equal pay mandates across all protected classes and justify any wage differentials.
Key Facts
You don't have to trust us. Each fact below is taken straight from the official document - click any one to see the exact passage, highlighted in the original.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does Vermont H.149 change about wage laws?
Can an employer lower other workers' pay to comply with the equal pay requirement?
Are there any exceptions where employers can pay different wage rates?
What else do you want to know?
News Coverage
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Votes, people, money & the original sourceWhere This Stands
Currently in committee. The next step in the legislative lifecycle is Floor Vote.
Procedural history
1 action- Feb 5, 2025HouseIntroducedRead first time and referred to the Committee on General and Housing
Version history
Only one version on file - nothing to compare yet. As later stages (committee substitute, engrossed, enrolled) are captured, the redline appears here.
View official text →Lobbying Activity
No state lobbying filings in our records match this bill. Federal lobbying reports (LDA) cover Congress, so they are not listed on state bills.
Full breakdown
Who this bill affects and the strongest case for and against it, written only from the bill’s own text.
Sponsors
Discoveries
Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.
Broadening of Equal Pay Scope
The legislation broadens anti-discrimination protections from narrow categories to encompass all protected classes under Vermont labor statutes.
Connected Entities
Sources
legislature.vermont.gov
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance65How much this matters to a regular citizen
- Controversy25Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment5Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz30Current news / social attention level
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