Like federal law, Vermont law requires that employees be paid at one and a half times their regular rate of pay for any hours worked over 40 in any given workweek. Vermont’s overtime provision does not apply to anyone to whom the state’s minimum wage provision does not apply. In addition, the state’s overtime provision does not apply to any of the following employees to whom the state’s minimum wage does apply:

• Employees of any retail or service establishment
• Employees of amusement or recreational establishments that do not operate for more than seven months or that make the vast majority of their profits in a six-month period
• Hotel, motel, or restaurant employees
• Under certain circumstances, employees of hospitals, public health centers, nursing homes, maternity homes, therapeutic community residences and residential care homes
• Certain employees involved in the transportation of persons or property who are also exempt from FLSA requirements 
• Employees of a political subdivision of the state (public employees)
• State employees covered by federal wage-and-hour law

Effective January 1, 2019, the minimum wage in Vermont is $10.78 per hour, higher than the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour. Employers may pay tipped employees (making at least $12030 per month in tips) $5.39 per hour, as long as this combined with the employee’s tips totals the minimum wage of $10.78 per hour. The minimum wage will increase annually by either 5% or in accordance with the consumer price index, whichever is smaller.

The state minimum wage law does not cover the following employees:

• Agricultural employees
• Employees in domestic service in or about a private home
• Federal employees
• Employees working for a public supported nonprofit organization, except laundry employees, nurses’ aides or practical nurses
• Bona fide executive, administrative, or professional employees
• Employees making home deliveries of newspapers or advertising fliers
• Taxi-cab drivers
• Outside salespersons
• Students working during all or any part of the school year or regular vacation periods.
• Employees of employers who only have one employee

An employer may deduct from the minimum wage or overtime pay the amounts for board, lodging, apparel, rent, or utilities paid or furnished or similar items or services that are usually provided in the particular employer-employee relationship.

No cities or counties in Vermont currently have a minimum wage different from the state minimum of $10.78 per hour (or $5.39 per hour for tipped employees).

Vermont law goes beyond federal law in that it requires employers to provide employees “reasonable opportunities” to eat and use the restroom. Breaks may be unpaid if they are less than 30 minutes. The law is not more specific than that, however.

If your employer owes you wages, you can electronically file a wage claim with the Vermont Department of Labor. You can also manually file a wage claim. The Commissioner may investigate, attempt to settle, and, if there is enough evidence, order your employer to pay your wages. The Commissioner may also require your employer to pay twice what you are owed if your employer willfully failed to pay your wages; you would receive half of this extra amount, and the other half would go to the state. The Commissioner may also enforce the order to pay in court

Do not delay in contacting the Department of Labor to file a claim. There are strict time limits in which charges of wage-and-hour violations may be filed. In order for the Department to act on your behalf, you must file your wage claim within two years from the date on which your wages were due. However, as you might have other legal claims with shorter deadlines, do not wait to file your claim until your time limit is close to expiring. It may be helpful to consult with an attorney prior to filing your claim, but it is not necessary to have an attorney to file your claim with the Department.

If your employer has paid you less than the minimum wage, you can bring a lawsuit in court to recover twice the minimum wage, less any wages you were actually paid. The court may also require your employer to pay your litigation costs and attorneys’ fees. There appears to be a six-year statute of limitations on such actions, but this is not clear, and you should consult an attorney as soon as possible to consider filing suit. If your employer owes you wages (unrelated to minimum wage issues), you can also bring a lawsuit in court. In such a case, the court may award you twice the wages you are owed, as well as require your employer to pay your litigation costs and attorneys’ fees. The statute of limitations for such a claim is two years.

Vermont Department of Labor
5 Green Mountain Drive
PO Box 488
Montpelier, VT 05601-0488
Phone: 802-828-4000
Fax: (802) 828-4022
Web: www.labor.vermont.gov

Wage and Hour Division
Phone: (802) 828-0267
Fax: (802) 828-4374
Email: Labor.WageHour@vermont.gov
Web: labor.vermont.gov/wage-hour