Vermont SB 117 Change Notification
This measure amends various unemployment compensation rules in Vermont.
- The bill changes notice requirements for employers for potential layoffs, reducing the threshold from 50 to 20 employees for both business closures and mass layoffs.
- It provides employers and claimants with the option to receive unemployment insurance notices electronically.
- Additionally, it revises unemployment tax rate calculations, modifies reporting requirements when a business is transferred to a successor entity, and
- resumes the state’s Short-Time Compensation Program upon completion of the modernization of the unemployment insurance system, extending the implementation deadline to July 1, 2026.
The bill also clarifies how earnings are rounded down in weekly unemployment benefit claims and revises the highest benefit cost rate calculation used to determine unemployment tax rates. This measure takes effect on July 1, 2025, with specific sections delayed until July 1, 2028.
Effective Date
July 1, 2025 or July 1, 2028
Vermont Senate Bill 117 Implication to Stakeholders
For employers who have a mass layoff or are planning one in the future, the new requirement changes from 50 employees to 20 employees. In other words, if an employer plans to have a mass layoff and it involves 20 or more employees, a notification is required to the state.
In regards to the mailing of documents, employers can now choose to receive them electronically from the state, however, if an employer uses a third-party administrator such as Experian, to manage its unemployment claims, it is recommended employers not make changes to receive documents electronically as this may remove them from the SIDES exchange which is how third-party administrators receive claims for their clients.
If an employer is in the practice of acquiring businesses and splitting one entity into multiple entities based on employee population, it is likely the state will not allow a transfer of experience.
Recommended Action
Provide any recommended action they need to take as a result of this change.
