Title 03, Executive

§ 965. Prevention of unfair practices (a) The Board may prevent any person from engaging in any unfair labor practice listed in sections 961–962 of this title. Whenever a charge is made that any person has engaged in or is engaging in any unfair labor practice, the Board may issu…

§ 966. Freedom of expression The expressing of any views, argument or opinion, or the dissemination thereof, whether in written, printed, graphic, oral or visual form, shall not constitute or be evidence of an unfair labor practice under this chapter, if such expression contains …

§ 971. Intent of subchapter A State employee, as a trustee and servant of the people, shall be free to report, in good faith and with candor, waste, fraud, abuse of authority, violations of law, or a threat to the health of employees, the public, or persons under the care of the …

§ 972. Definitions As used in this subchapter: (1) “Department head” means a secretary of an agency, commissioner of a department, director of an office, or any other appointing authority in charge of an agency of State government. (2) “Illegal order” means a directive to violate…

§ 973. Protected activity (a) A State agency, department, appointing authority, official, or employee shall not engage in retaliatory action against a State employee because the State employee refuses to comply with an illegal order or engages in any of the following: (1) providi…

§ 974. Communication with General Assembly (a) No entity of State government may prohibit a State employee from engaging in discussion with a member of the General Assembly or from testifying before a legislative committee; provided, however, that an employee may not divulge conf…

§ 975. Enforcement and preemption (a) Nothing in this subchapter shall be deemed to diminish the rights, privileges, or remedies of a State employee under other federal or State law or under any collective bargaining agreement or employment contract, except the limitation on mult…

§ 976. Remedies A State employee who brings a claim in Superior Court may be awarded the following remedies: (1) reinstatement of the employee to the same position, seniority, and work location held prior to the retaliatory action; (2) back pay, lost wages, benefits, and other re…

§ 977. Posting Every State agency and department shall distribute a copy of this law by August 1, 2008 and shall post and display notices of State employee protection under this subchapter in a prominent and accessible location in the workplace. (Added 2007, No. 128 (Adj. Sess.),…

§ 978. Limitations of actions An action alleging a violation of this subchapter brought under a grievance procedure or similar process shall be brought within the period allowed by that process or procedure. An action brought in Superior Court shall be brought within 180 days of …

§ 981. Good faith; failure to agree For the purpose of this chapter to bargain collectively is the performance of the mutual obligation of the employer and the representative of the employees to meet at reasonable times and confer in good faith with respect to all matters bargain…

§ 982. Agreements; limitations, renegotiation, and renewal (a) Collective bargaining agreements, except those affecting the Vermont State Colleges and the University of Vermont, shall be for a maximum term of two years and shall not be subject to cancellation or renegotiation dur…

§ 1010. Purpose It is the purpose and policy of this chapter to recognize the right of employees of the Judiciary Department to join a labor organization of their own choosing and to be represented by that organization in collective bargaining for terms and conditions of their em…

§ 1011. Definitions As used in this chapter: (1) “Agreement” means a written agreement resulting from collective bargaining negotiation and covers the terms, tenure, and conditions of employment. (2) “Board” means the State Labor Relations Board established pursuant to section 92…

§ 1012. Employees’ rights and duties; prohibited acts (a) Employees shall have the right to self-organization; to form, join, or assist employee organizations; to bargain collectively through their chosen representatives; to engage in concerted activities of collective bargaining…

§ 1013. Subjects for bargaining All matters relating to the relationship between the employer and employees are subject to collective bargaining, to the extent those matters are not prescribed or controlled by law, including: (1) wages, salaries, benefits, and reimbursement pract…

§ 1014. Management rights (a) The employer shall be responsible for insuring consistency of the terms and conditions in various agreements throughout the Judiciary Department and shall not agree to any terms or conditions for which adequate funds are not available. (b) Subject to…

§ 1015. Designation of managerial, supervisory, and confidential employees The employer shall determine the designation of employees as managerial, supervisory, or confidential. Any disputes arising from this determination shall be resolved by the Board. (Added 1997, No. 92 (Adj.…

§ 1016. Obligation to bargain The employer and representative of the employees shall bargain collectively, which for the purposes of this chapter means performing the mutual obligation to meet at reasonable times and confer in good faith with respect to all matters bargainable un…

§ 1017. Grievance procedures; binding arbitration (a) The employer and the representative of the employees shall negotiate a procedure for resolving complaints and grievances. Unless otherwise agreed to by the parties, the Board shall hear and make final determination on a grieva…

§ 1018. Mediation; fact-finding; last best offer (a) If, after a reasonable period of negotiation, the representative of a collective bargaining unit and the employer reach an impasse, the Board, upon petition of either party, may authorize the parties to submit their differences…

§ 1020. Reports arbitration; costs (a) The results of all arbitration proceedings, recommendations, and awards conducted under this chapter shall be filed with the Board simultaneously with submission of the decisions to the parties. (b) The costs of any mediation, fact-finding, …

§ 1021. Unit determination; certification (a) The Board shall determine issues of unit determination, certification, and representation in accordance with this chapter and the provisions of section 941 of this title. The Board shall decide the appropriate unit for collective barg…

§ 1022. Access to new employees in bargaining unit (a) An employer shall provide the employee organization that is the exclusive representative of the employees in a bargaining unit with an opportunity to meet with each newly hired employee in the bargaining unit to present infor…

§ 1023. Annual list of employees in bargaining unit (a) Annually, or on a more frequent basis if mutually agreed to by the employer and the employee organization, the employer shall provide the employee organization that is the exclusive representative of a bargaining unit with a…

§ 1026. Employers It shall be an unfair labor practice for an employer: (1) to interfere with, restrain, or coerce employees in the exercise of rights guaranteed by section 1012 of this title or by any other law; (2) to dominate or interfere with the formation or administration o…

§ 1027. Employees It shall be an unfair labor practice for an employee organization or its agents: (1) To restrain or coerce employees in the exercise of the rights guaranteed to them by law. This subdivision shall not limit the right of an employee organization to prescribe its …

§ 1028. Membership; employee rights An employee organization entering into an agreement shall not: (1) discriminate against a member or applicant for membership on account of race, color, creed, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, religion, or disabili…

§ 1029. Business and products of other employers It shall be an unfair labor practice for any employee organization and any employer to enter into any contract or agreement, express or implied, whereby the employer ceases or refrains or agrees to cease or refrain from handling, u…

§ 1030. Prevention of unfair practices (a) The Board may prevent any person from engaging in any unfair labor practice prohibited under this chapter. Whenever a charge is made that any person has engaged in or is engaging in any unfair labor practice, the Board may issue and caus…

§ 1031. Freedom of expression The expression of any views, argument, or opinion, or the dissemination of such an expression, in any form, shall not constitute or be evidence of an unfair labor practice under this chapter, provided the expression contains no threat of reprisal or …

§ 1036. Agreements; limitations, renegotiation, and renewal (a) A collective bargaining agreement shall be for a maximum term of two years. The agreement may not be canceled, supplemented, or renegotiated during the term of the agreement, unless both parties consent in writing an…

§ 1041. Grievances; applicants and excluded personnel (a) An applicant for employment in a position included in the bargaining unit and employees who are in the initial or extended probationary period may appeal to the Board if they believe they were discriminated against on acco…

§ 1042. Enforcement (a) Orders of the Board issued under this chapter may be enforced by any party or by the Board by filing a petition with the Washington Superior Court or the Superior Court in the county in which the action before the Board originated. The petition shall be se…

§ 1043. Judicial review; stay pending appeal (a) Any person aggrieved by an order or decision of the Board issued under this chapter, except a decision and order made pursuant to subsection 1018(i) of this title, may appeal questions of law to the Supreme Court. (b) An order of t…

§ 1044. Contract ratification; annual vote Annually, the employees of the bargaining unit shall meet and discuss whether employees who have chosen not to join the employee organization shall be allowed to vote on the ratification of any collective bargaining agreement entered int…

§ 1101. Obligation of State to defend employees; definition (a) In any civil action against a State employee for alleged damage, injury, loss, or deprivation of rights arising from an act or omission to act in the performance of the employee’s official duties, it shall be the obl…

§ 1102. Representation of employee: determination by Attorney General (a) A State employee against whom a civil action is brought for an alleged act or omission that the employee believes to have arisen within the scope of his or her official duties shall notify the Attorney Gene…

§ 1104. Criminal actions (a) Except as provided in subsection (c) of this section, in any criminal action brought against a State employee, the Defender General shall defend the State employee if the employee requests defense and if the Defender General finds that: (1) The action…

§ 1201. Definitions As used in this chapter: (1) “Candidate” and “candidate’s committee” have the same meanings as in 17 V.S.A. § 2901. (2) “Commission” means the State Ethics Commission established under subchapter 3 of this chapter. (3) “Commercially reasonable loan made in the…

§ 1202. State Code of Ethics; applicability (a) Unless excluded under this section, the Code of Ethics applies to all public servants. (b) The Code of Ethics established by this section does not prohibit branches of State government, agencies, or departments from adopting additio…

§ 1203. Conflict of interest; appearance of conflict of interest (a) Conflict of interest; appearance of conflict of interest. (1) In the public servant’s official capacity, the public servant shall avoid any conflict of interest or the appearance of a conflict of interest. The a…

§ 1203a. Directing unethical conduct A public servant shall not direct another person to act in a manner that would be unethical for the public servant or the other person to act. A public servant who has a conflict of interest shall not direct others to act to the public servant…

§ 1203b. Appearance of unethical conduct A public servant shall avoid any actions creating the appearance that the public servant is violating the Code of Ethics. Whether particular circumstances create an appearance that the Code of Ethics have been violated shall be determined …

§ 1203c. Preferential treatment A public servant in the course of conducting State business shall act impartially, showing no favor toward or prejudice against any person. A public servant shall not give or represent an ability to give preference or special treatment to any perso…

§ 1203d. Misuse of position A public servant shall not use the public servant’s official position for personal or financial gain. (Added 2021, No. 102 (Adj. Sess.), § 1, eff. July 1, 2022.)