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An Official Vermont Government Website

Employment Law

The Civil Rights Unit is responsible for enforcing state laws that prohibit discrimination in employment and certain other unfair employment practices. These include laws that prohibit discrimination based on race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, place of birth, age, disability, HIV status, crime victim status, or for asserting a claim to worker's compensation, and laws that prohibit retaliation against any person who exercises rights under these laws, such as complaining of discrimination.

The Civil Rights Unit also enforces the laws related to:

Employment-related drug testing, polygraph (lie detector) testing, parental and family leave, requests for flexible work arrangements, short-term family leave, national guard leave and nursing mothers at work. Click Investigative Procedure for a detailed description.

**New Job Posting Law; Attorney General Guidance**

Effective July 1, 2025, a new Vermont law (Act 155 (H. 704)) will require employers with five or more employees  to include in their written ads for Vermont job openings the compensation or range of compensation for the advertised positions.   The Civil Rights Unit will enforce the new law and conduct outreach and education on its provisions before the law  goes into effect. 

For more information, see The Vermont Attorney General’s Guidance to Act 155 (H. 704)

Any employee or job applicant who believes s/he has suffered discrimination in employment may make a complaint to this office. Click questionnaire to download a copy of the form we ask charging parties to complete. You can mail or fax the completed questionnaire to the address listed below.

Employers who need information regarding their legal obligations under the laws referred to above may also call the Civil Rights Unit for general information.

The Civil Rights Unit is a "deferral agency" for the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. This means that complaints of discrimination under federal law (Title VII, the Equal Pay Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, and the Age Discrimination in Employment Act) may be filed with this agency instead of, or in addition to filing with the EEOC. Most claims of violation of federal law must be filed with this agency within 300 days of the last incident of discrimination. Our office investigates these claims under our parallel state laws, and issues a recommendation to the EEOC at the conclusion of each investigation.