Vermont State Employment Laws
The state of Vermont has restrictions on what can be reported in a background screening report beyond what the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) dictates.
| Restriction | Explanation |
|---|---|
| Applicant/subject cannot be required to pay for background check or portion of | User may not require subject to pay for criminal record. See the statute here for more information. |
| Ban the Box: Use of criminal record only after applicant meets minimum employment qualifications | Effective July 1, 2017. This law takes a step back from the current trend in ban-the-box. It does not delay inquiring into the criminal record until “post-offer”. Rather an employer can ask about criminal history including: “arrest or citation, arraignment, judicial disposition, custody and supervision” during an interview or when the applicant is deemed qualified for the position. It does not limit inquiry as to any particular interview. It just prohibits the question being on the application form. See the statute here for more information. Notable Exceptions: The law excludes the following companies and allows them to keep the box on their application forms. #1: Where a federal or state law or regulation creates a mandatory or presumptive disqualification based upon specific types of convictions. Questions on the application must be limited to those offenses that will disqualify the individual per law or regulation. #2: Affiliates of employers who are subject to #1. The exclusion is not lost because the employer or affiliate can request a waiver from the regulators to permit the employment of a specific person. These provisions appear to be directly related to securities, financial and banking employers. It is possible that there are other employers who may fall within this exclusion. A CRA is normally without the knowledge or expertise to know what employer is exempt unless they have been serving such an employer. |
| Ban the Box: Use of criminal record only after conditional offer of employment | When hiring employees to work with vulnerable adults, an employer may only seek a criminal record after an offer of employment is made (volunteer and contractor included within the definition). See the statute here for more information. |
| Cost of Medical Examination for Background Screening Cannot be Paid by Subject/Applicant | Employer must pay for a medical examination of employee or applicant when used as a condition of employment. See the statute here for more information. |
| Must obtain consent for any consumer report prior to obtaining report | All users, not just employers, of consumer reports must obtain the consent of the consumer prior to obtaining the report. This includes but is not limited to having written consent prior to obtaining a credit report. See the statute here for more information. |
| Prohibits salary history inquiry during hiring process | PENDING: Effective July 1, 2018 - Per HB 294 Vermont prohibits employers from using or seeking past salary history. Per this law an employer may not: inquire or seek information regarding an applicant’s current or past compensation; require that past compensation level meet certain criteria; determine to interview an applicant based on past compensation. Scenarios not prohibited by this law: 1) asking applicants regarding their salary/benefit expectations; 2) providing applicants with information on employer’s salary and benefits; 3) if an applicant voluntarily provides past salary information, employer may verify this after offer of employment is made. This law applies to wages, salary, bonuses, benefits, fringe benefits, and equity-based compensation. See the statute here for more information. |
| Ban the Box: State Public Employees | Per a 2015 Executive Order signed by the Governor, a policy of Ban the Box was instituted. Subsequently, inquires about criminal records have been eliminated from state employment applications. Criminal background checks cannot be conducted until an applicant has otherwise been determined to be qualified. See the statute here for more information. Notable Exceptions: The executive order does not apply to law enforcement, correctional facilities, or other sensitive positions. |
| Use of Credit Report | An employer shall not refuse to hire, recruit, discharge or otherwise discriminate on the basis of an individual’s credit report or credit history. Nor may an employer inquire about an applicant’s or employee’s credit unless:1)The report is required by state/federal law/regulation. 2) Individual will have access to confidential financial information of a commercial value obtained by specific authorization by the customer or client – normally handled by managers and those employees who must know the information to perform their job. 3) Financial institutions and credit unions. 4) Law enforcement. 5) Emergency medical personnel. 6) Firefighters. 7) Those with the financial fiduciary responsibilities regarding making payments, collecting debts, transferring money or entering into contracts. 8) Will have access to payroll information. 9) Where credit information is a “valid and reliable predictor of employee performance”. See the statute here for more information. |
