State of Vermont Government Employees

The Benefits of VT FMLI

Access important details about Vermont’s Family and Medical Leave Insurance Plan for State of Vermont Government employees. Get information such as eligibility, covered leave events, benefit payment amounts, how to use FMLI with other types of leaves and how to file a claim.
Vermont State Logo Beginning July 1, 2023, Vermont Family and Medical Leave Insurance (VT FMLI) provides eligible State of Vermont Government employees with 60% of their pre-leave base weekly wages, up to the maximum weekly benefit ($1,848.46 per week for 2023, and increasing to $1,945.38 on 1/1/2024), for up to a combined total of six weeks per benefit year if you can’t work due to:1
 
  • Your own serious health condition (including the birth of a child).
  • Caring for a family member with a serious health condition.
  • Bonding with a child during the first year following birth or within the first year of initial placement for adoption or fostering.2
  • Caring for a covered military servicemember with a serious illness or injury who is your spouse, child, parent or next of kin.3
  • A qualifying exigency associated with active duty in the military or a call to active duty of your parent, spouse or child.

Preguntas Frecuentes

Elegibilidad

To be eligible, you must:
 
  • Be a classified or exempt employee of the Executive, Judicial and Legislative branches, a State Transport Deputy or an employee of one of the County’s State Attorney’s Offices.
  • Have been an employee of the State of Vermont for at least one year since your most recent date of hire.
  • Be paid through the State of Vermont payroll system.
Ineligible employees include:
 
  • Appointees in the Judicial branch and elected officials in the Executive branch whose annual salaries are set in statute.
  • Temporary employees.
  • General Assembly members.
For FMLI purposes, family members include your:
 
  • Spouse (husband, wife, domestic partner or civil union partner).4
  • Child (biological, adopted, foster, or a stepchild), a legal ward, or a child to whom you stand, or stood, in place of a parent when the person was a minor child (under age 18), or age 18 or older if the child is incapable of self-care because of a mental or physical disability.
  • Parent or spouse’s parent (biological, adoptive, step or foster mother or father or any other individual who acted in place of a parent to you or your spouse when you or your spouse were children).

Covered Events

FMLI covers your own serious health conditions, including the birth of your child.
VT FMLI provides benefits for the following family leave events:
 
  • Caring for a family member with a serious health condition.
  • Bonding with a child during the first year following birth or within the first year of initial placement for adoption or fostering.
  • Caring for a covered military servicemember with a serious illness or injury who is your spouse, child, parent or next of kin.5
  • A qualifying exigency associated with active duty in the military, or a call to active duty of your parent, spouse or child.
You may file an FMLI claim to address issues or circumstances related to one or more of the following qualifying military exigencies:5
 
  • Short-notice deployment
  • Military events and related activities
  • Change in childcare needs and school activities
  • Financial and legal arrangements
  • Counseling
  • Rest and recuperation
  • Post-deployment activities
  • Parental care

How VT FMLI Works With Unpaid FMLA and Accrued Leave Time

The Hartford and the State of Vermont are here to help you understand how to use your benefits and leaves most effectively. View our How To Coordinate the Use of FMLI and Accrued Leave Time Flyer for details on using these benefits and entitlements for a single qualifying event.
 
* Accrued Leave Time includes, but is not limited to, sick leave, annual leave, personal leave, compensatory hours or other paid time off.
It is your decision how to take paid time off for a qualifying leave event. Whether your absence from work is continuous over a long period of time, or intermittent (working some hours), you may choose to be paid for your qualifying leave event either by using your accrued leave time or by FMLI. You may not, however, use more than one source of payment for the same hours. Por ejemplo:
 
  • You may not use FMLI for 8 hours in one day for 60% of your wages and then use Accrued Leave Time for those same hours as a supplement to achieve 100% of your pay. However:
    • You may split the hours between the two payment sources. For example, you may take half a day of Accrued Leave Time and file an FMLI claim for the other half.
    • You may also split days within a week or pay period between the two payment sources. For example, you may take Accrued Leave Time on Monday and Friday and file a claim under your FMLI for Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.
Please note that FMLI paid by The Hartford is separate from all other employer leave reporting responsibilities. As a state employee, you must complete and submit accurate timesheets in a timely manner in accordance with the State of Vermont payroll schedule. You have a duty to accurately report scheduled work hours, leave used and any unpaid time not worked on your timesheet. If you can’t provide The Hartford with advance notice, it will not impact your ability to receive accrued leave time or FMLI benefits, however:
 
  • Your FMLI claim submission information will be verified against your timesheet.
  • If you change your timesheet and elect accrued leave time after you’ve filed your claim, you may receive an FMLI claim overpayment that you’ll have to repay.
  • If you knowingly seek payment from both sources by intentionally filing an FMLI claim and reporting accrued leave time for the same hours, you may be subject to disciplinary action and/or you may be committing insurance fraud
The Hartford will notify the State of Vermont when you file an FMLI claim. You, however, are responsible for providing notice to your supervisor/manager of your need for an absence from work. You must follow the expected procedure and/or rules for requesting an absence from work. Failure to communicate with your employer may result in you being considered off-payroll without authorization, which could result in disciplinary action, up to and including dismissal from employment.

Filing a Claim

When you’re ready to file your FMLI claim, you’ll need to provide the following information:
 
  • Your full legal name as a State of Vermont Government employee.
  • Your home address.
  • Your State of Vermont Government employee identification number.
  • Your last full day of work.
  • The dates of your absence, if known.
  • The reason why you’ll need to miss work (for example: your own serious medical condition or a qualifying family event).
  • The calendar dates which you intend to use accrued leave time and/or FMLI, whenever possible, in advance of the leave.
  • Contact information for the treating physician, such as the doctor’s name, address, phone number, fax number or email address.
Advance notice:
 
  • If your absence is scheduled (for example, an upcoming hospital stay), you can call The Hartford 30 days or more prior to your last day of work.
  • If your absence is unscheduled, call The Hartford (866-432-6744) as soon as possible.
How to file your FMLI claim:
 
Note:
  • There is a waiting period for benefit payments for a medical leave. The waiting period is seven calendar days (payments will begin on the eighth day).
  • You may be eligible for job protection under the FMLA. Please contact your HR Representative for more information.

Contáctenos

The Hartford’s dedicated FMLI team is here to help with FMLI eligibility and claim questions.
 
 
1822061 5/23
 
1 A benefit year is the 52-week period beginning on the first day of an employee’s first approved FMLI leave.
 
2 Including but not limited to attending counseling sessions, court appearances, consulting with an attorney or the doctor(s) representing the birth parent, submitting to a physical examination, or travelling to another country to complete the adoption.
 
3 As detailed in the Family and Medical Leave Act, 29 USCS, §§ 2611 et seq.
 
4 Under Vermont law, 15 VSA Section 1204(a), civil union partners have all the same benefits, protections and responsibilities as are granted to spouses in a civil marriage.
 
5 As detailed in section 825.126 of the Family and Medical Leave Act regulations (29 C.F.R. § 825.126).
This informational material is subject to change as The Hartford continues to receive guidance from states and municipalities. It shall not be considered legal advice. The Hartford assumes no responsibility for legal compliance with respect to an employer’s business practices, and the views and recommendations contained herein shall not constitute The Hartford’s undertaking on a company’s behalf, or for the benefit of others, to determine or warrant that an employer’s business operations are in compliance with any law, rule, or regulation. Employers seeking resolution of specific legal or business issues, questions, or concerns regarding this topic should consult their own attorney or business advisors; and employees should continue to consult their employers’ Human Resources or other employment benefits department for guidance on the application of any law, rule, or regulation.
The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc., (NYSE: HIG) operates through its subsidiaries, including underwriting companies Hartford Life and Accident Insurance Company and Hartford Fire Insurance Company, under the brand name, The Hartford®, and is headquartered at One Hartford Plaza, Hartford, CT 06155. For additional details, please read The Hartford’s legal notice at www.thehartford.com. Todos los beneficios están sujetos a los términos y condiciones de la póliza. Policies underwritten by the underwriting companies listed above detail exclusions, limitations, reduction of benefits and terms under which the policies may be continued in force or discontinued. Hartford and Life and Accident Insurance Company and Hartford Fire Insurance Company also provides administrative and claim services for employer leave of absence programs and self-funded disability benefit plans.