With only 30% of jobs requiring a four-year degree, the Vermont Chamber testified on the need for a targeted program to recruit in-demand workers like nurses, line workers, CDL drivers, and other trade professionals to live and work in Vermont. By elevating Vermont’s achievements, workers who want the security and quality of life Vermont has to offer will know the opportunities available to them, and be encouraged to move here.  

The Vermont Chamber is urging legislators to leverage their success with a sustained multi-year investment to expand the Vermont image beyond a travel destination and to also promote the state as an attractive place to move full-time. A strategic plan is required to accomplish this goal and communicate the qualities that make the state an attractive place to live and work, such as Vermont’s climate commitments, career advancement opportunities, social justice and equity leadership, and childcare and housing investments. This is a workforce shortage solution that the Vermont Chamber will continue to advocate for throughout the session.  

The Vermont Chamber is continuing to urge legislators to consider the collective impact of proposals on Vermont businesses when evaluating funding sources for new revenue streams. Testimony this week encouraged the Senate Finance Committee to consider the inability of employers to fund multiple major investments in new paid family and medical leave and childcare proposals without putting the success of their business, and their communities, at risk. 

In response, committee members acknowledged the substantial number of priorities in discussion this session. Sen. Ann Cummings, chair of the committee, assured they would take a realistic approach and “tack them all on the board and look at all possible ways to fund them” once bills reach their committee. Eli Lesser-Goldsmith of Healthy Living testified in support of prioritizing issues to ensure sustainable implementation and cautioned implementing multiple major investments requiring new revenue streams this session. As bills begin to move into money committees, the Vermont Chamber will continue to advocate for pragmatic decision-making.  

The Senate Finance Committee heard testimony from the Joint Fiscal Office (JFO) on employer payroll–based taxes, such as State and Federal income tax, Social Security, Medicare, unemployment insurance, and workers‘ compensation, and received a preview of proposals for new payroll taxes. The Vermont Chamber will testify next week on the total impact of millions in proposed taxes to ensure the committee has a thorough understanding of the cumulative impact of these measures on employers when considering implementing additional taxes and understand the need to value economic stewardship during a time of great uncertainty. 

For the average-sized Vermont Chamber member, one employee on leave would require them to operate without 20% of their total workforce for a quarter of the year. The Vermont Chamber provided testimony this week on the Paid Family and Medical Leave Insurance Program, encouraging legislators to consider the current economic realities facing Vermont business owners, and any unintended consequences of vague language included in the bill. The bill is expected to be voted out of committee next week, leaving few days for the committee to evaluate the testimony received in recent weeks and address concerns on eligibility, process, and scope. 

As Vermont continues to face a significant workforce shortage and given the time and resources required to hire and train talent, the alternative of hiring a temporary replacement worker is a difficult, costly, and in many cases, an ineffective remedy. A payroll tax to employers, on top of the considerable cost involved in the loss of an employee for 12 weeks, would be an economically difficult imposition on many Vermont businesses. As goes the success of small businesses, so often goes the success of our communities. The strain that this proposal will place on their success is worrisome. Vermont Chamber testimony encouraged legislators to investigate the scope of this new program and seek a balance of providing a benefit with additional costs to both employers and their employees.