Friend,

This is Rep. Emma Mulvaney-Stanak from Burlington with your weekly legislative update. I want to share with you some of the work that my committee, the Commerce and Economic Development Committee, is doing, as well as share a couple of economic justice issues I will be working on over the next few weeks.

Extension of the Workers Compensation Benefits for Front Line Workers

This past week, the Senate passed S.9, a bill that would extend worker’s compensation benefits during the pandemic. The bill extends an act of the legislature from 2020 that removed the burden of proof from frontline workers to prove they contracted COVID-19 at work in order to receive worker’s compensation. The act also covers other workers who can prove their employer failed to comply with CDC workplace pandemic safety rules. The 2020 act was set to expire January 15th and S.9 now extends this benefit 30 days beyond the end of the Governor’s emergency executive order.

Some of the highlights of the worker’s compensation amendments include:

Allows claims to be filed retroactively back to January 15th, 2021;
Compensates workers who contract COVID-19 and suffer long-term effects; and
Compensates workers’ families if they pass away due to the virus.

This bill moved unanimously out of my committee to the House and goes to the Senate for a small technical amendment before heading to the Governor. We expect the bill to be signed by the Governor soon.

Worker Unemployment Bills

I will also be working on advancing two unemployment insurance (UI) bills this session. Anyone who attempted to access unemployment in 2020 through a regular claim process or the special Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PAU) program (ex: self-employed folks), knows the Vermont system was woefully unprepared to process claims and support workers. My first bill looks to:

Increase funding for language translation and effective communication services for UI applicants;
End the use of a subcontracted call center to process claim (currently the state uses a month-to-month service contract with Maximus, a billion dollar corporation, to handle overflow of Department of Labor calls. This work should be conducted by state workers and funded to adequately handle meeting the needs of Vermonters);
Improve “good cause quit” language to allow workers to access UI benefits due to loss of child care, changes in a job setting that puts the worker in an unusual risk for health and safety, job location changes that create an impractical commute, or erratic changes to a person’s work schedule.
Increasing the rate of unemployment claim payments;
Allow self-employed people to opt-in to access the system post-pandemic.

The second bill is in collaboration with my colleague Rep. Emilie Kornhesier (D/P - Brattleboro) to strengthen workers’ protections within the UI appeal process, claim review and processing, and communication/response time. The bill also looks to require a review of the Department of Labor’s systems, claim procedures and staffing to look for problems revealed during the pandemic. I will offer additional language to create an advisory committee composed of ⅓ workers, ⅓ employers and ⅓ state agency staff to create stronger accountability and review of the system.

Progressive legislators cannot do our work without the strong Progressive network. I would love for you to become a donor to the Progressive Party. Your contribution would add fuel to this movement and help us continue to push forward on issues such as worker’s rights!

Thank you for your continued support-- I’m so happy to know that we’re in this fight together!

In Solidarity,

Rep. Emma Mulvaney-Stanak

Chittenden 6-2

P.S. Please enjoy this picture of my favorite constituent in Chittenden 6-2, U.S. Bernie Sanders (he really is my constituent), and myself hanging out on my porch in our Essex-made mittens.