Vermont Overtime Pay Calculator

Vermont has its own overtime statute, 21 V.S.A. §384, which requires covered employers to pay 1.5 times the regular rate for hours worked beyond 40 in a workweek — mirroring the federal standard's 40-hour threshold but layered with Vermont-specific exemptions that differ from federal law. Vermont's 2026 minimum wage of $14.01/hour, adjusted annually for inflation, sets a higher overtime floor of $21.02/hour than most surrounding states, meaningful for the retail, healthcare, and education-heavy Burlington and Montpelier labor markets.

The distinctive feature of Vermont law is its retail and hotel/motel/restaurant carve-out: §384 exempts employers with fewer than two employees in these sectors from the state overtime requirement, and it also contains specific exemptions for hospital, nursing home workers on alternate scheduling agreements, and certain amusement or recreational establishments — exemptions that do not exist under the FLSA. This means some small Vermont retail and restaurant businesses may not owe state overtime even though the federal law might still apply if the business meets the FLSA's interstate commerce threshold.

Because Vermont overtime law and federal law can diverge on exemptions, an employee should check both: if a Vermont-specific exemption applies but the employer is still covered by the FLSA (nearly all businesses with $500,000+ in annual revenue engaged in interstate commerce are covered), federal overtime still applies.

The Vermont Department of Labor investigates wage complaints, including overtime, under its wage and hour enforcement authority. Workers can file a complaint directly with the department, which can order payment of back wages. Vermont's wage claim statute allows workers to recover unpaid wages going back a meaningful period, and in some cases the department can assess additional penalties against employers who are repeat violators or who acted willfully.

Employees can also sue in Vermont Superior Court for unpaid overtime, and successful plaintiffs may recover the unpaid wages plus, under Vermont's wage payment statute, potential exemplary (double) damages in cases of bad-faith withholding of wages. The federal FLSA route remains available too, with its standard two-to-three-year statute of limitations, giving Vermont workers a choice of legal theories depending on which offers the stronger remedy for their specific situation.

Vermont's ski and tourism industry (Stowe, Killington, Sugarbush) frequently relies on the state's amusement/recreational exemption or seasonal staffing models, but misapplying these carve-outs to year-round maintenance or administrative staff is a common violation worth scrutinizing closely. Small Vermont restaurants and inns should also be checked carefully — the 'fewer than two employees' retail/hospitality exemption is narrow and doesn't apply to most established businesses with a real staff.

Compared to federal law, Vermont is one of the few states with its own overtime statute containing genuinely different exemptions rather than simply adopting the FLSA. This makes Vermont overtime analysis a two-step process: check state law first for the specific industry exemption, then confirm whether federal law independently applies regardless.