In re Kelley

¶ 1. The State appeals a decision of the Vermont Labor Relations Board interpreting a collective bargaining agreement between the State and the Vermont State Employees' Association (VSEA). The question at issue is whether a change made to the agreement's family-leave provisions in 1999 limited an employee's right to use more than six weeks of accrued, paid sick leave while on family leave because of the employee's own serious illness. The Board found that, although the agreement itself was ambiguous, extrinsic evidence showed that the parties did not intend to limit the use of sick leave. The…