S.342, entitled "An act relating to temporary workers'
compensation amendments related to COVID-19", passed the Vermont Senate on
Monday, April 27, 2020. The bill was introduced by the Committee on
Economic Development, Housing and General Affairs.
The bill allows the
Commissioner to have authority to issue guidance and adopt procedures to extend
deadlines or temporarily amend or waive specific requirements of 21 V.S.A.
Chapter 9 (the Workers' Compensation Act) and the rules adopted pursuant to
that chapter. The emergency guidance/procedures are effective while
Vermont's declared state of emergency lasts and will transition back to the
pre-existing rules within 45 days from the end of the state of
emergency.
Most importantly, the bill
provides that in the case of a front-line worker, disability or death resulting
from COVID-19 shall be presumed to be compensable under the Workers'
Compensation Act, provided that the front-line worker receives a positive lab
test or diagnosis by a licensed healthcare provider for COVID-19 between March
1, 2020 and January 15, 2021.
A "front-line worker"
is defined as a: firefighter; law enforcement officer; ambulance service, EMT
personnel, first responder, or volunteer; worker in a health care facility or
institution or office where health care services are provided by licensed
healthcare professionals; correctional officer; worker in a long-term care
facility or residential care facility; childcare provider required to provide
childcare to the children of other front-line workers; employee of a pharmacy
or grocery store; home health care worker or personal care attendant; and
"a worker performing services that the Commissioner determines place the
worker at a similarly elevated risk of being exposed or contracting COVID-19 as
the other occupations listed in this subsection (a)."
There is also a presumption of
compensability for disability or death resulting from COVID-19 for a
non-front-line worker if the worker has a positive laboratory test or diagnosis
by a licensed health care provider for COVID-19 between March 1, 2020 and
January 15, 2021 AND either: had documented occupational exposure in the course
of employment to an individual with COVID-19; or performed services at a
residence or facility with residents or employees who were present at the time
that the services were performed and either had COVID-19 at that time or were
diagnosed with COVID-19 within a reasonable period of time after the services
were performed.
The presumption for both
front-line workers and non-front-line workers does not apply if it is shown by
a preponderance of the evidence that the disease was caused by
non-employment-connected risk factors or non-employment-connected
exposure. Further, the presumption of compensability does not apply if
the employer offers a COVID-19 vaccine that is refused by a worker who is
subsequently diagnosed with COVID-19.
S.342 was sent to the Vermont
House on Monday, April 27, 2020. We will be following this story and will
update here when we receive further information.
A link to the Vermont
Legislature's page for S.342 follows:
