Vermont Statutes Title 21 Sec. 687
Terms Used In Vermont Statutes Title 21 Sec. 687
- Attachment: A procedure by which a person's property is seized to pay judgments levied by the court.
- Commissioner: means the Commissioner of Labor or the Commissioner's designee. See
- Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
- Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
- employee: means an individual who has entered into the employment of, or works under contract of service or apprenticeship with, an employer. See
- Employer: includes any body of persons, corporate or unincorporated, public or private, and the legal representative of a deceased employer, and includes the owner or lessee of premises or other person who is virtually the proprietor or operator of the business there carried on, but who, by reason of there being an independent contractor or for any other reason, is not the direct employer of the workers there employed. See
- Employment: includes public employment, and, in the case of private employers, includes all employment in any trade or occupation notwithstanding that an employer may be a nonprofit corporation, institution, association, partnership, or proprietorship. See
- following: when used by way of reference to a section of the law shall mean the next preceding or following section. See
- Lien: A claim against real or personal property in satisfaction of a debt.
- Partnership: A voluntary contract between two or more persons to pool some or all of their assets into a business, with the agreement that there will be a proportional sharing of profits and losses.
- personal injury: includes occupational diseases, death resulting from injury within two years and includes injury to and cost of acquiring and replacement of prosthetic devices, hearing aids, and eye glasses. See
- Personal property: All property that is not real property.
- State: when applied to the different parts of the United States may apply to the District of Columbia and any territory and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. See
- Trustee: A person or institution holding and administering property in trust.
§ 687. Security for compensation
(a) Employers, not including State, county, or municipal bodies, shall secure compensation for their employees in one or more of the following ways:
(1) By insuring and keeping insured the payment of such compensation with any corporation or reciprocal or interinsurance exchange authorized to transact the business of workers’ compensation insurance in this State.
(2) By obtaining and keeping in force guarantee insurance with any company authorized to do such guarantee business within the State.
(3) By establishing and maintaining to the satisfaction of the Commissioner the employer‘s financial responsibility necessary to secure payment by the employer of compensation according to the terms of this chapter. The Department of Financial Regulation shall provide technical assistance and a recommendation on each self-insurance application to the Commissioner. For purposes of this subdivision, the Commissioner shall, after consultation with the Commissioner of Financial Regulation, adopt rules and impose terms and conditions, including surety bonds, cash deposits, or reserves and excess risk insurance, as necessary to ensure the same security for compensation as provided under contract for workers’ compensation or guarantee insurance. The fund shall be free from attachment or trustee process so long as any liability for the compensation exists.
(4) By participating to the satisfaction of the Commissioner of Labor in a nonprofit, self-insurance corporation approved by the Commissioner of Financial Regulation under this chapter.
(b) In the event an employer fails to secure workers’ compensation as required by this section and an employee reasonably believes that he or she has received a personal injury by accident arising out of and in course of employment with that employer, then:
(1) If the employer is a corporation, the officers and majority stockholders of the corporation shall be personally liable for any benefits owed to the injured employee under this chapter.
(2) If the employer is a partnership, the partners shall be personally liable for any benefits owed to the injured employee under this chapter.
(3) If the employer is neither a corporation nor a partnership, the principals, executive officers, or controlling parties of the business, or all of these, shall be personally liable for any benefits owed to the injured employee under this chapter.
(c) Upon filing a claim for benefits under this chapter or if the employee elects to bring a civil action pursuant to subsection 618(b) of this title, the employee may obtain a lien against the property of the employer or the personal property of any persons described in subsection (b) of this section.
(d) The remedies provided in this section shall be in addition to any other remedies and penalties available under law.
(e) All insurance carriers authorized to write workers’ compensation insurance coverage in Vermont shall make available, at the written request of the employer, a workers’ compensation insurance rate that contains a deductible provision that binds the employer to reimburse the workers’ compensation insurer for at least the first $500.00 of benefits, medical or indemnity, due to an injured employee. Claims shall be adjusted and paid by the insurer, and the employer shall reimburse the insurer for the amount of the deductible. (Amended 1971, No. 31, § 4, eff. March 31, 1971; 1981, No. 165 (Adj. Sess.), § 6; 1985, No. 194 (Adj. Sess.), § 10; 1989, No. 225 (Adj. Sess.), § 25(b); 1993, No. 225 (Adj. Sess.), §§ 14, 28a; 1995, No. 180 (Adj. Sess.), § 38(a); 1997, No. 19, § 7; 2005, No. 103 (Adj. Sess.), § 3, eff. April 5, 2006; 2007, No. 208 (Adj. Sess.), § 9; 2011, No. 78 (Adj. Sess.), § 2, eff. April 2, 2012.)