Terms Used In Vermont Statutes > Title 21 > Chapter 3 > Subchapter 5 - Occupational Safety and Health

• Act: means the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, enacted by the Congress of the United States of America, and rules made thereunder, as amended at any time. See
• Advice and consent: Under the Constitution, presidential nominations for executive and judicial posts take effect only when confirmed by the Senate, and international treaties become effective only when the Senate approves them by a two-thirds vote.
• Affirmed: In the practice of the appellate courts, the decree or order is declared valid and will stand as rendered in the lower court.
• Appeal: A request made after a trial, asking another court (usually the court of appeals) to decide whether the trial was conducted properly. To make such a request is "to appeal" or "to take an appeal." One who appeals is called the appellant.
• biennially: shall mean the year in which a regular session of the General Assembly is held. See
• Board: means the State Labor Relations Board established by 3 V. See
• Collective bargaining service fee: means a fee deducted by the State from the compensation of an independent direct support provider who is not a member of the exclusive representative of independent direct support providers, which is paid to the exclusive representative. See
• Commissioner: means the Commissioner of Labor or designee. See
• Common law: The legal system that originated in England and is now in use in the United States. It is based on judicial decisions rather than legislative action.
• Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.
• Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
• Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
• Department: means the Department of Labor. See
• Director: means the Director of Occupational Health. See
• Division: means the Division of Occupational Health. See
• Domestic: when applied to a corporation, company, association, or copartnership shall mean organized under the laws of this State; "foreign" when so applied, shall mean organized under the laws of another state, government, or country. See
• Employee: means any person engaged in service to an employer for wages, salary or other compensation, excluding an independent contractor. See
• Employer: means a person, as hereinafter defined, who employs one or more persons. See
• Escrow: Money given to a third party to be held for payment until certain conditions are met.
• Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
• Exclusive representative: means the labor organization that has been certified under this chapter and has the right to represent independent direct support providers for the purpose of collective bargaining. See
• Fees: shall mean earnings due for official services, aside from salaries or per diem compensation. See
• Fiscal year: The fiscal year is the accounting period for the government. For the federal government, this begins on October 1 and ends on September 30. The fiscal year is designated by the calendar year in which it ends; for example, fiscal year 2006 begins on October 1, 2005 and ends on September 30, 2006.
• following: when used by way of reference to a section of the law shall mean the next preceding or following section. See
• Grievance: means the exclusive representative's formal written complaint regarding the improper application of one or more terms of the collective bargaining agreement, the failure to abide by any agreement reached, or the discriminatory application of a rule or regulation, which has not been resolved to a satisfactory result through informal discussion with the State. See
• Guardian: A person legally empowered and charged with the duty of taking care of and managing the property of another person who because of age, intellect, or health, is incapable of managing his (her) own affairs.
• Independent direct support provider: means any individual who provides home- and community-based services to a service recipient and is employed by the service recipient, shared living provider, or surrogate. See
• Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
• Justice: when applied to a person, other than a Justice of the Supreme Court, shall mean a justice of the peace for the county for which he or she is elected or appointed. See
• Labor organization: means an organization of any kind in which independent direct support providers participate and which exists, in whole or in part, for the purpose of representing independent direct support providers. See
• Liabilities: The aggregate of all debts and other legal obligations of a particular person or legal entity.
• Month: shall mean a calendar month and "year" shall mean a calendar year and be equivalent to the expression "year of our Lord. See
• Obligation: An order placed, contract awarded, service received, or similar transaction during a given period that will require payments during the same or a future period.
• Person: shall include any natural person, corporation, municipality, the State of Vermont or any department, agency, or subdivision of the State, and any partnership, unincorporated association, or other legal entity. See
• Person: means a natural person, corporation, partnership, trust, society, club, association, or other organization, including municipalities and the State and its instrumentalities. See
• Place of employment: means any place where an employee is engaged in performance of his or her work or duties, or which is used in connection with an employee's employment. See
• Pleadings: Written statements of the parties in a civil case of their positions. In the federal courts, the principal pleadings are the complaint and the answer.
• Reporter: Makes a record of court proceedings and prepares a transcript, and also publishes the court's opinions or decisions (in the courts of appeals).
• Review Board: means the Occupational Safety and Health Review Board. See
• Rule: means a rule or regulation. See
• Secretary: means the Secretary of Human Services. See
• Secretary of Labor: means the Secretary of Labor of the United States of America. See
• Service recipient: means a person who receives home- and community-based services under the Choices for Care Medicaid waiver, the Attendant Services Program (ASP), the Children's Personal Care Service Program, the Developmental Disabilities Services Program, or any successor program or similar program subsequently established. See
• Shared living provider: means a person who operates under a contract with an authorized agency and provides individualized home support for one or two people who live in his or her home. See
• 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
• Statute: A law passed by a legislature.
• Summons: Another word for subpoena used by the criminal justice system.
• Surrogate: means a service recipient's authorized family member, legal guardian, or a person identified in a written agreement as having responsibility for the care of a service recipient. See
• sworn: shall include affirmed. See
• Testify: Answer questions in court.
• Testimony: Evidence presented orally by witnesses during trials or before grand juries.
• VOSHA Code: means subchapters 4 and 5 of this chapter and 18 Vt. See