Vermont Statutes Title 21 Sec. 643b
Terms Used In Vermont Statutes Title 21 Sec. 643b
- Commissioner: means the Commissioner of Labor or the Commissioner's designee. See
- Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.
- Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
- 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
- Equitable: Pertaining to civil suits in "equity" rather than in "law." In English legal history, the courts of "law" could order the payment of damages and could afford no other remedy. See damages. A separate court of "equity" could order someone to do something or to cease to do something. See, e.g., injunction. In American jurisprudence, the federal courts have both legal and equitable power, but the distinction is still an important one. For example, a trial by jury is normally available in "law" cases but not in "equity" cases. Source: U.S. Courts
- Fees: shall mean earnings due for official services, aside from salaries or per diem compensation. See
- Plaintiff: The person who files the complaint in a civil lawsuit.
§ 643b. Reinstatement; seniority and benefits protected
(a) For purposes of this section:
(1) “Employer” shall be defined as provided in section 601 of this title provided that this section shall only apply to employers who regularly employ at least 10 employees of whom at least 10 work more than 15 hours per week.
(2) “Recovery” means that the worker can reasonably be expected to perform safely the duties of his or her prior position or an alternative suitable position.
(b) The employer of a worker disabled by an injury compensable under this chapter shall reinstate the worker when his or her inability to work ceases provided recovery occurs within two years of the onset of the disability. A worker who recovers within two years of the onset of the disability shall be reinstated in the first available position suitable for the worker given the position the worker held at the time of the injury.
(c) Upon reinstatement a worker shall regain seniority and any unused annual leave, personal leave, sick leave, and compensatory time he or she was entitled to prior to the interruption in employment, less any leave and compensatory time used during the period of interruption.
(d) The provisions of this section shall not apply if:
(1) the worker had been given notice, or had given notice, prior to sustaining the injury that employment would terminate;
(2) employment would have terminated of its own terms prior to any reinstatement the worker would otherwise be entitled to under this section;
(3) the worker fails to keep the employer informed of:
(A) his or her continuing interest in reinstatement;
(B) his or her recovery;
(C) any change of his or her mailing address.
(e) A worker aggrieved by an employer’s failure to comply with the provisions of this section may bring an action in the Superior Court in the county in which the worker or the employer resides for damages, including punitive damages, for noncompliance and may apply for such equitable relief as may be just and proper under the circumstances. A copy of the complaint shall be filed with the Commissioner. The Court shall award reasonable attorney’s fees to the plaintiff if he or she prevails. (Added 1987, No. 105, § 1.)