Vermont Statutes Title 33 Sec. 7508
Terms Used In Vermont Statutes Title 33 Sec. 7508
- Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
- Long-term care: means services and supports received by an individual in a long-term care facility or provided to an individual through the Choices for Care program contained within Vermont's Global Commitment to Health Section 1115 demonstration. See
- Long-term care facility: means a residential care home, an assisted living residence or nursing home as defined by section 7102 of this title, or any other similar adult care home that is licensed or required to be licensed pursuant to chapter 71 of this title. See
- Office: means the Office of the State Long-Term Care Ombudsman. See
- Ombudsman: means the individual selected from among individuals with expertise and experience in the fields of long-term care and advocacy who heads the Office of the State Long-Term Care Ombudsman and is responsible personally, or through representatives of the Office, to fulfill the functions, responsibilities, and duties set forth in 45 C. See
- Resident: means an older person or an individual with disabilities who is 18 years of age or older who resides in a long-term care facility or receives long-term care through the Choices for Care program contained within Vermont's Global Commitment to Health Section 1115 demonstration. See
- Willful interference: means an individual's action taken or failure to act in an intentional attempt to prevent, interfere with, or impede the Ombudsman or a representative of the Office from performing any of his or her functions, responsibilities, or duties. See
§ 7508. Interference and retaliation
(a) A person who engages in willful interference as defined in this chapter shall be imprisoned not more than one year or fined not more than $5,000.00, or both.
(b) A person who takes discriminatory, disciplinary, or retaliatory action against an employee, resident, or volunteer of a long-term care facility; an entity that provides long-term care through the Choices for Care program contained within Vermont’s Global Commitment to Health Section 1115 demonstration; or an agency for any communication made, or information disclosed, to aid the Ombudsman‘s office in carrying out its functions, duties, and responsibilities, unless the original communication or disclosure was done maliciously or without good faith, shall be imprisoned not more than one year or fined not more than $5,000.00, or both. An employee, resident, or volunteer of a long-term care facility, an entity that provides long-term care through the Choices for Care program contained within Vermont’s Global Commitment to Health Section 1115 demonstration, or an agency may seek damages in Superior Court against a person who takes such action prohibited by this subsection. (Added 1989, No. 251 (Adj. Sess.), § 1; amended 2013, No. 131 (Adj. Sess.), § 95; 2017, No. 23, § 1.)