2023 Vermont Statutes › Title 21 - Labor › Chapter 9 - Employer's Liability and Workers' Compensation › § 692. Penalties; failure to insure; stop work orders

§ 692. Penalties; failure to insure; stop work orders
(a) Failure to insure. If after a hearing under section 688 of this title, the Commissioner determines that an employer has failed to comply with the provisions of section 687 of this title, the employer shall be assessed an administrative penalty of not more than $100.00 for every day for the first seven days the employer neglected to secure liability and not more than $150.00 for every day thereafter.
(b) Stop-work orders. If an employer fails to comply with the provisions of section 687 of this title after investigation by the Commissioner, the Commissioner shall issue an emergency order to that employer to stop work until the employer has secured workers’ compensation insurance. If the Commissioner determines that issuing a stop-work order would immediately threaten the safety or health of the public, the Commissioner may permit work to continue until the immediate threat to public safety or health is removed. The Commissioner shall document the reasons for permitting work to continue, and the document shall be available to the public. In addition, the employer shall be assessed an administrative penalty of not more than $250.00 for every day that the employer fails to secure workers’ compensation coverage after the Commissioner issues an order to obtain insurance and may also be assessed an administrative penalty of not more than $250.00 for each employee for every day that the employer fails to secure workers’ compensation coverage as required in section 687 of this title. When a stop-work order is issued, the Commissioner shall post a notice at a conspicuous place on the work site of the employer informing the employees that their employer failed to comply with the provisions of section 687 of this title and that work at the work site has been ordered to cease until workers’ compensation insurance is secured. The stop-work order shall be rescinded as soon as the Commissioner determines that the employer is in compliance with section 687 of this title. An employer against whom a stop-work order has been issued is prohibited from contracting, directly or indirectly, with the State or any of its subdivisions for a period of up to three years following the date of the issuance of the stop-work order, as determined by the Commissioner in consultation with the Commissioner of Buildings and General Services or the Secretary of Transportation, as appropriate. Either the Secretary or the Commissioner, as appropriate, shall be consulted in any contest of the prohibition of the employer from contracting with the State or its subdivisions.
(c) Penalty for violation of stop-work order. In addition to any other penalties, an employer who violates a stop-work order described in subsection (b) of this section is subject to:
(1) a civil penalty of not more than $5,000.00 for the first violation and a civil penalty of not more than $10,000.00 for a second or subsequent violation; or
(2) a criminal fine of not more than $10,000.00 or imprisonment for not more than 180 days, or both. (Amended 1977, No. 182 (Adj. Sess.), § 17, eff. May 3, 1978; 1985, No. 194 (Adj. Sess.), § 8; 1993, No. 225 (Adj. Sess.), § 17; 1997, No. 19, §§ 8, 9; 2007, No. 57, § 2; 2009, No. 142 (Adj. Sess.), § 3; 2011, No. 50, § 5, eff. May 26, 2011.)