Code of Vermont Rules
Agency 24 - DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Sub-Agency 010 - ADMINISTRATIVE DIVISION
Chapter 001 - GENERAL PROVISIONS
Section 24 010 001 - GENERAL PROVISIONS

(1) Administration, which is responsible for administration of the Workmen's Compensation Act and Occupational Disease Laws;

(2) Apprenticeship Training, which oversees on-the-job training and the training of apprentices in skilled trades;

(3) Fire Prevention, which is responsible for enforcement of the Fire Prevention Code of the State of Vermont, the inspection and registration of boilers and pressure vessels, inspection of elevators and certain electrical installations, inspection and registration of all passenger tramways and regulation of hazardous and combustible materials;

(4) Vermont Occupational Safety and Health Administration (VOSHA), which oversees the enforcement of occupational safety standards in places of employment and compiles statistics concerning occupational injuries and diseases; and

(5) Wage and Hour, which administers the laws relating to wages and medium of payment, employment practices, minimum wages, and employment of children.

The following boards and councils are attached to the Department of Labor and Industry:

Board of Labor Mediation and Arbitration

Electricians' Licensing Board

Passenger Tramway Board

State Board on State Employees Benefits

Wage Board

Vermont State Apprenticeship Council

Occupational Safety Advisory Council

Fire Safety Advisory Council

The public may obtain information and make submissions or requests by contacting the Commissioner of Labor and Industry at 120 State Street, Montpelier, Vermont 05602.

(a) For the purposes of these rules:

(a) All proceedings in which the Commissioner makes a determination after an opportunity for hearing are formal proceedings.

(b) All other petitions, applications, submissions, requests, and charges will be treated as informal proceedings. In informal proceedings, the Commissioner will make a determination based upon any application and exhibits filed, and such other relevant and credible evidence as may be available.

(a) A party to a formal proceeding before the Commissioner may appear for himself or he may be represented by an attorney admitted to practice in the State of Vermont.

(b) Upon the filing of a pleading initiating a formal proceeding before the Commissioner, the name of the attorney or person who has signed the pleading will be entered on the docket of the department. Except for appearances entered during a hearing, all other appearances in formal proceedings by attorneys or persons appearing for themselves shall be by notice in writing filed with the Commissioner and served under § 5 of these rules.

(c) All notice given to or by an attorney for a party in a formal proceeding shall be considered in all respects as notice to or from the party represented by the attorney.

(d) When an attorney has entered his appearance for a party in a formal proceeding, he shall remain counsel for the party until he has been granted leave to withdraw by the Commissioner.

(e) An attorney not admitted to practice in the State of Vermont may appear for a party if he is associated with an admitted attorney who has entered his appearance for the same party.

(a) The pleading initiating a formal proceeding before the Commissioner shall be signed by the petitioner or his attorney and shall be filed with the Commissioner. Pleadings shall be drawn so as to fully and completely advise the Commissioner and respondents, if any, as to the relief sought, a statement of reasons and the statutory authority on which the petition is based.

(b) All formal pleadings addressed to the Commissioner and other documents filed in formal proceedings shall be on the appropriate form supplied by the Commissioner or shall be on paper measuring eight and one-half by eleven inches. Filing with the Commissioner shall be deemed to occur when a document is received by the Commissioner.

(c) Service of the initial pleading upon each party entitled to be served shall be accomplished by the complainant with notice of service to the Commissioner except in cases where a different manner of service is required by statute.

(d) A petition for leave to intervene as a party must set forth the grounds of the proposed intervention, the position and interest of the petitioner in the proceeding, and whether petitioner's position is in support of or opposition to the order sought.

(e) Every document filed by any party subsequent to the initial pleading shall be served upon the attorneys of record for all other parties and upon all persons who have appeared for themselves. Service upon an attorney, or upon a party shall be made by delivering a copy to him or by mailing it to him at his last known address. Delivery of a copy means handing it to the attorney, or to the party, or leaving it at his office with the person in charge thereof or, if the office is closed or the person to be served has no office, leaving it at his dwelling house or usual place of abode with some person of suitable age and discretion then residing therein. Service by mail shall mean first-class mail, in a sealed and properly addressed and stamped envelope. Service by mail is deemed complete upon posting the mail in a proper United States post office receptacle. The document shall contain an attorney's certificate, or an affidavit of a party stating upon whom and the means by which, the document has been served.

(f) In his discretion the Commissioner may treat any written communication to him concerning a matter within his jurisdiction as a pleading initiating a formal proceeding.

(g) Briefs and requests for findings of fact and conclusions of law, if any, shall be filed within 20 days after hearing or, in the event that hearing has been waived under § 6(a) of these rules, within 20 days after the date originally set for the hearing.

(a) An oral hearing shall be held in every formal proceeding except that hearing may be waived in the discretion of the Commissioner:

(b) Upon the filing of a pleading initiating a formal proceeding, or upon the initiation of such a proceeding by the Commissioner on his own motion, the Commissioner shall by order or otherwise assign a time and place for the hearing and shall cause written notice of the hearing to be served on each party.

(c) Every party or counsel representing the Commissioner, if any, shall have the right to participate fully in any hearing before the department and, in the case of rule-making and declaratory ruling proceedings, all interested persons shall also be permitted to participate in accordance with the terms of the notice of the proceeding.

(d) The admissibility of evidence in all formal proceedings before the Commissioner shall be determined under the criteria specified in 3 V.S.A. § 810(1)-(4).

(e) The testimony of a witness on direct examination may be offered in written form, either by having it read into the record or by offering it for incorporation in the record without reading, provided that a copy of the testimony shall be supplied to the Commissioner, each attorney of record, and each party appearing for himself either before or at the hearing and provided further that all interested parties either consent or stipulate to its admission.

(f) In the case of an appeal, the Commissioner shall provide a transcript of the hearing to the party filing the appeal and to the appellee unless an objection is filed at the time of the hearing. The appellant will be charged $ 1.50 per page and the appellee $ .75 per page for the transcript, which amounts are due and payable within 30 days of the mailing of the transcript.

(a) Petitions for the adoption, amendment, or repeal of any rule will be entertained by the Commissioner. Petitions shall be filed with the Commissioner pursuant to § 5 of these rules. The petitions will be considered and disposed of pursuant to the procedure specified in 3 V.S.A. §§ 803 and 806 and § 6 of these rules.

(b) Petitions for rule-making filed under this section will be considered informally and the Commissioner shall within 30 days after the filing of a petition either deny the petition in writing, stating his reasons for the denial, or shall initiate formal rule-making proceedings in accordance with 3 V.S.A. § 803 and § 6 of these rules.