Vermont § 760 - Compensation of offenders

§ 760. Compensation of offenders

• (a) The Commissioner shall, in consultation with the Department of Labor, promulgate rules
  establishing an injured offender compensation program for offenders or their dependents
  for injuries suffered while under supervision by the Department and arising out of
  and in the course of work, industry, or an employment program, at a correctional facility,
  or any community service or public works activity or vocational training directed
  by the Department of Corrections. The rules shall establish the compensation, medical,
  and vocational benefits to which an injured offender may be entitled as well as procedures
  for resolving disputes. To the extent practicable and consistent with the requirements
  of the Department, compensation, medical, and vocational benefits shall be comparable
  to what a similarly injured employee would receive under 21 V.S.A. chapter 9. (b) The rights and remedies provided by this section and the rules adopted under authority
  of this section to an offender on account of a personal injury for which he or she
  is entitled to compensation under this section shall exclude all other rights and
  remedies of the offender, the offender’s personal representation, dependents or next
  of kin, at common law, or otherwise on account of such injury. (c) For purposes of this section, the Department of Corrections shall be the sole entity
  responsible for providing any compensation owed to an injured offender, without regard
  to the place of injury, and no claim for workers’ compensation or other common law
  action may be brought against the industry, employment program, government or community
  service entity, or vocational training provider either supervising the offender or
  receiving the benefit of the offender’s services. (d) In no case shall compensation be made under subsection (a) of this section to any
  offender injured while participating in a work release program pursuant to section 753 of this title. (e) Any compensation which is fixed in accordance with the rules adopted by the Commissioner
  may be paid either in periodic installments or in lump sum. The compensation may be
  drawn from the revolving fund established by section 752 of this title, from any general fund maintained by the Department, or from any approved source. (f) A claimant may seek review of the Department’s decision relative to an award of compensation
  by petitioning a Superior Court under Rule 74 of the Vermont Rules of Civil Procedure. (Added 1971, No. 199 (Adj. Sess.), § 20; amended 1993, No. 54, § 3; 1997, No. 148 (Adj. Sess.), § 69, eff. April 29, 1998; 2005, No. 103 (Adj. Sess.), § 3, eff. April 5, 2006; 2025, No. 18, § 49, eff. May 13, 2025.)