The COVID Project
The record
- Jurisdiction
- Vermont
- Level
- State
- Authority
- 20 V.S.A. sec. 2 (definitions of 'all-hazards', 'emergency functions', 'emergency management'); Governor's interpretive rule under 20 V.S.A. secs. 8 and 9 (Ex. VT-014 para. 6; Ex. VT-025 sec. 15)
- Issued
- 2022-07-01 July 1, 2022
- Effective
- standing; in force throughout March 2020 to September 2021; applied to COVID-19 health care response by Addendum 9 para. 6 (April 10, 2020) and Amended and Restated EO 01-20 sec. 15 (June 15, 2020 to June 15, 2021) (read as 2020-04-10)
- End
- standing (the Governor's interpretive rule expired with the Amended and Restated Order at midnight June 15, 2021) (read as 2021-06-15)
- In force
- Standing since Apr. 10, 2020 (a statutory duty; in force throughout the six quarters)
- Quarters
- 2020 Q22020 Q32020 Q42021 Q12021 Q22021 Q3
2020 Q22020 Q32020 Q42021 Q12021 Q22021 Q3
- Limitation types
- Emergency declarationHealth care ordersStanding duty
- Addressees
- persons 'involved in emergency management activities'; by the Governor's rule, Health Care Facilities (nursing homes, assisted living, residential care, ICF/ID, therapeutic community residences, hospitals, alternate and isolation sites), Health Care Providers (18 V.S.A. sec. 9432(9)) and Health Care Volunteers responding to COVID-19
- Character
- liability shield condition
- Collection
- Standing duties: Vermont DUT-VT
Operative words
Except in the case of willful misconduct or gross negligence, the State; any of its agencies; State employees...; or an individual, partnership, association, or corporation involved in emergency management activities shall not be liable for the death of or any injury to persons or loss or damage to property resulting from an emergency management service or response activity
Penalty
none; the condition is the loss of immunity: liability for willful misconduct or gross negligence and for any act outside 'emergency management service or response activity'
What it required
Confers immunity from civil liability only on persons 'involved in emergency management activities' and only for loss 'resulting from an emergency management service or response activity', never for 'willful misconduct or gross negligence'; the Governor's rule of April 10, 2020 confined the COVID-19 application to Health Care Facilities, Health Care Providers and Health Care Volunteers 'providing COVID-19 related emergency management services or response activities', the first of which is the 'expedited postponement of non-essential adult elective surgery and medical and surgical procedures, including dental procedures... as ordered by Addendum 3', so that the shield was earned by obeying the order. Vermont enacted no general business liability shield in 2020 or 2021.
Retrieval noteCurrent text rendered September 29, 2026; the only amendment since the period is the 2022 technical corrections act (2021, No. 105 (Adj. Sess.), sec. Subsection (b) extends the immunity to any entity 'that provides personnel, training, or equipment through an agreement with the local emergency planning committee, the State Emergency Response Commission, or local emergency response officials'. The Governor's interpretive rule is quoted in the library exhibits: Addendum 9 para. 6 ('I hereby adopt the following rule for the purpose of interpreting the scope of 20 V.S.A. sec. 20... Health Care Facilities, Health Care Providers, and Health Care Volunteers would be immune from civil liability for any death, injury, or loss resulting from COVID-19 related emergency management services or response activities, except in the case of willful misconduct or gross negligence'; para. 6(B)(i): 'Expedited postponement of non-essential adult elective surgery and medical and surgical procedures, including dental procedures... as ordered by Addendum 3 of the Executive Order'; para. 6(D): 'Nothing contained in this Executive Order shall alter existing law with respect to gross negligence or willful misconduct') (Ex. VT-014), restated as sec. 15 of the Amended and Restated Order (Ex. VT-025). No act of the 2019-2020 or 2021-2022 General Assembly conferring COVID-19 liability protection on businesses generally was located (the legislature's passed-bills pages returned no data to the fetcher; Act 91 of 2020 (Ex. VT-045) contains no immunity provision.