The Vermont Statutes Online

Title 9 : Commerce and Trade

Chapter 139 : Discrimination; Public Accommodations; Rental and Sale of Real Estate

• § 4501. Definitions

  As used in this chapter:

  (1) “Place of public accommodation” means any school, restaurant, store, establishment, or other facility at which services, facilities, goods, privileges, advantages, benefits, or accommodations are offered to the general public.

  (2) “Disability,” with respect to an individual, means:

  (A) a physical or mental impairment that limits one or more major life activities;

  (B) a history or record of such an impairment; or

  (C) being regarded as having such an impairment.

  (3) “Physical or mental impairment” means:

  (A) Any physiological disorder or condition, cosmetic disfigurement, or anatomical loss affecting one or more of the following body systems: neurological; musculoskeletal; special sense organs; respiratory, including speech organs; cardiovascular; reproductive; digestive; genito-urinary; hemic and lymphatic; skin; or endocrine.

  (B) Any mental or psychological disorder, such as intellectual disability, organic brain syndrome, emotional or mental condition, and specific learning disabilities.

  (C) The term “physical or mental impairment” includes diseases and conditions such as orthopedic, visual, speech, and deafness or being hard of hearing, cerebral palsy, epilepsy, muscular dystrophy, multiple sclerosis, cancer, heart disease, diabetes, developmental disability, emotional disturbance, and substance use disorders, including drug addiction and alcoholism. An individual with a disability does not include any individual with a substance use disorder who, by reason of current alcohol or drug use, constitutes a direct threat to property or safety of others.

  (4) “Owner” includes any person having a legal or beneficial interest in real estate that gives him or her the right to possession thereof.

  (5) “Dwelling” means any building, structure, or portion thereof that is occupied as, or designed or intended for occupancy as, a residence by one or more families and any vacant land that is offered for sale or lease for the construction or location thereon of any such building, structure, or portion thereof.

  (6) “Public assistance” includes any assistance provided by federal, state, or local government, including medical and housing assistance.

  (7) “Auxiliary aids and services” mean the following:

  (A) qualified interpreters, notetakers, computer-aided transcription services, written materials, telephone handset amplifiers, assistive listening devices and systems, hearing aid compatible telephones, closed caption decoders, open and closed captioning telecommunications devices for persons who are deaf, videotext displays, or other effective methods of making aurally delivered materials available to individuals with hearing impairments;

  (B) qualified readers, taped texts, audio recordings, Braille materials, large print materials, or other effective methods of making visually delivered materials available to individuals with visual impairments;

  (C) modification of equipment or devices; and

  (D) other similar services and actions.

  (8) “Public accommodation” means an individual, organization, governmental, or other entity that owns, leases, leases to, or operates a place of public accommodation.

  (9) “Readily achievable” means easily accomplishable and able to be carried out without much difficulty or expense. In determining whether an action is readily achievable, the factors considered in determining whether an action is an undue burden pursuant to subsection (10) of this section apply.

  (10) “Undue burden” means significant difficulty or expense. In determining whether an action would result in an undue burden, the following factors shall be considered:

  (A) the nature and cost of the action needed;

  (B) the overall financial resources of the site or sites involved in the action; the number of persons employed at the site; the effect on expenses and resources; legitimate safety requirements necessary for safe operation, including crime prevention measures, or any other impact of the action on the operation of the site;

  (C) the geographic separateness and the administrative or fiscal relationship of the site or sites in question to any parent corporation or entity;

  (D) if applicable, the overall financial resources of any parent corporation or entity; the overall size of the parent corporation or entity with respect to the number of its employees; and the number, type, and location of its facilities; and

  (E) if applicable, the type of operation or operations of any parent corporation or entity, including the composition, structure, and functions of the workforce of the parent corporation or entity.

  (11) “Abuse,” “sexual assault,” and “stalking” have the same meaning as in section 4471 of this title.

  (12)(A) “Harass” means to engage in unwelcome conduct that detracts from, undermines, or interferes with a person’s:

  (i) use of a place of public accommodation or any of the accommodations, advantages, facilities, or privileges of a place of public accommodation because of the person’s race, creed, color, national origin, marital status, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability; or

  (ii) terms, conditions, privileges, or protections in the sale or rental of a dwelling or other real estate, or in the provision of services or facilities in connection with a dwelling or other real estate, because of the person’s race, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, marital status, religious creed, color, national origin, or disability, or because the person intends to occupy a dwelling with one or more minor children, or because the person is a recipient of public assistance, or because the person is a victim of abuse, sexual assault, or stalking.

  (B) Notwithstanding any judicial precedent to the contrary, harassing conduct need not be severe or pervasive to be unlawful pursuant to the provisions of this chapter. In determining whether conduct constitutes unlawful harassment:

  (i) The determination shall be made on the basis of the record as a whole, according to the totality of the circumstances, and a single incident may constitute unlawful harassment.

  (ii) Incidents that may be harassment shall be considered in the aggregate with varying types of conduct and conduct based on multiple characteristics viewed in totality rather than in isolation.

  (iii) Conduct may constitute unlawful harassment, regardless of whether:

  (I) the complaining person is the person being harassed;

  (II) the complaining person acquiesced or otherwise submitted to or participated in the conduct;

  (III) the conduct is also experienced by others outside the protected class involved in the conduct;

  (IV) despite the conduct, the complaining person was able to:

  (aa) use the place of public accommodation or any of the accommodations, advantages, facilities, or privileges of the place of public accommodation; or

  (bb) enjoy the benefit of applicable terms, conditions, privileges, or protections in the sale or rental of the dwelling or other real estate, or to obtain services or facilities in connection with the dwelling or other real estate;

  (V) the conduct resulted in a physical or psychological injury; or

  (VI) the conduct occurred outside the place of public accommodation or the dwelling or other real estate.

  (C) Behavior that a reasonable person with the same protected characteristic would consider to be a petty slight or trivial inconvenience shall not constitute unlawful harassment or discrimination pursuant to this chapter.

  (D) The provisions of this subdivision (12) shall not apply to any action brought under this chapter pursuant to the provisions of 16 V.S.A. § 570f. (Added 1987, No. 74, § 1; amended 1987, No. 253 (Adj. Sess.), § 1; 1989, No. 89, § 1; 1991, No. 243 (Adj. Sess.), §§ 1, 2; 2013, No. 96 (Adj. Sess.), § 31; 2019, No. 48, § 4; 2023, No. 80, § 3, eff. July 1, 2023.)