The Vermont Statutes Online

Title 21 : Labor

Chapter 003 : Safety

Subchapter 005 : OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH

• § 227. Judicial review

  (a)(1) Any person adversely affected or aggrieved by an order of the Review Board may appeal to any Superior Court for the county in which the violation is alleged to have occurred or where the employer has its principal office. The appeal shall be taken within 30 days following the issuance of the order.

  (2) The court shall have power to grant temporary relief or a restraining order as it deems just and proper, and to make and enter upon the pleadings, testimony, and proceedings set forth in the record a decree affirming, modifying, or setting aside, in whole or in part, the order of the Review Board and enforcing the same to the extent that the order is affirmed or modified.

  (3) The commencement of proceedings under this subsection shall not, unless ordered by the court, operate as a stay of the order of the Review Board.

  (4) An objection that has not been raised before the Review Board shall not be considered by the court, unless the failure or neglect to raise the objection is excused by the court because of extraordinary circumstances.

  (5) The findings of the Review Board with respect to questions of fact, if supported by substantial evidence on the record considered as a whole, shall be conclusive.

  (6)(A) The court may order additional evidence to be taken and made a part of the record if a party applies to the court for leave to adduce additional evidence and shows to the satisfaction of the court that the additional evidence is material and that there were reasonable grounds for failure to adduce the evidence in the hearing before the Review Board.

  (B) The Review Board may modify its findings as to the facts, or make new findings, by reason of additional evidence so taken and filed. If it does so, the Review Board shall file the modified or new findings and its recommendations, if any, for the modification or setting aside of its original order. New findings with respect to questions of fact that are filed by the Review Board shall be conclusive, if supported by substantial evidence on the record considered as a whole.

  (7) Upon the filing of the record with it, the jurisdiction of the court shall be exclusive and its judgment and decree shall be final, except that the same shall be subject to review by the Supreme Court. Judicial review under this subsection (a) shall be considered expeditiously.

  (b)(1) The Commissioner may also obtain a review or enforcement of any final order of the Review Board by filing a petition for relief in the Superior Court within the jurisdiction of which the alleged violation occurred or in which the employer has its principal office. The provisions of subsection (a) of this section shall govern proceedings under this subsection to the extent applicable.

  (2) If judicial review is not sought within 30 days after service of the Review Board’s order, the Review Board’s findings of fact and order shall be conclusive in connection with any petition for enforcement that is filed by the Commissioner after the expiration of the 30-day period.

  (3) In any such case, as well as in the case of a noncontested citation or notification by the Commissioner, that has become a final order of the Review Board, the clerk of the court, unless otherwise ordered by the court, shall promptly enter a decree enforcing the order and shall transmit a copy of the court decree to the Commissioner and the employer named in the petition.

  (c) In any contempt proceeding brought to enforce a court decree entered pursuant to this section, the court may assess the penalties provided in addition to invoking any other available remedies (Added 1971, No. 205 (Adj. Sess.), § 1; amended 1973, No. 214 (Adj. Sess.), § 14; 1997, No. 161 (Adj. Sess.), § 16, eff. Jan. 1, 1998; 2023, No. 85 (Adj. Sess.), § 72, eff. July 1, 2024.)