§ 1336. Lien; fee; foreclosure
(a)(1) All contributions, interest, penalties, and costs thereon due and payable by an employer
under the provisions of this chapter shall be a lien upon the real estate of the employer
from the date a lien for the contributions, interest, penalties, and costs is entered
in the land records of the town in which is located real estate of the employer.
(2) A lien for contributions, penalties, interest, and costs shall be created upon the
personal property or franchises of the employer if the lien is recorded in the town
clerk’s office of the town in which the employer resides. If the employer is a corporation
or a co-partnership, then the lien on the franchises or personal property of the employer
shall be recorded in the town clerk’s office in the town in which the employer has
its principal place of business in the State.
(3) Liens created under this section shall show the name of the employer, and the amount
of contributions and other indebtedness due to the Commissioner of Labor.
(4) A lien created under this section shall be a lien prior to all other liens except
liens created for taxes due the State of Vermont, the federal government, or a town
or municipality in this State and wage claims. A lien created under this section shall
not be a prior lien to liens on record prior to the recording of the lien provided
for by this section.
(b) There shall be paid to the town clerk by the Commissioner for recording each lien,
and the discharge of a recorded lien, the fees prescribed in 32 V.S.A. § 1671. The fees shall be added to the amount due from the employer under the lien.
(c) An employer upon whose property a lien is created as provided in this section shall
be given notice of the lien by ordinary or certified mail within five days after the
creation of the lien.
(d) When the contributions, interest, penalties, and costs, secured by a lien in accordance
with this section, remains unpaid for 90 days after the creation of the lien, the
lien on personal property may be foreclosed in the same manner as provided by law
for the foreclosure of mortgages on personal property; and a lien on real property
may be foreclosed in the same manner as provided by law for the foreclosure of mortgages
on real property. The remedy provided by this section shall be in addition, or as
an alternative, to the remedy provided by section 1329 of this subchapter for the
collection of unpaid contributions.
(e) In the event the employer files a written protest to the creation of the lien within
30 days after the date the lien is created, assessment proceedings as provided in
sections 1329–1334 of this subchapter shall be had.
(f) If final judgment is in favor of the employer, the property of the employer shall
be discharged from the lien. If final judgment is against the employer, the property
under the lien shall be held to respond to the judgment rendered and may be taken
in execution thereon unless the employer otherwise satisfies the execution and charges.
(g) The Commissioner shall issue and record a certificate of release of the lien if:
(1) The Commissioner finds that the liability for contributions due, together with interest,
penalty, and costs, has been satisfied or has become unenforceable.
(2) There is furnished to the Commissioner a bond with surety approved by the Commissioner
in a penal sum sufficient to equal the amount of contributions due, together with
interest, penalty, and costs. The bond shall be conditioned upon the payment of any
judgment rendered in proceedings regularly instituted by the Commissioner to enforce
collection of the amount due.
(3) The Commissioner determines at any time that the interest of the State of Vermont
in the property has no value. (Amended 1959, No. 329 (Adj. Sess.), § 22, eff. March 1, 1961; 1961, No. 210, § 15, eff. July 11, 1961; 1963, No. 58; 1969, No. 40, § 1, eff. April 4, 1969; 1981, No. 66, § 5(b), eff. May 1, 1981; 1989, No. 8, §§ 4, 5; 1991, No. 82, § 5; 2005, No. 103 (Adj. Sess.), § 3, eff. April 5, 2006; 2023, No. 85 (Adj. Sess.), § 192, eff. July 1, 2024.)