The Legislative Committee on Administrative Rules on July 10 approved amendments to the Vermont Employment Security Board rules that implement an overpayment-waiver mechanism created by Act 184 (2024).

The move matters because the statute added a process for waiving unemployment benefit overpayments in certain cases, and the Department of Labor told the committee the rule package provides definitions, an application process and hearing procedures to implement that statutory change.

Robert Depper, general counsel for the Vermont Department of Labor, told the committee the rule package implements changes to the Code of Vermont Regulations 24-005-001 and creates a new rule to allow waiver of repayment in cases “where the overpayment was not due to the fault of the claimant and would be against equity and good conscience.” He said the department added a fault definition, a definition of “contrary to equity and good conscience,” and a new rule (rule 32) describing waiver requests, determinations and appeals.

Damian Leonard, operations of the Legislative Council, and the department discussed whether to repeat statutory language in the rule. The department said it generally avoids verbatim statutory repetition in rule text because repetition can create confusion if the statute later changes; Leonard suggested the department consider issuing plain-language guidance that summarizes both the statute and the rule so claimants can find the full legal framework more easily. As the department explained, guidance is easier to update than formal rules.

Committee members also noted comments from Vermont Legal Aid about definitions and asked the department to consider whether additional clarifying language or guidance would help applicants. Depper said the department used broadly worded terms such as “significant and unconscionable financial hardship” to capture a range of situations including agency delay or conflicting information, and that staff would need clear but workable standards for consistent adjudication.

The committee approved the Department of Labor’s submission — described in the meeting as rule 25 P 15 — as amended and submitted on July 3, 2025. A representative moved to approve the rule package and the committee adopted the motion by voice vote.

The department said it will administer waiver applications under the adopted rule and proceed with the hearing and appeal procedures described in the rule text. The department and Legislative Council also discussed preparing supplemental guidance for claimants to explain the interplay of statute and rule.