House Commerce panel questions ending pre-screenings in S.173 after HireAbility testimony

The Vermont House Committee on Commerce on March 26 heard from HireAbility staff and industry representatives about S.173, legislation that would change how injured workers access vocational rehabilitation services.

Matt Piper, the business legislative community outreach manager with HireAbility Vermont, told the committee that "screenings completed in calendar year 2025 were 139. Total found eligible to receive an entitlement assessment to VR was 53. Total not found eligible to receive an entitlement assessment to VR was 86." He said five counselors currently perform the screenings and two administrators support the program.

Amanda Arnold, deputy director with the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation and a former counselor, described the process: a centralized staff person fields screening referrals, a counselor follows up with the injured worker and the employer to collect medical and workplace information, and staff compile a narrative report that is sent to the Department of Labor, the injured worker and the insurance company. "It's a pretty basic and straightforward process," Arnold said, adding that an example PDF report can be provided to the committee.

HireAbility staff said workers' compensation regulations require an injured worker to be screened for a VR entitlement assessment at least 90 days post-injury, although screenings can occur sooner. Piper said there are three possible screening outcomes: the worker is expected to return to the same or an equivalent job; is not expected to return and should be referred for a VR entitlement assessment; or medical treatment is incomplete and the case should be reviewed again in 90 days. He also said the agency charges a nominal fee for the service.

Committee members asked how the process handles cases in which a worker returns to the same employer in a different, lower-paying role. Piper said the goal is to return people to work at a similar earnings level and "if that's not possible then we would support them to look elsewhere so that they were doing something earning a similar wage." HireAbility emphasized the distinction between state-run vocational rehabilitation and private-sector providers, saying public pre-screenings offer an objective, conflict-free assessment.

The bill coming from the Senate would eliminate the pre-screening step and shift more responsibility to private rehabilitation providers. Members asked whether HireAbility had testified in the Senate on S.173; Piper said they had not. Committee members also pressed HireAbility to provide additional data on timing between injury reports and positive outcomes and to confirm counselor credentialing. HireAbility said it would follow up with specific credential information and would email the committee the requested materials.

Phil Bell of the Associated Industries of Vermont told the committee that, while workers' compensation trends have improved, Vermont remains an expensive state for workers' compensation and the association is "cautious about changes that affect costs even if it's very slight or increase the uncertainty in the market." Bell said his organization supports section two of S.173 (the working-group study) but has concerns about section one, which would remove pre-screening language. "If there were concerns about that it might be more of a question of fixing it rather than chucking it out," Bell said, urging that any substantive changes be vetted through the working group's charge to preserve timeliness, cost-effectiveness and conflict-of-interest protections.

Bell also raised a policy concern that removing pre-screening language could create a more open-ended vocational rehabilitation liability that affects insurance companies' premium calculations and urged the committee to preserve safeguards or fold section one into the working group's work.

The committee asked HireAbility for additional data, including time-to-service metrics, and the witnesses agreed to provide follow-up materials. The panel recessed briefly to await the next scheduled witness and said it would return five minutes before 10:00 a.m.

Next step: committee members said the additional data and credentialing details will inform further consideration of S.173 and whether to revise or postpone changes to the pre-screening process.