Business Briefs 0424

2024 Vermont Work Disability Prevention Summit Concludes

Between June and October 2024, the Vermont Department of Labor brought together experts from 27 healthcare, government, employment, and non-profit organizations across Vermont to address and prevent work disability in Vermont collaboratively. Commissioner Harrington's charge called for a solution to meet the needs of Vermont's workforce, employers, clinicians, and other return-to-work professionals after VT RETAIN's federal funding ends in May 2025.

Work disability is a limitation in working ability due to a physical or mental health condition. It can often be prevented and mitigated through Stay-at-Work and Return-to-Work strategies, such as care coordination, early communication, job modifications, retraining, access to work-health services, education, etc. Work disability is a major cause of economic and health inequality. Only 55% of Vermonters with disabilities ages 18-64 years are employed versus 82% of those without disabilities. Vermont has one of the highest rates in the US of young people receiving Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits for long-term work disability. Vermont has the third highest percentage of disabled workers with mental health diagnoses in the US (49%), behind New Hampshire (50%) and Massachusetts (53%). This rate has been increasing in Vermont for more than 20 years.

Following the initial summit meeting, participants were divided into three working groups, which put forward recommendations through the lenses of policy, clinical care provision, and employers. The participants in the final Summit meeting narrowed the list of recommendations to three that should be prioritized. These prioritized recommendations were to:

Develop Infrastructure for Work-Health Care Coordination:

Develop a state Work-Health Hub consisting of a team of return-to-work experts and 12 specialized Work-Health Coaches led by an Occupational Medicine Physician to support Vermont clinicians, care coordinators, community health workers, and care teams with patient work-health issues working in conjunction with existing services.

Develop Recovery and Psychologically Healthy Workplaces:

VT RETAIN and Invest EAP Centers for Wellbeing worked together to develop a Resilient Workplace Certification Program for Vermont employers. This program, which received an innovation award from the US Department of Labor's Office of Disability Employment Policy, provides employers with the knowledge, tools, and resources to create physically and psychologically safe workplaces. The program includes Mental Health First Aid training and an introduction to Behavioral Screening and Intervention to reduce behavioral risk factors associated with anxiety, depression, and substance use and can contribute to employee absence from work.

Raise awareness of the importance of Stay-at-Work/Return-to-Work among constituents:

Invest EAP Centers for Wellbeing and Vermont Department of Labor will develop core messaging about the interconnectedness of work and health. This messaging will be used to communicate with employers, care teams, state officials, the public, and other constituents to promote awareness about work disability and support programs and policy development.

About VT RETAIN

Vermont and four other states were awarded a federal grant from the US Department of Labor from 2019-2025 to help keep people at work after an injury or illness. This initiative, Retaining Employment and Talent After Injury/Illness Network (RETAIN), builds on a successful stay-at-work/return-to-work program that originated in Washington State and significantly reduced social security disability costs.

The purpose of VT RETAIN has been to increase the workforce participation of Vermonters with physical and mental health conditions using stay-at-work/return-to-work strategies. The program has sought to identify early and support workers at risk for long-term work disability by coordinating health and employment resources. Our award-winning services were developed with workers, clinicians, employers, and return-to-work professionals to close the gap between often separate employment and health systems.

VT RETAIN has integrated Work-Health Coaching into the primary care setting and used a team-based approach to ensure effective communication with participants' medical care providers, employers, and other support systems. This has led to partnerships with over 100 primary care clinics across Vermont and nearby New Hampshire, representing most of Vermont's healthcare systems.

While 10,000 Vermonters have requested VT RETAIN support for diverse physical and mental health barriers to employment, only 2,000 were deemed eligible based on early intervention criteria per federal funding requirements. Over 750 Vermont workers have participated in the VT RETAIN project.

To learn more, visit labor.vermont.gov/vt-retain.

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VMEC and Vermont Law and Graduate School Partner to Support Legal Services for Small Manufacturers

VMEC and the Vermont Law and Graduate School's Small Business Law Center and Clinic are proud to announce a new partnership aimed at expanding legal services for manufacturers across the state.

Through this collaboration, VMEC and VLGS will host a webinar series designed to help manufacturers better understand their rights and responsibilities, and how to protect themselves and their employees. Topics will include contracts, regulatory compliance, business entities, risk management, and other legal issues that small manufacturers often face.

The first free webinar in this series, "How to Hire and Work With a Lawyer," will be held on Wednesday, May 14 from 2:00 - 3:00 pm EST (registration here: https://vmec.org/events-posttype/how-to-hire-and-work-with-a-lawyer/?edate=1747180800). Attendees will learn what a lawyer brings to a small business, what to expect when working with one and how and when to get the right kind of legal help.

"We are delighted to be partnering with The Vermont Law and Graduate School's Small Business Law Center and Clinic to bring more support to Vermont's small and medium-size manufacturers," said Patrick Boyle, VMEC Center Director and CEO. "Vermont manufacturers face multiple opportunities and challenges in today's business environment. Introducing them to first-class legal support can only be beneficial to their bottom line."

In addition to educational programming, manufacturers will also be able to access one-on-one guidance from an attorney, ensuring they get personalized support for their specific needs.

"Our partners at the Vermont Bar Association work closely with us to help entrepreneurs find an attorney to meet their specific needs, and we help them get started with ten free hours," said Nicole Killoran, Professor of Law at VLGS and the Director of the Vermont Small Business Law Center. "We are excited to be able to bring these services to Vermont's manufacturers and to support such an important sector of our economy."

This partnership reflects a shared commitment to strengthening Vermont's manufacturing community by providing tools, knowledge and resources that enable long-term business success. For more information about upcoming webinars or events, please visit vmec.org or sblc.vermontlaw.edu.

About VMEC: Part of the nationwide MEP National Network and hosted by Vermont State University since 1995, VMEC operates as a not-for-profit with a primary mission, "To Strengthen and Empower Vermont Manufacturers." A local resource and trusted adviser to manufacturing enterprises of all sizes, the VMEC team brings world-class expertise in consulting, coaching, hands-on implementation support, training and education for leaders and workers. VMEC provides proven systems and solutions focused on strategies, processes, products, technologies and people.

Vermont Law and Graduate School, a private, independent institution, is home to a law school that offers ABA-accredited residential and online hybrid JD programs and a graduate school that offers master's degrees and certificates in multiple disciplines, including programs offered by the Maverick Lloyd School for the Environment, the Center for Justice Reform and other graduate-level programs emphasizing the intersection of environmental justice, social justice and public policy. Both the law and graduate schools strongly feature experiential clinical and field work learning. For more information, visit vermontlaw.edu, Facebook and Instagram.