The civic record
Read. Follow. Verify.Vermont defines dispatchers as first responders and extends PTSD workers' compensation coverage
Last action · January 27, 2026: Read 1st time & referred to Committee on Economic Development, Housing and General AffairsSponsors: Joseph Major and 7 others
Track this bill to get notified when it advances a stage. One tap to stop, anytime.
What This Bill Would Do
Public safety and emergency services dispatchers are newly designated as first responders in communications, making them eligible for presumed workers' compensation benefits for post-traumatic stress disorder incurred in the line of duty starting July 1, 2026.
Dispatchers diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder will gain statutory presumption that the condition arose from employment, easing access to workers' compensation claims for mental health injuries.
Who It Would Affect
Groups the bill's text would affect if enacted, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.
Public safety dispatchers and 911 call takers
Receive formal recognition as first responders in communications and gain eligibility for presumed workers' compensation benefits for post-traumatic stress disorder.
Emergency communications employers
Must provide training to maintain and enhance employee proficiency to the extent practicable and assume potential workers' compensation liabilities for post-traumatic stress disorder claims.
Key Facts
You don't have to trust us. Each fact below is taken straight from the official document - click any one to see the exact passage, highlighted in the original.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who qualifies as a 'first responder in communications' under this bill?
What mental health conditions are covered under the workers' compensation expansion?
How long after leaving employment does a dispatcher remain eligible to file a claim?
What else do you want to know?
News Coverage
Follow the record
Votes, people, money & the original sourceWhere This Stands
Currently in committee. The next step in the legislative lifecycle is Floor Vote.
Procedural history
1 action- Jan 27, 2026SenateIntroducedRead 1st time & referred to Committee on Economic Development, Housing and General Affairs
Version history
Only one version on file - nothing to compare yet. As later stages (committee substitute, engrossed, enrolled) are captured, the redline appears here.
View official text →Lobbying Activity
No state lobbying filings in our records match this bill. Federal lobbying reports (LDA) cover Congress, so they are not listed on state bills.
Full breakdown
Who this bill affects and the strongest case for and against it, written only from the bill’s own text.
Sponsors
Connected Entities
Sources
legislature.vermont.gov
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance75How much this matters to a regular citizen
- Controversy15Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment5Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz25Current news / social attention level
Publisher tools