Student Teacher Qualified as 'Employee' for Purposes of Workers' Comp

A plurality of the Vermont Supreme Court ruled that a student teacher qualified as an “employee” of a school district for purposes of receiving workers’ compensation benefits for an injury she sustained while participating in an unpaid internship program. Case: Lyons v. Chittenden Central Supervisory Union, No. 2016-036, 03/16/2018, published. Facts: In 2013, Catherine Lyons decided to pursue an elementary education teaching license in Vermont. To earn her teaching license, the Vermont Agency of Education required that Lyons perform 12 weeks of student teaching. Lyons enro...