A hearing officer (HO) is appointed by the VRB to hear cases which come before the VRB and issue a decision based on the facts presented at any hearing. Each case filed with VRB by VOSHA will have an HO assigned to it once the case is ready for hearing. The duties of an HO include handling any pre-hearing conferences or motions, conducting a fair and impartial hearing, administering oaths, assuring that the hearing is efficiently run, ruling on objections and motions, and rendering a decision in the case. [See Rules of Procedure 2200.67 and 2200.90]
Alan Rome, Esq. has served for the Board since October 2011. He has been in private practice in Montpelier, Vermont since 1981 and focuses his practice in the field of alternative dispute resolution. He is a graduate of Colgate University (1971) and Albany Law School (1974) where he received his Juris Doctor degree. He also graduated from the National Institute of Trail Advocacy in 1979. He is admitted to both Vermont and Massachusetts Bar Associations, U.S. District Court in Vermont, Second Circuit Court of Appeals, and the American Arbitration Association. He has acted in the past as an Acting Judge/Magistrate in the Washington Family Courts. He has served as an Arbitrator with the American Arbitration Association, as well as a Hearing Officer for the Office of Professional Regulation and the Department of Education.
Curtis Carpenter, Esq. has served for the Board since 2019. He is a civil litigator and has been admitted to practice in the state courts and United States District Courts of Vermont, Massachusetts and Maine. He is also admitted to practice before the First Circuit Court of Appeals. His practice includes trials and appeals in medical malpractice, product liability, construction disputes, civil rights disputes, and general liability. Mr. Carpenter has tried cases in state superior and district courts as well as in federal court. He has handled appeals before the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, the Massachusetts Appeals Court, and the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit. Before beginning his legal career, Mr. Carpenter worked for Associated Industries of Vermont (AIV), a trade association dedicated to promoting the interests of Vermont’s manufacturing community. He lives in Lyndonville, Vermont, where he serves on the Planning Commission, the Development Review Board, and the Police Advisory Commission.