Virginia Worker Compensation *Summary

The Virginia Workers’ Compensation Commission is the state agency that administers the Virginia Workers’ Compensation Act. The following brief summary is intended to provide a general overview of Workers’ Compensation coverage and benefits in Virginia. See the separate topic for help with acronyms. For further information contact your local or state Workers’ Compensation Program office. This information is based on data originally provided by the U.S. Department of Labor and updated by the Virginia Workers’ Compensation Commission, and is current as of July 2008.

In Virginia, compensation benefits are subject to an annual cost of living adjustment (COLA), and changes become effective July 1 of each year. The rates shown below are in effect from July 1, 2008 to June 30, 2009

Type of Law and Insurance Requirements
In Virginia, workers’ compensation is compulsory, and some waivers are permitted. There is no state fund. Employers may insure through private carriers, self-insurance, or through groups of employers. There is an exemption for employers with fewer than 3 employees.

Coverage of Agricultural Workers
Covers agricultural workers working for an employer who regularly has in service more than 2 full-time employees.

Coverage of Domestic Employees
Domestic servants are specifically excluded from coverage.

Medical Benefits
Full medical benefits are provided with no time or monetary limitations.

Benefits for Temporary Total Disability (TTD)
The percentage of worker’s wage paid is 66 2/3. For weekly payments, the minimum is $210.25 (25% of SAWW or employee’s actual wage, if less) and the maximum is $841, 100% of SAWW. The maximum period of payments is 500 weeks.

Benefits for Permanent Total Disability (PTD)
The percentage of worker’s wage paid is 66 2/3. For weekly payments, the minimum is $210.25 (25% of SAWW or employee’s actual wage, if less) and the maximum is $841, 100% of SAWW. The maximum period of payments is the duration of disability.

Benefits for Permanent Partial Disability (PPD)
The percentage of worker’s wage paid is 66 2/3. For weekly payments, the minimum is $210.25 (25% of SAWW or employee’s actual wage, if less) and the maximum is $841, 100% of SAWW. For non-scheduled injuries, the maximum period of payments is 500 weeks, and the maximum total payable amount is $420,500. The period of payment may be extended if the employee is still disabled within 1 year of final payment.

Disfigurement Benefits
Virginia statutes cover disfigurement described as “Severely marked of head, face, hands, arms or legs”. Benefits are 66-2/3 percent of employee’s average weekly wages, for a maximum period of 60 weeks.

How can my identity be stolen?

Identity theft is a growing national epidemic. The Federal Trade Commission’s 2003 report on identity theft called it the fastest growing crime in the nation, with nearly 500,000 victims, costs to businesses of $48 billion, and costs to consumers of nearly $5 billion.

Someone could steal your identity very easily by:

• stealing your wallet
• filling out a change of address form for you and collecting your mail
• snatching your unshredded pre-approved credit slips from the trash
• ordering unauthorized credit reports on you by posing as a potential employer or landlord
• looking over your shoulder at phones and ATM’s to gather PIN numbers (sometimes with binoculars or listening devices)
• using phony telemarketing schemes to con you into giving your personal data
• illegally tapping a computer at a business to which you have provided information or by which you have been granted credit (this is often done by dishonest or disgruntled employees), or
• gathering sensitive information and using it as a way to extract revenge (this is usually done by a former friend, lover, roommate, or co-worker — and it’s more common than most people realize).

Perhaps the most frightening (and most thorough) way for a thief to steal someone’s identity is by purchasing it at one of the identity search companies that have sprouted on the Internet. For as little as $49.99, these companies will sell you someone’s Social Security number (the heart of identity theft), their mother’s maiden name (the second most valuable piece of information), their home and employment address, their previous addresses, their credit history, and more.

If my identity gets stolen, what can the thief do with my personal information?

A lot. A thief can cash a check, obtain a loan, open credit accounts and charge them to the max, rent an apartment, buy a car, purchase a cell phone and talk to someone long distance all day, and, worse, commit a serious crime — all in your name.

Will I be held responsible if a thief uses my identity to commit a crime?

Yes and no. From a monetary standpoint, if a thief uses your credit card in a credit scam, you’ll likely be responsible for only $50, or possibly nothing. However, you may spend months hassling with credit agencies, financial institutions, and police departments trying to clear your name and repair the lingering damage. Almost certainly you will have to take time off from work to write letters, make calls, collect evidence, and demand action.

There is also the cost of anxiety and mental suffering to consider. Victims of identity theft report that police agencies are sometimes dismissive or even abusive, credit reporting agencies unresponsive, credit collection agencies hostile, and credit grantors disbelieving.

When victims are actually accused of committing crimes, they are sometimes repeatedly detained by police and have trouble trying to convince law enforcement officials that the person they’re holding is not the person they want.

Criminal identity theft occurs when an imposter gives another person’s name and personal information such as a drivers’ license, date of birth, or Social Security number (SSN) to a law enforcement officer during an investigation or upon arrest. Or the imposter may present to law enforcement a counterfeit license containing another person’s data.

Frequently, but not always, the imposter fraudulently obtained a driver’s license or identification card in the victim’s name and provides that identification document to law enforcement. Or the imposter, without showing any photo identification, uses the name of a friend or relative. In many cases, the imposter is cited for a traffic violation or for a misdemeanor violation and is released from the arrest. The imposter signs the citation and promises to appear in court. If the imposter does not appear in court, the magistrate may issue a bench warrant, but the warrant of arrest will be under the victim’s name.

The identity theft victim may not know there is a warrant of arrest issued under his/her name. The victim may unexpectedly be detained pursuant to a routine traffic stop and then subsequently arrested and taken to county jail (booked) because of the outstanding bench warrant.

In some cases the imposter will appear in court for the traffic or misdemeanor violation and plead guilty without the victim being aware of this event. In other cases, the imposter is arrested and booked at the county jail for a felony such as a drunk driving or other serious public offense. The imposter provides the victim’s name and personal information. This information is then recorded in the countywide data base and is usually transferred to the State’s criminal records data base and possibly to the national data bases, the National Crime Information Center (NCIC)

Some identity theft victims, unaware of the earlier criminal activity by the imposter, may learn of the impersonation when the victim is denied employment or terminated from employment. In these cases, the employer conducted a background investigation and had relied upon the criminal history found under the victim’s name. Note that the employer is legally obligated to inform the victim of the reason for the rejection of employment.

Unfortunately, as with financial identity theft, the burden of clearing one’s name within the criminal justice system is primarily on the victim. The victim must act quickly and assertively to minimize the damage. Yet, the responsibility to correct the erroneous data in the various criminal justice computer systems is with the officials working within the criminal justice system. There are no established procedures for clearing one’s wrongful criminal record.

What can I do to protect my identity from theft?

Minimizing the disaster of identity theft depends primarily on your vigilance in guarding your privacy. You’ve got to guard your personal information diligently. Here are some tips for keeping your private information secure:

• Never carry your Social Security card in your wallet.
• Don’t have your Social Security number or your driver’s license number pre-printed on your checks.
• Use your initials (instead of your first name) and last name on your checks. If some one takes your checks, they will not know if you sign your checks with just your initials or your full name, but your bank will know.
• If you have a P.O. Box or work address, put that address on your checks instead of your home address. Put your work phone number on your checks instead of your home phone number.
• When writing a check to a credit card account, do not put the complete account number on the “For” line — just use the last four numbers.
• Install a locking mailbox or a mail slot that goes directly into your house. Send your mail, especially payments, directly from the post office (don’t put it in the mailbox for the postal carrier to pick up).
• Order your credit report every year. Promptly respond to any inaccurate information.
• Change your passwords and PIN numbers regularly. Don’t use obvious codes such as birthdays, or the name of your spouse, child, or pet. Memorize passwords and PIN numbers and shred any piece of paper on which they are written.
• Diligently review credit card statements, phone, and utility bills. Call if you don’t recognize a charge or phone call.
• Always take your credit card receipts, and never throw them away in public.
• Tear up or shred any offers of pre-approved credit cards you don’t intend to use and beware of offers from companies you don’t recognize. It’s easy to create an official-looking and completely phony credit application offering you pre-approved credit if you provide your Social Security number, mother’s maiden name (for supposed security reasons), and a signature.
• Don’t give personal information over the phone unless absolutely necessary, and don’t ever give it unless you initiated the phone call. If someone calls who says they are calling from your bank or credit company, ask for a number to call them back — and then make sure it’s really an official number.
• Beware of anyone asking for your Social Security number. If they refuse to complete a transaction without it, consider taking your business elsewhere.
• Pick up your new checks from the bank instead of having them sent to your home.
• Don’t put personal information on a computer home page or personal computer profile.

If you find your personal information posted somewhere on the Internet, demand that it be removed.

Title 59.1, Chapter 17.3, §59.1-207.9 – §59.1-207.16

§ 59.1-207.9

This chapter may be cited as the Virginia Motor Vehicle Warranty Enforcement Act.

§ 59.1-207.10

The General Assembly recognizes that a motor vehicle is a major consumer purchase, and there is no doubt that a defective motor vehicle creates a hardship for the consumer. It is the intent of the General Assembly that a good faith motor vehicle warranty complaint by a consumer should be resolved by the manufacturer, or its agent, within a specified period of time. It is further the intent of the General Assembly to provide the statutory procedures whereby a consumer may receive a replacement motor vehicle, or a full refund, for a motor vehicle which cannot be brought into conformity with the express warranty issued by the manufacturer. However, nothing in this chapter shall in any way limit the rights or remedies which are otherwise available to a consumer under any other law.

§ 59.1-207.11

As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the following meanings:

“Collateral charges” means any sales-related charges including but not limited to sales tax, license fees, registration fees, title fees, finance charges and interest, transportation charges, dealer preparation charges or any other charges for service contracts, undercoating, rust proofing or installed options, not recoverable from a third party.

“Comparable motor vehicle” means a motor vehicle that is identical or reasonably equivalent to the motor vehicle to be replaced, as the motor vehicle to be replaced existed at the time of purchase with an offset from this value for a reasonable allowance for its use.

“Consumer” means the purchaser, other than for purposes of resale, of a motor vehicle used in substantial part for personal, family, or household purposes, and any person to whom such motor vehicle is transferred for the same purposes during the duration of any warranty applicable to such motor vehicle, and any other person entitled by the terms of such warranty to enforce the obligations of the warranty.

“Incidental damages” shall have the same meaning as provided in § 8.2-715.

“Lemon law rights period” means the period ending eighteen months after the date of the original delivery to the consumer of a new motor vehicle. This shall be the period during which the consumer can report any nonconformity to the manufacturer and pursue any rights provided for under this chapter.

“Lien” means a security interest in a motor vehicle.

“Lienholder” means a person, partnership, association, corporation or entity with a security interest in a motor vehicle pursuant to a lien.

“Manufacturer” means a person, partnership, association, corporation or entity engaged in the business of manufacturing or assembling motor vehicles, or of distributing motor vehicles to motor vehicle dealers.

“Manufacturer’s express warranty” means the written warranty, so labeled, of the manufacturer of a new automobile, including any terms or conditions precedent to the enforcement of obligations under that warranty.

“Motor vehicle” means only passenger cars, pickup or panel trucks, motorcycles, self-propelled motorized chassis of motor homes and mopeds as those terms are defined in § 46.2-100 and demonstrators or lease purchase vehicles with which a warranty was issued.

“Motor vehicle dealer” shall have the same meaning as provided in § 46.2-1500.

“Nonconformity” means a failure to conform with a warranty, a defect or a condition, including those that do not affect the driveability of the vehicle, which significantly impairs the use, market value, or safety of a motor vehicle.

“Notify” or “notification” means that the manufacturer shall be deemed to have been notified under this chapter if a written complaint of the defect or defects has been mailed to it or it has responded to the consumer in writing regarding a complaint, or a factory representative has either inspected the vehicle or met with the consumer or an authorized dealer regarding the nonconformity.

“Reasonable allowance for use” shall not exceed one-half of the amount allowed per mile by the Internal Revenue Service, as provided by regulation, revenue procedure, or revenue ruling promulgated pursuant to § 162 of the Internal Revenue Code, for use of a personal vehicle for business purposes, plus an amount to account for any loss to the fair market value of the vehicle resulting from damage beyond normal wear and tear, unless the damage resulted from nonconformity to any warranty.

“Serious safety defect” means a life-threatening malfunction or nonconformity that impedes the consumer’s ability to control or operate the new motor vehicle for ordinary use or reasonable intended purposes or creates a risk of fire or explosion.

“Significant impairment” means to render the new motor vehicle unfit, unreliable or unsafe for ordinary use or reasonable intended purposes.

“Warranty” means any implied warranty or any written warranty of the manufacturer, or any affirmations of fact or promise made by the manufacturer in connection with the sale of a motor vehicle that become part of the basis of the bargain. The term “warranty” pertains to the obligations of the manufacturer in relation to materials, workmanship, and fitness of a motor vehicle for ordinary use or reasonable intended purposes throughout the duration of the lemon law rights period as defined under this section.

§ 59.1-207.12
Conformity to all warranties

If a new motor vehicle does not conform to all warranties, and the consumer reports the nonconformity to the manufacturer, its agents, or its authorized dealer during the manufacturer’s warranty period, the manufacturer, its agent or its authorized dealer shall make such repairs as are necessary to conform the vehicle to such warranties, notwithstanding the fact that such repairs are made after the expiration of such manufacturer’s warranty period.

§ 59.1-207.13
Nonconformity of motor vehicles

1. If the manufacturer, its agents or authorized dealers do not conform the motor vehicle to any applicable warranty by repairing or correcting any defect or condition, including those that do not affect the driveability of the vehicle, which significantly impairs the use, market value, or safety of the motor vehicle to the consumer after a reasonable number of attempts during the lemon law rights period, the manufacturer shall:

1. Replace the motor vehicle with a comparable motor vehicle acceptable to the consumer, or

1. Accept return of the motor vehicle and refund to the consumer and any lienholder as their interest may appear the full purchase price, including all collateral charges, incidental damages, less a reasonable allowance for the consumer’s use of the vehicle up to the date of the first notice of nonconformity that is given to the manufacturer, its agents or authorized dealer. The consumer shall have the unconditional right to choose a refund rather than a replacement vehicle and to drive the motor vehicle until he receives either the replacement vehicle or the refund. The subtraction of a reasonable allowance for use shall apply to either a replacement or refund of the motor vehicle. Mileage, expenses, and reasonable loss of use necessitated by attempts to conform such motor vehicle to the express warranty may be recovered by the consumer.

1. It shall be presumed that a reasonable number of attempts have been undertaken to conform a motor vehicle to any warranty and that the motor vehicle is significantly impaired if during the period of eighteen months following the date of original delivery of the motor vehicle to the consumer either:

1. The same nonconformity has been subject to repair three or more times by the manufacturer, its agents or its authorized dealers and the same nonconformity continues to exist;

1. The nonconformity is a serious safety defect and has been subject to repair one or more times by the manufacturer, its agent or its authorized dealer and the same nonconformity continues to exist; or

1. The motor vehicle is out of service due to repair for a cumulative total of thirty calendar days, unless such repairs could not be performed because of conditions beyond the control of the manufacturer, its agents or authorized dealers, including war, invasion, strike, fire, flood or other natural disasters.

1. The lemon law rights period shall be extended if the manufacturer has been notified but the nonconformity has not been effectively repaired by the manufacturer, or its agent, by the expiration of the lemon law rights period.

1. The manufacturer shall clearly and conspicuously disclose to the consumer, in the warranty or owner’s manual, that written notification of the nonconformity to the manufacturer is required before the consumer may be eligible for refund or replacement of the vehicle under this chapter. The manufacturer shall include with the warranty or owner’s manual the name and address to which the consumer shall send such written notification.

1. It shall be the responsibility of the consumer, or his representative, prior to availing himself of the provisions of this section, to notify the manufacturer of the need for the correction or repair of the nonconformity, unless the manufacturer has been notified as defined in § 59.1-207.11. If the manufacturer or factory representative has not been notified of the conditions set forth in subsection B of this section and any of the conditions set forth in subsection B of this section already exists, the manufacturer shall be given an additional opportunity, not to exceed fifteen days, to correct or repair the nonconformity. If notification shall be mailed to an authorized dealer, the authorized dealer shall upon receipt forward such notification to the manufacturer.

1. Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to limit or impair the rights and remedies of a consumer under any other law.

1. It is an affirmative defense to any claim under this chapter that:

1. An alleged nonconformity does not significantly impair the use, market value, or safety of the motor vehicle; or

1. A nonconformity is the result of abuse, neglect or unauthorized modification or alteration of a motor vehicle by a consumer.

§ 59.1-207.14
Action to enforce provisions of chapter

Any consumer who suffers loss by reason of a violation of any provision of this chapter may bring a civil action to enforce such provision. Any consumer who is successful in such an action or any defendant in any frivolous action brought by a consumer shall recover reasonable attorney’s fees, expert witness fees and court costs incurred by bringing such actions.

§ 59.1-207.15
Informal dispute settlement procedure

1. If a manufacturer provides an informal dispute settlement procedure, it shall be the consumer’s choice whether or not to use it prior to availing himself of his rights under this chapter.

1. If a dispute settlement procedure is resorted to by the consumer and the decision is for a refund or a comparable motor vehicle, the manufacturer shall have forty days from its receipt of the consumer’s acceptance of the decision or from the date of a court order to comply with the terms of the decision.

1. In any action brought because of the manufacturer’s failure to comply with the decision, within the scope of the procedure’s authority, rendered as a result of a dispute resolution proceeding or a court order, the court may triple the value of the award stipulated in the decision as provided for in this chapter, plus award other equitable relief the court deems appropriate, including additional attorney’s fees.

§ 59.1-207.16
Action to be brought within certain time

Any action brought under this chapter shall be commenced within the lemon law rights period following the date of original delivery of the motor vehicle to the consumer; however, any consumer whose good faith attempts to settle the dispute have not resulted in the satisfactory correction or repair of the nonconformity, replacement of the motor vehicle or refund to the consumer of the amount described in subdivision 2 of subsection A of § 59.1-207.13, shall have twelve months from the date of the final action taken by the manufacturer in its dispute settlement procedure or within the lemon law rights period, whichever is longer, to file an action in the proper court, provided the consumer has rejected the manufacturer’s final action.