Workers' compensation

Under the Virginia Workers' Compensation Act and the Virginia Personnel Act, VCU is required to provide benefits to its employees — including faculty, staff, hourly workers and student workers — who incur an injury or illness arising out of and in the course of official work-related duties. The VCU Human Resources workers' compensation office provides information to employees and supervisors to assist them in understanding how to prevent workplace injuries and how to process workers' compensation claims.

All claims for workers' compensation are reviewed by the Virginia Division of Risk Management's third-party administrator, Managed Care Innovations, to determine if they are covered under the provisions of the Virginia Workers' Compensation Act.

Although an employee may have been injured at work, a claim can be considered compensable under workers' compensation laws in Virginia only if the injury occurred "by accident" and "was arising out of and in the course of employment." The injury or illness also must have happened suddenly and at a specific time.

Injuries generally not covered by the act include those caused by:

  • Misconduct
  • Horseplay
  • Failure to use safety equipment
  • Repetitive motion
  • Stress

Additional Assistance

To obtain assistance in accident investigation and prevention, contact the VCU Office of Safety and Risk Management at (804) 828-7899. For more information about workers' compensation, call (804) 828-1533.

ADA and FMLA

Two other federal laws also may apply to employees who experience an occupational injury or disease — the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA).

Please review the information relating to FMLA as this law requires supervisors to notify employees of their family and medical leave rights and responsibilities, including informing employees that they may use workers' compensation leave concurrently with FMLA leave.

Contact Information

Questions about how these laws relate to workers' compensation should be directed to to the VCU Workers' Compensation office at (804) 828-1533 or workcomp@vcu.edu.