Robert A. Rapaport Reappointed as Commissioner of the VWC

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Commissioner Robert A. Rapaport

[Richmond, VA]- On January 27, 2020, the General Assembly of Virginia reappointed Robert A. Rapaport as Commissioner of the Virginia Workers’ Compensation Commission (VWC) for a six-year term. He is currently completing his first term as Commissioner. The VWC’s three Commissioners, R. Ferrell Newman, Wesley G. Marshall, and Robert A. Rapaport, serve as appellate-level judges at the agency and direct its operations and staff of 290.

Commissioner Rapaport, of Virginia Beach, was appointed to the Commission in 2017. He is a 1976 graduate of the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and earned his Juris Doctor degree in 1979 from the Marshall Wythe School of Law at the College of William and Mary. His appointment as Commissioner follows a 35‑year practice of law with a heavy concentration in workers’ compensation. He has served as President of the Virginia Workers' Compensation American Inn of Court and was inducted as a Fellow of the College of Workers’ Compensation Lawyers in 2018.

 

About The Commission

The Virginia Workers’ Compensation Commission (VWC), established in 1918, is an independent judicial and administrative state agency that oversees the workers’ compensation system for employees, employers, and insurers. VWC interprets and applies the Virginia Workers’ Compensation Act and resolves claims through hearings and mediation. A 2018 Oregon study ranked Virginia as the tenth-lowest cost system in the nation. Leading the way in electronic data and claims filing systems, in 2019 VWC processed over 41,000 claims and issued over 4,000 judicial opinions. VWC also administers the Criminal Injuries Compensation Fund, the Uninsured Employer’s Fund, and adjudicates claims under the Virginia Birth-Related Neurological Injury Compensation Program. Headquartered in Richmond, Virginia, VWC operates regional offices in Bristol, Virginia Beach, Roanoke, Harrisonburg, Manassas, and Fairfax.

 

For more information about this topic, or to schedule an interview, please call Charles Steepleton at 1-877-664-2566 or email questions@workcomp.virginia.gov.