VWC Style Guide

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VWC STYLE GUIDE

Rev. 02/24

Table of Contents GENERAL INFORMATION.............................................................................................................................................. 2 Numbers ...................................................................................................................................................................... 3 A .................................................................................................................................................................................. 3 B .................................................................................................................................................................................. 4 C .................................................................................................................................................................................. 5 D .................................................................................................................................................................................. 6 E .................................................................................................................................................................................. 7 F................................................................................................................................................................................... 8 G.................................................................................................................................................................................. 8 H .................................................................................................................................................................................. 8 I ................................................................................................................................................................................... 9 J ................................................................................................................................................................................... 9 K .................................................................................................................................................................................. 9 L................................................................................................................................................................................... 9 M............................................................................................................................................................................... 10 N................................................................................................................................................................................ 10 O................................................................................................................................................................................ 10 P ................................................................................................................................................................................ 11 Q................................................................................................................................................................................ 12 R ................................................................................................................................................................................ 12 S................................................................................................................................................................................. 12 T ................................................................................................................................................................................ 12 U................................................................................................................................................................................ 13 V ................................................................................................................................................................................ 14 W............................................................................................................................................................................... 15 X ................................................................................................................................................................................ 15 Y ................................................................................................................................................................................ 15 Z ................................................................................................................................................................................ 16

VWC STYLE GUIDE

Rev. 02/24

GENERAL INFORMATION

The VWC Style Guide provides direction and clarity on how the Commission communicates its messaging both internally and externally. This guide helps streamline communications, define commonly used terms and stay consistent in messages to ensure quality, accuracy and consistency. VWC follows the Associated Press AP Stylebook, with the following exceptions and/or guidance on organizational style specifics. In addition, this guide includes confirmation of some AP Style guidelines for terms that are often confused, recently changed by AP and some of the VWC’s more commonly used terms and acronyms. If you have a suggested addition or a question, please email VWC’s Outreach Services Department here. VWC also has a Brand Guide, maintained by the Outreach Services Department. It offers a comprehensive foundation of graphic design standards, communication guidelines and best practices when visually representing VWC’s brand across all mediums. The VWC Style Guide and Brand Guide are intended for use on all VWC information, communications, forms, documents and guides, with the exception of Judicial writings. Judicial staff is to use the Citation, Hearing, and Review manuals, rather than the Brand and Style Guides for Judicial writings. System changes to align with this style guide will be planned for implementation.

VWC STYLE GUIDE

Rev. 02/24

Numbers 20-Day Order and 30-Day Order Include hyphen.

In general, spell out numbers one through nine. Also spell out a number if it begins a sentence. For example: There are nine players. Nine players attended. Generally, for amounts less than one, spell it out and use a hyphen between the words. For example: A two-thirds majority is required for that policy to pass.

Use figures for 10 or above and whenever preceding a unit of measure or referring to ages of people, events or things. Also use figures for percentages and in statistical and sequential forms. For example: There will be 15 people attending. The facility has seating for 2,500 people. The Commission says 50% of its claims were submitted online.

A Acronyms and abbreviations An acronym is a word formed from the first letter or letters or a series of words. For example: Federal Bureau of Investigation ─ FBI. An abbreviation is not an acronym. When possible, use the following guidelines: • Abbreviate titles when used before a full name. For example: Gov., Sen., Lt., Sgt. • Abbreviate junior or senior after an individual’s name: For example: John J. Smith Jr. • Avoid acronyms on the first reference unless they are so well known that most readers will recognize the reference at first glance, such as FBI, NAACP and RSVP. • Abbreviate company, corporation, incorporated and limited when used after the names of a corporate entity. For example: Commerce Lexington Corp. • DO NOT use a comma before Inc., Ltd., LLC, LLP. Smith & Jones Ltd. • Generally, use capital letters and omit periods unless the result would spell an unrelated word: U.S. not US.

VWC STYLE GUIDE

Rev. 02/24

Addresses When possible, use the following guidelines: Abbreviations with a period are used. For example: St., Ave., Apt., Blvd. P.O. Box Zip codes should include the +4 digits on the end, whenever possible. The 4+ codes do not need to be added on informal or educational/outreach documents. VWC’s system automatically checks addresses through the USPS and follows the USPS format. To check an address format, visit https://tools.usps.com/zip-code-lookup.htm?byaddress. Also Prefer : also was; may also Not: was also; also may Ampersand (&) The ampersand (&) should not be used in place of “and.” An exception is if the ampersand is part of a business name. For example: Smith & Associates. Exceptions include: system character limitations and when the ampersand is part of a business name. For example: Smith & Associates.” Assertion of Rights Also known as a protective filing, meaning that an injured worker wishes to protect their rights, but request no action be taken on the claim at the present time. Generally, use the term “assertion of rights” rather than “protective filing” when referring to Claimants cases. Health Care Providers do not have a separate form to use for filing an Assertion of Rights, so they use the term “protective filing.” Attributions for direct quotes Attribution should be inserted after the first natural pause. “In other words,” he says, “the attribution can be in the middle of a sentence.” Attorney Do not use the term lawyer, always use attorney. Lawyer is approved for use by Ombuds Department. Counsel is also acceptable for group/firm.

VWC STYLE GUIDE

Rev. 02/24

B Board Lowercase when standing alone. For example: board-certified contribution rates; but uppercase when part of full name, for example: Board of Trustees. Bulleted lists (punctuation) Keep lists clean, uncluttered. Start with a complete introductory phrase followed by a colon. (In fact, try to recast sentences if they lack a complete intro clause.) Begin each bulleted item with a capital letter and end with a period, even if they aren’t complete sentences. Exception: One- or two-word list items, or short phrases. Dispense with the ‘and’ before the last bullet. There are times when punctuation is required for clarity, as in instances when we are instructing readers to take action, for example: do this or that. Thus, punctuation other than a period (a comma or a semi-colon) will be appropriate. C Canceled not Cancelled AP Style favors the one ‘l’ version – canceled. Capitalization rules Headlines and subheads: Capitalize prepositions with four or more letters. For example: from, with. Do not capitalize: for, as, if, on. Even though “is,” “are,” “was,” and “be,” are all short words, they should still be capitalized in a title because they are verbs. Capitalize the official name of a plan or program. Do not capitalize incomplete references to the plan or program. For example: Medical Fee Schedule, and “the fee schedule is updated”. State agencies: Capitalize the proper name of a state agency or department. For example: The Virginia Department of Transportation is improving the roads in the state. Do not capitalize if you are using the general name (for example: The agency) or if you are referring to part of the agency’s name. Job titles: Generally, capitalize formal titles when they appear before a person's name, but lowercase titles if they are informal, appear without a person's name, follow a person's name or are set off before a name by commas. For example: Deputy Commissioner Smith will attend. The deputy commissioner attending will be here at noon. Deputy Commissioner Smith is the first deputy commissioner to attend. Bob is the president of the company. The Smith Company will send President Bob Smith to attend. Cities/States Use a comma after the city and after the state. For example: She was born in Richmond, Virginia, in 1985.

VWC STYLE GUIDE

Rev. 02/24

Claim Form vs. Claim for Benefits Form Use Claim Form. This was formerly a Claim for Benefits Form.

Also referred to as Request for Hearing. Also called a Protective Filing for Medical/Health Care Providers. *The terminology and process used within Casper is currently being reviewed. An update will be provided here. Claim Adjuster/Claim Administrator vs. Third Party Administrator Do not use the term Claim Examiner. Do not use Third Party Administrator or TPA. These are legacy terms no longer in use. Claimant Avoid using contractions in formal and public communications. For internal communications, contractions are acceptable, but only to be used sparingly. Examples of contractions: can't (can + not), don't (do + not) and I've (I + have). Criminal Injuries Compensation Fund / Virginia Victims Fund Formal use should be the Criminal Injuries Compensation Fund (CICF). Virginia Victims Fund (VVF) is the “working” title used in day-to-day business. After spelling out Virginia Victims Fund, you may use “VVF” or “the Fund” within the document. The VVF logo should always be a version that includes the tagline “Officially the Criminal Injuries Compensation Fund”. Code of Virginia Italicize all references: Code of Virginia Use code section symbol(s) if it is available. Use § for one Code section and §§ for multiple Code sections. A space should be placed between § and the number. For example: “As related in § 51.1 of the Code of Virginia .” and “In reference to Virginia Code §§ 65.2-503 and 68.2- 603.” When the section symbol is not available, the word “section” must be spelled out. When used in a sentence, “Virginia” is spelled out. In subsequent usage, Virginia may be dropped; simply identify Code § 65.2- . Code may also be dropped in subsequent references which then requires that “Section” be spelled out rather than using the section symbol. The Commission has opted to include “Va.” within cites referencing the Act. The Supreme Court of Virginia and the Court of Appeals of Virginia do not include “Va. when citing references to the Act in their opinions. When referring to the Code of Virginia , Section and Title can be used interchangeably. Once an injured worker files a claim, they are then called a claimant. Do not use the term “employee.” They are an injured worker or a claimant. Contractions

VWC STYLE GUIDE

Rev. 02/24

D Data The word typically takes singular verbs and pronouns when writing for general audiences. For example: The data is sound. Use databank and database, but data processing (n. and adj.) and data center. Date of Injury (DOI) Use date of injury, not date of accident. Dates Per AP Style, use a comma after the year in a sentence: For example: “On January 1, 2020, record winds were recorded.” Do not use a comma between month and year. Correct: January 2020, Incorrect: January, 2020 Use the current year with the date only if it is needed for clarity or to avoid confusion. Exception to AP Style: Spell out the month, even when used with a specific date: January 1, 2020 not Jan. 1, 2020. Defendants This term is used once a claim reaches adjudication. The term encompasses the employer, insurance carrier and claim administrator. The plural possessive is defendants’. Dependent This is the official term used in the Act, otherwise known as the beneficiary in a death claim. CASPER classifies these as “The Estate of” on all outgoing documents. Dispute Form Use “Employer’s Application for Hearing”, not “Dispute Form”. E Email Use the AP Style, which is lowercase and no hyphen: email. Emphasis Do not use bold, underline, italics or all caps for emphasis in online publication content. Employee- injured worker Once an injured worker files a claim, they are then called a claimant. Do not use the term “employee.” They are a worker, injured worker, or a claimant. For EDI specific data requests, the EDI QA Department will use the IAIABC terminology in their notifications. Employees- VWC employees For outgoing correspondences, use the term “VWC employees”. If sending an informal or internal communication, use “Team Members”. Do not use “staff”.

VWC STYLE GUIDE

Rev. 02/24

Employer’s Application for Hearing Use “Employer’s Application for Hearing”, not “Dispute Form”. Esquire Use its abbreviated form, Esq. For example: Robert Jones, Esq. Never use both the courtesy title (Mr. or Ms.) with the professional designation Esq. For example, do not use: Mr. Robert Jones, Esq. F Flier, flyer Use the AP Style, which is “flyer” is used in all cases except the phrase “to take a flier ,” which means “to take a risk”. Form 16A, 17A and 61A No hyphens. Always use Form with the number. For example: “Form 16A” not “16A”. Full time, part time Hyphenate the adjective, not the noun. Examples: He works full time. She has a full-time job. Full-time employees work full time. Part-time employees work part time. G General Assembly The term “General Assembly” is always capitalized. The word “Assembly” is capitalized when it is a second reference to Virginia’s legislature. For example: The General Assembly convenes in January. The terms “Special Session” and “Session” are capitalized when they refer to a specific session of the General Assembly. For example: The 2020 Session of the General Assembly was a busy one. The General Assembly will meet in a Special Session on Friday. The word “legislature” is never capitalized when it refers to Virginia’s legislative body because it is not the official name. For example: During the Special Session, the legislature will act on retirement bills. H Headquarters Use VWC Headquarters, not VWC Central Office. Health Care Provider vs. Medical Care Provider Medical Care Provider is generally used and preferred. Health Care Provider is also acceptable and used when pertaining to health care.

VWC STYLE GUIDE

Rev. 02/24

Hyphen Use hyphens only when not using them causes confusion. For example: in-person hearings. Think of hyphens as an aid to readers’ comprehension. If a hyphen makes the meaning clearer, use it. If it just adds clutter and distraction to the sentence, don’t use it. Do not use a hyphen Form 16A, Form 17A or Form 61A. Do use a hyphen for 20-Day Order and 30-Day Order. I Inc. Use the AP Style by NOT placing commas around Inc. For example: Minnesota Life Inc. will be presenting. Injured worker Once an injured worker files a claim, they are then called a claimant. Do not use the term “employee.” They are a worker, injured worker, or a claimant. For EDI specific data requests, the EDI QA Department will use the IAIABC terminology in their notifications. In-person Use hyphen. Incorrect: in person Internet Should be lowercase except at the start of a sentence. Insurance Carrier vs. Insurer Use the term insurance carrier, not insurer. The VWC Style Guide is intended for the Commission’s way forward. This guide should be referenced and used for all VWC information, communications, forms, documents and guides, with the exception of Judicial writings. Judicial staff is to use the Citation, Hearing, and Review manuals, rather than this Style Guide for Judicial writings. K L Lawyer Do not use the term lawyer, use attorney.Do not use the term lawyer, always use attorney. Lawyer is approved for use by Ombuds Department. Counsel is also acceptable for group/firm. J Judicial

VWC STYLE GUIDE

Rev. 02/24

Login, logon, logoff (noun or adjective) No spaces. For example: “Do not share your login with anyone.” However, use as two words in verb form. For example: I log into my computer. I log in to my computer.

M Medical Fee Schedule The term is singular, however there are multiple medical fee schedules within the Schedule. Make sure you use Medical Fee Schedule when discussing it as a whole. Medical Care Provider vs. Health Care Provider Medical Care Provider is generally used and preferred. Health Care Provider is also acceptable and used when pertaining to health care. More than vs. over Both uses are acceptable to indicate greater numerical value. For example: VVF provides more than $xx to victims of crime. VWC’s account has over $12 million. N Names For EDI specific data requests, the EDI QA Department will use the IAIABC terminology in their notifications. Numbers In general, spell out numbers one through nine. Also spell out a number if it begins a sentence. For example: There are nine players. Nine players attended.

Generally, for amounts less than one, spell it out and use a hyphen between the words. For example: A two-thirds majority is required for that policy to pass.

VWC STYLE GUIDE

Rev. 02/24

P Percent Use the % sign when paired with a numeral, with no space, in most cases. For example: Average hourly pay rose 3.1% from a year ago; her mortgage rate is 4.75%; about 60% of Americans agreed; he won 56.2% of the vote. Use figures, for example: 1%, 4 percentage points. For amounts less than 1%, precede the decimal with a zero. For example: The cost of living rose 0.6%. In casual uses, use words rather than figures and numbers. For example: She said he has a zero percent chance of winning. Constructions with the % sign take a singular verb when standing alone or when a singular word follows an of construction. For example: The teacher said 60% was a failing grade. He said 50% of the membership was there. Phone number style Use hyphen; do not use parentheses; do not place a 1 in front. Correct examples: 804-555-5555; 888-555-5555 Plurals of acronyms Apostrophe is not needed when forming plurals of acronyms. For example: GSIAs not GSIA’s, FROIs not FROI’s Prepositions Capitalize prepositions with only four or more letters (from, with) in headlines and subheads. For example: “The Commission Announces Winners From Virginia”. See Capitalization Rules for more details. Protective filing Also known as assertion of rights, meaning that an injured worker wishes to protect their rights, but request no action be taken on the claim at the present time. Generally, use the term “assertion of rights” rather than “protective filing” when referring to Claimants cases. Health Care Providers do not have a separate form to use for filing an Assertion of Rights, so they use the term “protective filing.” Punctuation placement with other punctuation Quotes: The period and the comma always go within the quotation marks. For example: “The VWC team is here to help the community.” The dash, semicolon, colon, question mark and the exclamation point go within the quotation marks when they apply to the quoted matter only. They go outside when they apply to the whole sentence. For example: She asked, “What is the VWC team’s purpose?”, Who wrote the “VWC Editorial Style Guide”? Parentheses: Place a period outside a closing parenthesis if the material inside is not a sentence (such as this fragment). (An independent parenthetical sentence, such as this one, takes a period before the closing parenthesis.)

VWC STYLE GUIDE

Rev. 02/24

R Record - keeping Hyphenate as an adjective. For example: The Records Retention policy was created to streamline VWC’s record- keeping system.

S Section vs. Title When referring to the Code of Virginia , Section and Title can be used interchangeably. Serial comma (also known as Oxford comma) Follow AP Style and do not use a comma before the “and” or “or” in a series. Correct : Bob, Mary and Alex work here. Correct: Neither Bob, Mary nor Alex work here. Spacing after periods and colons Use one space after periods and colons. Staff For internal use, use “Team Members”, do not use “employees” or “staff”. State abbreviations

Do not abbreviate state names in text; spell out the state name. For example: Our city is Richmond, Virginia. Exception: Always use postal code abbreviations when providing full address. For example: Virginia Workers’ Compensation Commission, 333 E. Franklin St., Richmond, VA 23219

T Telephone Numbers Use hyphens in telephone references, not parentheses, periods or slashes or a 1 before the first three digits. For example: 888-555-5555, 804-555-5555. Third Party Administrator Do not use Third Party Administrator or TPA. Do not use the term Claim Examiner. These are legacy terms no longer in use. The correct terms are Claim Adjuster/Claim Administrator.

Time Use figures for time, except noon and midnight. For example: 9:00 a.m. Abbreviate time of day with lower case letters separated by periods: a.m./p.m.

VWC STYLE GUIDE

Rev. 02/24

Titles Capitalize titles when they precede the person’s name. For example: VWC Chairman John Doe spoke at the conference. Do not capitalize a title when it follows a person’s name or is used alone. For example- The chairman added that they will be open for business soon. When referring to the VWC Chairman, use Chairman, not Chairman Commissioner, not Commissioner Chairman. Toll-free Use a hyphen. Tone On written and outgoing official documents and the website, it is recommended to write in third person. For example: The Virginia Workers Compensation Commission announces Bob Smith as its new Commissioner. Mr. Smith begins work at the Commission on July 1 st , 2020. The Commission will host a welcoming event on Friday. Incorrect example: The Virginia Workers Compensation Commission announces Bob Smith as our new Commissioner. When possible, link a word rather than listing the url link. Correct examples: Click here to visit WebFile. Email us here. Incorrect examples: Visit WebFile at http://www.workcomp.virginia.gov/webfile. Email us at education- outreach@workcomp.virginia.gov. Uninsured Employer’s Fund Note the apostrophe placement. Also known as UEF. V Verbs SPLIT FORMS: In many cases, splitting the infinitive or compound forms of a verb is necessary to convey meaning and make a sentence easy to read. Such constructions are acceptable. For example: Those who lie are often found out. How has your health been? The budget was tentatively approved. Let readability and comprehension be your guide. If splitting a verb results in an awkward sentence, don’t do it. For example: She wants to write clearly, not She wants to clearly write. U URLs Do not italicize website URLs. AP Style Guide says do not put http:// or www. before a website address/urls Correct usage example: workcomp.virginia.gov

VWC STYLE GUIDE

Rev. 02/24

Vertical punctuation of bulleted lists Keep lists clean, uncluttered. Start with a complete introductory phrase followed by a colon (in fact, try to recast sentences if they lack a complete intro clause) Begin each bulleted item with a capital letter and end with a period, even if they aren’t complete sentences. Dispense with the “and” before the last bullet. There are times when punctuation is required for clarity, as in instances when we are instructing readers to take action bullet one OR bullet two. Thus, internal punctuation (e.g., a comma or a semi-colon) will be appropriate. Adapted from Chicago Manual of Style as AP Style does not address. VWC When forming the possessive of VWC, use VWC’s Do not use ‘the VWC’, ‘VWCC’, or ‘the VWCC’ Incorrect: In response to your email, the VWC will provide …. Correct : In response to your email, VWC will provide…. See below for usage details. VWC / Virginia Workers Compensation Commission “VWC” should only be used informally. For example: ok to use in staff communications, conference marketing materials, not in formal or legal documents. Formal or legal documents should first spell out Virginia Workers’ Compensation Commission and then refer to it as the Commission. When ‘Commonwealth of Virginia’ is listed in front of Workers’ Compensation Commission, there is no need to add Virginia to the name. Example: VWC’s Letterhead. Virginia Victims Fund Formal use should be the Criminal Injuries Compensation Fund (CICF). Virginia Victims Fund (VVF) is the working title used in day-to-day business. After spelling out Virginia Victims Fund (VVF), you may use “VVF” or “the Fund” within the document. The VVF logo should always be the version that includes the tagline “Officially the Criminal Injuries Compensation Fund”.

VWC STYLE GUIDE

Rev. 02/24

W Web Use this short form and lowercase. Related words and how to write them include: web browser, webcast, webmaster, webpage, website WebFile Not Webfile, not Web File. Worker’s vs. workers vs. workers’ When the word’s plural form ends in s, the apostrophe to connote possessive form appears after the s. For example: Worker's is singular but the plural of worker would be workers and thus the possessive form would be workers'. Workers’ Compensation Capitalization: Unless the official name is used in full, or if it is used in a title of a publication,“workers' compensation” should not be capitalized. Workforce One word, no hyphen. Workplace One word, no hyphen. Work-related injury / occupational disease Not work-related accident. When referencing a work-related injury, you may also include the term occupational disease .Do not use ‘work-related’ with the term occupational disease, as it is already implied. www AP Style Guide says do not put http:// or www. before a website address/urls Correct usage: workcomp.virginia.gov

Y Year-end Should be hyphenated as a noun or adjective; meaning end of fiscal year.

VWC STYLE GUIDE

Rev. 02/24

Z Zip Codes Zip codes should include the +4 digits on the end, whenever possible. The extra digits should be used on all formal documents, letters and mailings. The extra digits are not necessary to include on marketing/outreach materials or the website. VWC’s system automatically checks addresses through the USPS and follows the USPS format. To check an address format, click here.

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