Glossary

Vesting is a process by which employees receive rights to values contributed on their behalf by their employer to a pension, profit sharing, or similar benefit plan.

A vexatious litigant is a party who overuses and abuses the legal system by filing frivolous lawsuits.

A viatical settlement refers to the purchase of a life insurance policy from a terminally ill insured for a percentage of the policy's face amount.

Vicarious liability is the liability of a principal for the acts of its agents. Vicarious liability can result from the acts of independent agents, partners, independent contractors, employees, and children.

The Video Privacy Protection Act (VPPA) of 1988 generally prohibits the disclosure of a consumer's video rental or purchase records to third parties. The law contains some exceptions for marketing and law enforcement purposes.

Vis major is a Latin phrase meaning "a superior force." It means an act of God or an unavoidable accident.

Vocational rehabilitation is one aspect of the overall rehabilitation process that focuses on restoring an injured person's physical and mental capacity to perform work in a safe and productive manner. This process is normally geared to individuals whose disabilities permanently prevent them from returning to their prior positions without job modification and is normally overseen by a vocational counselor or therapist. For instances involving work-related injuries, the state workers compensation act or another regulation establishes the type and range of services that must be provided the injured employee.

Void means without legal effect; unenforceable. A number of actions on the part of the insured can render coverage under an insurance policy void.

Voidable refers to a policy that can be made void at the option of one or either of the parties to it.

A voluntary compensation endorsement enables an employer to extend the benefits provided by the workers compensation act to employees who may not be entitled to benefits under the terms of the act, such as executive officers, partners, sole proprietors, farm workers, domestic employees, volunteers or employees traveling overseas. If such an employee is injured in the course of employment, they may elect to accept the scale of benefits provided by the designated workers compensation law or pursue common law remedies.