{"formats":[{"name":"JSON","format":"json","url":"\/downloads\/2025\/code-json\/8.01-46.1.json"},{"name":"Plain Text","format":"text","url":"\/downloads\/2025\/code-text\/8.01-46.1.txt"},{"name":"XML","format":"xml","url":"\/downloads\/2025\/code-xml\/8.01-46.1.xml"},{"name":"HTML","format":"html","url":"\/downloads\/2025\/code-html\/8.01-46.1.html"}],"law_id":73041,"edition_id":1,"section_id":73041,"structure_id":15583,"section_number":"8.01-46.1","catch_line":"Disclosure of employment-related information; presumptions; causes of action; definitions","history":"2000, c. 1005.","full_text":"A\n\nAny employer who, upon request by a person’s prospective or current employer, furnishes information about that person’s professional conduct, reasons for separation or job performance, including, but not limited to, information contained in any written performance evaluations, shall be immune from civil liability for furnishing such information, provided that the employer is not acting in bad faith. An employer shall be presumed to be acting in good faith. The presumption of good faith shall be rebutted if it is shown by clear and convincing evidence that the employer disclosed such information with knowledge that it was false, or with reckless disregard for whether it is false or not, or with the intent to deliberately mislead.B\n\nIn a civil action brought against an employer for disclosing the information described in subsection A, if the trier of fact determines the employer acted in bad faith, punitive damages may be awarded, as provided by § 8.01-38.1.C\n\nAs used in this section, the following words and phrases shall have the following meanings:\n\t\t\t“Employee” means any person, paid or unpaid, in the service of an employer.\n\t\t\t“Employer” means any person, firm or corporation, including the Commonwealth of Virginia and its political subdivisions, and their agents, who has one or more employees or individuals performing services under any contract of hire or service, express or implied, oral or written.\n\t\t\t“Information” includes, but is not limited to, facts, data and opinions.\n\t\t\t“Job performance” includes, but is not limited to, ability, attendance, awards, demotions, duties, effort, evaluations, knowledge, skills, promotions, productivity and disciplinary actions.\n\t\t\t“Professional conduct” includes, but is not limited to, the ethical standards which govern the employee’s profession, or lawful conduct which is expected of the employee by the employer.\n\t\t\t“Prospective employer” means any employer who is considering a person for employment.","order_by":null,"text":{"0":{"id":262993,"text":"Any employer who, upon request by a person’s prospective or current employer, furnishes information about that person’s professional conduct, reasons for separation or job performance, including, but not limited to, information contained in any written performance evaluations, shall be immune from civil liability for furnishing such information, provided that the employer is not acting in bad faith. An employer shall be presumed to be acting in good faith. The presumption of good faith shall be rebutted if it is shown by clear and convincing evidence that the employer disclosed such information with knowledge that it was false, or with reckless disregard for whether it is false or not, or with the intent to deliberately mislead.","type":"section","prefixes":["A"],"prefix":"A","entire_prefix":"A","prefix_anchor":"A","level":1,"next_prefix":"B"},"1":{"id":262994,"text":"In a civil action brought against an employer for disclosing the information described in subsection A, if the trier of fact determines the employer acted in bad faith, punitive damages may be awarded, as provided by § 8.01-38.1.","type":"section","prefixes":["B"],"prefix":"B","entire_prefix":"B","prefix_anchor":"B","level":1,"prior_prefix":"A","next_prefix":"C"},"2":{"id":262995,"text":"As used in this section, the following words and phrases shall have the following meanings:\n\t\t\t“Employee” means any person, paid or unpaid, in the service of an employer.\n\t\t\t“Employer” means any person, firm or corporation, including the Commonwealth of Virginia and its political subdivisions, and their agents, who has one or more employees or individuals performing services under any contract of hire or service, express or implied, oral or written.\n\t\t\t“Information” includes, but is not limited to, facts, data and opinions.\n\t\t\t“Job performance” includes, but is not limited to, ability, attendance, awards, demotions, duties, effort, evaluations, knowledge, skills, promotions, productivity and disciplinary actions.\n\t\t\t“Professional conduct” includes, but is not limited to, the ethical standards which govern the employee’s profession, or lawful conduct which is expected of the employee by the employer.\n\t\t\t“Prospective employer” means any employer who is considering a person for employment.","type":"section","prefixes":["C"],"prefix":"C","entire_prefix":"C","prefix_anchor":"C","level":1,"prior_prefix":"B"}},"ancestry":[{"id":15583,"edition_id":1,"name":"Defamation","identifier":"4","label":"article","depth":3,"order_by":1,"parent_id":12886,"metadata":{},"date_created":"2026-06-26 03:56:32","date_modified":"2026-06-26 03:56:32","permalink":{"id":280825,"object_type":"structure","relational_id":15583,"identifier":"4","token":"8.01\/3\/4","url":"\/8.01\/3\/4\/","edition_id":1,"permalink":0,"preferred":1}},{"id":12886,"edition_id":1,"name":"Actions","identifier":"3","label":"chapter","depth":2,"order_by":1,"parent_id":12747,"metadata":{},"date_created":"2026-06-26 03:43:59","date_modified":"2026-06-26 03:43:59","permalink":{"id":279635,"object_type":"structure","relational_id":12886,"identifier":"3","token":"8.01\/3","url":"\/8.01\/3\/","edition_id":1,"permalink":0,"preferred":1}},{"id":12747,"edition_id":1,"name":"Civil Remedies and Procedure","identifier":"8.01","label":"title","depth":1,"order_by":1,"parent_id":null,"metadata":{},"date_created":"2026-06-26 03:43:51","date_modified":"2026-06-26 03:43:51","permalink":{"id":277029,"object_type":"structure","relational_id":12747,"identifier":"8.01","token":"8.01","url":"\/8.01\/","edition_id":1,"permalink":0,"preferred":1}}],"structure_contents":[{"id":71678,"structure_id":15583,"section_number":"8.01-45","catch_line":"Action for insulting words","url":"\/8.01-45\/","token":"8.01\/3\/4\/8.01-45","metadata":false},{"id":59452,"structure_id":15583,"section_number":"8.01-46","catch_line":"Justification and mitigation of damages","url":"\/8.01-46\/","token":"8.01\/3\/4\/8.01-46","metadata":false},{"id":73041,"structure_id":15583,"section_number":"8.01-46.1","catch_line":"Disclosure of employment-related information; presumptions; causes of action; definitions","url":"\/8.01-46.1\/","token":"8.01\/3\/4\/8.01-46.1","metadata":false},{"id":74317,"structure_id":15583,"section_number":"8.01-46.2","catch_line":"Civil action for dissemination of intimate images to another; penalty","url":"\/8.01-46.2\/","token":"8.01\/3\/4\/8.01-46.2","metadata":false},{"id":65717,"structure_id":15583,"section_number":"8.01-47","catch_line":"Immunity of persons investigating or reporting certain incidents at schools","url":"\/8.01-47\/","token":"8.01\/3\/4\/8.01-47","metadata":false},{"id":83313,"structure_id":15583,"section_number":"8.01-48","catch_line":"Mitigation in actions against newspapers, etc","url":"\/8.01-48\/","token":"8.01\/3\/4\/8.01-48","metadata":false},{"id":85514,"structure_id":15583,"section_number":"8.01-49","catch_line":"Defamatory statements in radio and television broadcasts","url":"\/8.01-49\/","token":"8.01\/3\/4\/8.01-49","metadata":false},{"id":71411,"structure_id":15583,"section_number":"8.01-49.1","catch_line":"Liability for defamatory material on the Internet","url":"\/8.01-49.1\/","token":"8.01\/3\/4\/8.01-49.1","metadata":false}],"previous_section":{"id":59452,"structure_id":15583,"section_number":"8.01-46","catch_line":"Justification and mitigation of damages","url":"\/8.01-46\/","token":"8.01\/3\/4\/8.01-46","metadata":false},"next_section":{"id":74317,"structure_id":15583,"section_number":"8.01-46.2","catch_line":"Civil action for dissemination of intimate images to another; penalty","url":"\/8.01-46.2\/","token":"8.01\/3\/4\/8.01-46.2","metadata":false},"metadata":false,"official_url":"https:\/\/law.lis.virginia.gov\/vacode\/8.01-46.1\/","history_text":"

This law was first created in 2000. The record of its establishment is cataloged in chapter 1005<\/a> of that year\u2019s edition of \u201cActs of Assembly,\u201d the annual state publication listing all changes made to the Code of Virginia in that year.<\/p>","references":false,"refers_to":false,"permalink":{"id":280835,"object_type":"law","relational_id":73041,"identifier":"8.01-46.1","token":"8.01\/3\/4\/8.01-46.1","url":"\/8.01-46.1\/","edition_id":1,"permalink":0,"preferred":1},"url":"\/8.01-46.1\/","token":"8.01\/3\/4\/8.01-46.1","dublin_core":{"Title":"Disclosure of employment-related information; presumptions; causes of action; definitions","Type":"Text","Format":"text\/html","Identifier":"\u00a7 8.01-46.1","Relation":"Code of Virginia"},"html":"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

A.<\/span> Any employer<\/span> who, upon request by a person<\/span>’s prospective or current employer<\/span>, furnishes information about that person<\/span>’s professional conduct, reasons for separation or job performance, including, but not limited to, information contained in any written performance evaluations, shall be immune from civil liability for furnishing such information, provided that the employer<\/span> is not acting in bad faith. An employer<\/span> shall be presumed to be acting in good faith. The presumption<\/span> of good faith shall be rebutted if it is shown by clear and convincing evidence<\/span> that the employer<\/span> disclosed such information with knowledge that it was false, or with reckless disregard for whether it is false or not, or with the intent<\/span> to deliberately mislead. <\/i><\/a><\/p><\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

B.<\/span> In a civil action<\/span> brought against an employer<\/span> for disclosing the information described in subsection A, if the trier of fact<\/span> determines the employer<\/span> acted in bad faith, punitive damages<\/span> may be awarded, as provided by § 8.01-38.1<\/a>. <\/i><\/a><\/p><\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

C.<\/span> As used in this section, the following words and phrases shall have the following meanings:\n\t\t\t“Employee<\/span>” means any person<\/span>, paid or unpaid, in the service of an employer.\n\t\t\t“Employer” means any person<\/span>, firm or corporation, including the Commonwealth of Virginia and its political subdivisions, and their agents, who has one or more employees<\/span> or individuals performing services under any contract<\/span> of hire or service, express or implied, oral or written.\n\t\t\t“Information” includes, but is not limited to, facts<\/span>, data and opinions<\/span>.\n\t\t\t“Job performance” includes, but is not limited to, ability, attendance, awards, demotions, duties, effort, evaluations, knowledge, skills, promotions, productivity and disciplinary actions<\/span>.\n\t\t\t“Professional conduct” includes, but is not limited to, the ethical standards which govern the employee<\/span>’s profession, or lawful conduct which is expected of the employee<\/span> by the employer.\n\t\t\t“Prospective employer<\/span>” means any employer who is considering a person<\/span> for employment. <\/i><\/a><\/p><\/section>","plain_text":" CODE OF VIRGINIA\n\nDISCLOSURE OF EMPLOYMENT-RELATED INFORMATION; PRESUMPTIONS; CAUSES OF ACTION;\nDEFINITIONS (\u00a7 8.01-46.1)\n\nA. Any employer who, upon request by a person’s prospective or current\nemployer, furnishes information about that person’s professional conduct,\nreasons for separation or job performance, including, but not limited to,\ninformation contained in any written performance evaluations, shall be immune\nfrom civil liability for furnishing such information, provided that the employer\nis not acting in bad faith. An employer shall be presumed to be acting in good\nfaith. The presumption of good faith shall be rebutted if it is shown by clear\nand convincing evidence that the employer disclosed such information with\nknowledge that it was false, or with reckless disregard for whether it is false\nor not, or with the intent to deliberately mislead.\n\nB. In a civil action brought against an employer for disclosing the information\ndescribed in subsection A, if the trier of fact determines the employer acted in\nbad faith, punitive damages may be awarded, as provided by § 8.01-38.1.\n\nC. As used in this section, the following words and phrases shall have the\nfollowing meanings:\n\t\t\t“Employee” means any person, paid or unpaid, in the service of an\nemployer.\n\t\t\t“Employer” means any person, firm or corporation, including the\nCommonwealth of Virginia and its political subdivisions, and their agents, who\nhas one or more employees or individuals performing services under any contract\nof hire or service, express or implied, oral or written.\n\t\t\t“Information” includes, but is not limited to, facts, data and\nopinions.\n\t\t\t“Job performance” includes, but is not limited to, ability,\nattendance, awards, demotions, duties, effort, evaluations, knowledge, skills,\npromotions, productivity and disciplinary actions.\n\t\t\t“Professional conduct” includes, but is not limited to, the\nethical standards which govern the employee’s profession, or lawful\nconduct which is expected of the employee by the employer.\n\t\t\t“Prospective employer” means any employer who is considering a\nperson for employment.\n\nHISTORY: 2000, c. 1005.","edition":{"id":1,"name":"2025","slug":"2025","date_created":"2026-06-21 22:39:22","date_modified":"2026-06-21 22:39:22","current":1,"order_by":1,"last_import":null}}