                                 CODE OF VIRGINIA

CERTAIN ACTIONS BARRED; RELIEF FROM EMPLOYMENT DISCRIMINATION; WAIVER OF
SOVEREIGN IMMUNITY (§ 8.01-216.8)

No court shall have jurisdiction over any action brought under this article by
an inmate incarcerated within a state or local correctional facility as defined
in § 53.1-1.
		No court shall have jurisdiction over an action brought under this article
against any department, authority, board, bureau, commission, or agency of the
Commonwealth, any political subdivision of the Commonwealth, a member of the
General Assembly, a member of the judiciary, or an exempt official if the action
is based on evidence or information known to the Commonwealth when the action
was brought. For purposes of this section, &#8220;exempt official&#8221; means
the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General and the directors or members
of any department, authority, board, bureau, commission or agency of the
Commonwealth or any political subdivision of the Commonwealth.
		In no event may a person bring an action under this article that is based upon
allegations or transactions that are the subject of a civil suit or an
administrative proceeding in which the Commonwealth is already a party.
		The court shall dismiss an action or claim under § 8.01-216.5 unless opposed
by the Commonwealth if substantially the same allegations or transactions as
alleged in the action or claim were publicly disclosed in a criminal, civil or
administrative hearing in which the Commonwealth or its agent is a party, in a
Virginia legislative, administrative, or Auditor of Public Accounts&#8217;
report, hearing, audit, or investigation, or from the news media, unless the
action is brought by the Attorney General or the person bringing the action is
an original source of the information. For purposes of this section,
&#8220;original source&#8221; means an individual (i) who either prior to a
public disclosure has voluntarily disclosed to the Commonwealth the information
on which the allegations or transactions in a claim are based or (ii) who has
knowledge that is independent of and materially adds to the publicly disclosed
allegations or transactions and who has voluntarily provided the information to
the Commonwealth before filing an action under this article.
		Except as otherwise provided in this section, the Commonwealth shall not be
liable for expenses a person incurs in bringing an action under this article.
		Any employee, contractor, or agent shall be entitled to all relief necessary
to make that employee, contractor, or agent whole, if that employee, contractor,
or agent is discharged, demoted, suspended, threatened, harassed, or in any
other manner discriminated against in the terms and conditions of employment
because of lawful acts done by the employee, contractor, agent, or associated
others in furtherance of an action under this article or other efforts to stop
one or more violations of this article. Relief shall include reinstatement with
the same seniority status that employee, contractor, or agent would have had but
for the discrimination, two times the amount of back pay, interest on the back
pay, and compensation for any special damages sustained as a result of the
discrimination, including litigation costs and reasonable attorney fees. Any
relief awarded to an employee under this section shall be reduced by any amount
awarded to the employee through a state or local grievance process. An action
under this section may be brought in a court of competent jurisdiction for the
relief provided in this section, but may not be brought more than three years
after the date the discrimination occurred. This paragraph shall constitute a
waiver of sovereign immunity and creates a cause of action by an employee
against the Commonwealth if the Commonwealth is the employer responsible for the
adverse employment action that would entitle the employee to the relief set
forth in this paragraph.

HISTORY: 2002, c. 842; 2011, cc. 651, 676; 2012, c. 479; 2014, c. 403.