§ 8.01-216.8. Certain actions barred; relief from employment discrimination
No court shall have jurisdiction over an action brought under § 8.01-216.5 based on information discovered by a present or former employee of the Commonwealth during the course of his employment unless that employee first, in good faith, exhausted existing internal procedures for reporting and seeking recovery of the falsely claimed sums through official channels and unless the Commonwealth failed to act on the information provided within a reasonable period of time.
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, "exempt official" 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.
No court shall have jurisdiction over an action under this article based upon the public disclosure of allegations or transactions in a criminal, civil or administrative hearing, in a legislative, administrative, or Auditor of Public Accounts' 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, "original source" means an individual who has direct and independent knowledge of the information on which the allegations are based and has voluntarily provided the information to the Commonwealth before filing an action under this article that is based on the information.
The Commonwealth shall not be liable for expenses a person incurs in bringing an action under this article.
Any employee who is discharged, demoted, suspended, threatened, harassed, or in any other manner discriminated against in the terms and conditions of employment by his employer because he has opposed any practice referenced in § 8.01-216.3 or because he has initiated, testified, assisted, or participated in any manner in any investigation, action or hearing under this article, shall be entitled to all relief necessary to make the employee whole. Such relief shall include reinstatement with the same seniority status such employee 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 attorneys' fees. An employee may bring an action in a court of competent jurisdiction for the relief provided in this section.
(2002, c. 842.)
Sections: Previous 8.01-216.1 8.01-216.2 8.01-216.3 8.01-216.4 8.01-216.5 8.01-216.6 8.01-216.7 8.01-216.8 8.01-216.9 8.01-216.10 8.01-216.11 8.01-216.12 8.01-216.13 8.01-216.14 8.01-216.15 NextLast modified: April 16, 2009