No person doing business in this Commonwealth, or any agent or attorney of such person after having discharged any employee from the service of such person or after any employee shall have voluntarily left the service of such person shall willfully and maliciously prevent or attempt to prevent by word or writing, directly or indirectly, such discharged employee or such employee who has voluntarily left from obtaining employment with any other person. For violation of this section the offender shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and shall, on conviction thereof, be fined not less than $100 nor more than $500. But this section shall not be construed as prohibiting any person from giving on application for any other person a truthful statement of the reason for such discharge, or a truthful statement concerning the character, industry and ability of such person who has voluntarily left.
Code 1950, § 40-22; 1970, c. 321.
Notes of Decisions
Haigh v. Matsushita Elec. Corp. of Am., 676 F. Supp. 1332 (E.D. Va. 1987).
· cites it 14× “Count Fifteen — Tortious Interference With Potential Employment — Defendants’ actions concerning Haigh’s potential employers were in contravention to the duties imposed on them under Va. Code § 40.1-27. Count Sixteen — Attorneys’ fees and costs.”
Eslami v. Global One Commc'ns, Inc., 48 Va. Cir. 17 (Fairfax Cir. Ct. 1999).
· cites it 2× “Eslami has asked the Court for leave to file a Second Amended Motion for Judgment to include a claim for Violation of Public Policy as expressed in Virginia Code §40.1-27. That section prohibits former employers from willfully or maliciously preventing their former employees…”
Seitz v. Philip Morris, Inc., 6 Va. Cir. 428 (Richmond County Cir. Ct. 1986).
“First, a violation of § 40.1-27 does not seem to be involved here, as the facts as given establish defendant stated it would blacklist plaintiff only if he chose not to resign.”
Karnes (W.D. Va. 2026).
· cites it 3× “Wrongful Discharge Karnes brings a wrongful discharge claim under Va. Code § 40.1-27, alleging that she was terminated in “retaliation for asserting statutory rights under ADA, FMLA, or ERISA.”
Beckford v. Elevance Health, Inc. (E.D. Va. 2024).
· cites it 2× “Legal Standard: Virginia Fraud and Abuse Whistleblower Protection Act The VWPA is codified at Va. Code Ann. § 40.1-27 . Relevant to this action, the statute prohibits employers from firing, disciplining, penalizing, threatening, discriminating, or otherwise retaliating against…”
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