Va. Code » Title 8.01. Civil Remedies and Procedure » Chapter 3. Actions » Article 19.1. Virginia Fraud Against Taxpayers Act

Va. Code Ann. § 8.01-216.8

Certain actions barred; relief from employment discrimination; waiver of sovereign immunity

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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.

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' 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 (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.

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

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 16 cases (5 in the last 5 years), 2006–2026 · leading case: Ligon v. COUNTY OF GOOCHLAND
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Ligon v. COUNTY OF GOOCHLAND (2010) va · cites it 26× “19, we consider whether the doctrine of sovereign immunity bars a retaliatory discharge claim against a County filed under the "whistleblower protection" provision in Code § 8.01-216.8. David F. Ligon, III filed a complaint in the circuit court against his former employer,…”
United States Ex Rel. Rost v. Pfizer Inc. (2006) mad · cites it 2× “113(b); Va.Code Ann. § 8.01-216.8. This court, accordingly, will construe and analyze the state statutes’ jurisdictional limitations consistent with the federal jurisdictional bar.”
United States ex rel. Colquitt v. Abbott Laboratories (2012) txnd “113(b); Va.Code Ann. § 8.01-216.8; Del.Code Ann. tit.”
Elisabeth Arnold v. City of Norfolk (2025) vactapp · cites it 45× “3 Code § 8.01-216.8 states, as relevant here: Any employee .”
Lewis v. City of Alexandria (2014) va · cites it 48× “Lewis sued the City alleging "unlawful retaliation and discrimination" in violation of Code § 8.01-216.8, based on his alleged wrongful termination.”
Murphy v. Charlotte County Department of Social Services (2011) vactapp · cites it 2× “The Supreme Court then held that the broad term “any employee” as used in Code § 8.01-216.8 did not expressly and specifically refer to employees of the Commonwealth and its subdivisions; thus, the Commonwealth had not explicitly *791 waived sovereign immunity under the…”
McClosky v. Warren County Department of Social Services (2010) vaccwarren · cites it 2× “King was not McClosky’s employer, and I believe that Virginia Code §8.01-216.8 contemplates that any suit thereunder would be brought against an employer.”
Cuccinelli v. Rector and Visitors of University of Virginia (2012) va · cites it 21× “8, a section of FATA addressing certain actions that are barred, relief from employment discrimination, and waiver of sovereign 10 immunity in the case of retaliatory action. Because neither of these references pertains directly to a "person" under the statute, we find that they…”
United States of America v. NDUTIME Youth & Family Services, Inc. (2020) vaed · cites it 5× “loyer may not take adverse action against an employee for making efforts to stop “one or more violations” of the VFATA: Any employee, contractor, or agent shall be entitled to all relief necessary to make that employee, contractor, or agent whole, if that employee, contractor,…”
Vinson v. City of Richmond, Virginia (2023) vaed · cites it 5× “Vinson brings the following claims against the City: Count I: Discrimination and Retaliation in Violation of Virginia Code § 8.01-216.8 (Fraud Against Taxpayers Act), (the “VFATA Claim”);* 4 The Virginia Fraud Against Taxpayers Act (“VFATA”) “is modeled after the federal False…”
Nichole Fogleman v. Commonwealth of Virginia (2023) vactapp · cites it 4× “Similarly, “[t]here is an express waiver of sovereign immunity in [the Virginia Fraud Against Taxpayers Act] in Code § 8.01-216.8.” Cuccinelli, 283 Va. at 430.”
Atchariyakornchai v. Frederick County Sanitation Authority (2019) vawd · cites it 3× “Plaintiff, an Asian male, was hired by Henry Sliwinski, the superintendent of water treatment at FCSA, as the chief ' Plaintiff also asserted a claim for disparate treatment, harassment, demotion, and discharge under the Virginia Fraud Against Taxpayers Act, Va. Code §…”
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