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2005 SESSION
056336368Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:
1. That §2.2-2639 of the Code of Virginia is amended and reenacted as follows:
§ 2.2-2639. Causes of action not created.
A. Nothing in this article creates, nor shall it be construed to create, an independent or private cause of action to enforce its provisions, except as specifically provided in subsections B and C.
B. No employer employing more than five but less than
fifteen 15 persons shall discharge any such employee on the basis of
race, color, religion, national origin, sex, pregnancy, childbirth or related
medical conditions, including lactation, or of age if the employee is forty
40 years old or older. For the purposes of this section,
"lactation" means a condition that may result in the feeding of a
child directly from the breast or the expressing of milk from the breast.
C. The employee may bring an action in a general district or
circuit court having jurisdiction over the employer who allegedly discharged
the employee in violation of this section. Any such action shall be brought
within 180 days [ two years 300 days ] from the
date of the discharge. The court may award up to [ twelve 12 ] [ months’
] [ two years’ ] back pay with interest at the judgment rate as
provided in § 6.1-330.54. However, if the court finds that either party engaged
in tactics to delay resolution of the complaint, it may (i) diminish the award
or (ii) award back pay to the date of judgment without regard to the
twelve-month [ two-year 12-month ] limitation.
In any case where the employee prevails, the court shall award
attorney's attorneys’ fees from the amount recovered, not to exceed
twenty-five 25 percent of the back pay awarded. The court shall
not award other damages, compensatory or punitive, nor shall it order
reinstatement of the employee.
D. Causes of action based upon the public policies reflected
in this article shall be exclusively limited to those actions, procedures and
remedies, if any, afforded by applicable federal or state civil rights statutes
or local ordinances. Nothing in this section or § 2.2-3900 shall be deemed to
alter, supersede, or otherwise modify the authority of the Council or of any
local human rights or human relations commissions established pursuant to § 15.2-965
15.2-853 or § 15.2-853 15.2-965 or subject to the
provisions of § 2.2-2638.