This week’s blog post is about statutes of limitation. The SCV recently released a decision that affects the Virginia Whistleblower Protection Act (“VWPA”). Festive? No. Timely? Apparently: My employment lawyer friends mentioned this time of year is always especially busy for them. So employers and employees (and all the lawyers in between)—keep reading.

By way of background, the VWPA prohibits employers from taking retaliatory action against employees for engaging in certain protected activities. There’s good news and bad news here, depending on which side of the “v” you fall under as to when a plaintiff’s cause of action accrues.

In this case, after the plaintiff doctor lodged a complaint, the doctor observed they were not on the next month’s calendar for shifts at work. Eventually, the doctor brought a VWPA claim. In this decision, the SCV clarified that removing someone from a schedule in retaliation—even without termination—is the type of slight injury that can trigger a VWPA claim. The plaintiff doctor alleged they did not understand the full scope of the employer’s intent when the doctor first observed they weren’t scheduled for work, and it wasn’t until later that the plaintiff doctor was aware they were being formally terminated. But because the cause of action accrued so early, the SCV found that the plaintiff’s claim was ultimately time-barred.

What is difficult for employees and lawyers alike is that the SOL begins to run from “the retaliatory action itself, and not the consequential damages or subsequent discovery of their nature.”

Unfair? The SCV says this is a problem for the General Assembly.

Lawyers, take note. You may want to err even more on the side of caution when calendaring your relevant SOL.

In other news: For those of you who like to follow court stats, the SCV reversed the CAV in both of this week’s appeals. A full David-and-Goliath index to come.

In the meantime, may your calendars be perfectly balanced, may your most difficult clients and opposing counsel leave you alone, and may you have a wonderful holiday season–