Employee's remedies; award of attorneys' fees and costs
Va. Code Ann. § 9.1-704
in effectA. In an action brought under this chapter, an employer who violates the provisions of this chapter shall be liable to the fire protection or law-enforcement employee affected in an amount of double the amount of the unpaid compensation due such employee. However, if the employer can prove that his violation was in good faith, he shall be liable only for the amount of the unpaid compensation plus interest at the rate of eight percent per year, commencing on the date the compensation was due to the employee.
B. Where the fire protection or law-enforcement employee prevails, the court shall award him attorneys' fees and costs to be paid by the employer.
C. The provisions of this section pertaining to law-enforcement employees shall only apply in instances where the employer employs 100 or more law-enforcement employees.
2001, c. 768 , § 2.1-116.9:11; 2005, c. 732 .
Source: Open US Law by Vaquill AI (CC BY 4.0)URL: https://law.lis.virginia.gov/vacode/9.1-704/Fetched: 10/17/2026