What Is Considered Wrongful Termination in Virginia?

A firing is considered wrongful termination when the employer’s actual reason for the decision is one the law forbids. Not harsh, not unexplained, not badly handled. Forbidden. Most people who call a Virginia wrongful termination attorney describe a situation that felt deeply unjust, and a fair number of those situations are legal. The ones that are not tend to share a recognizable shape, and knowing which shape yours fits is the difference between a claim and a grievance.

Which firings actually count as wrongful termination?

A termination crosses the line when the motive was a protected characteristic, a protected activity, or a refusal to break the law. Some recurring fact patterns:

• You disclosed a pregnancy in March and were let go in April for a performance problem no one had raised before.
• You reported suspected billing fraud to your supervisor and lost your job three weeks later. Virginia’s whistleblower statute, Va. Code § 40.1-27.3, covers reports made internally, not only to government agencies.
• You asked for a schedule change or equipment because of a medical condition, and the request was answered with a termination rather than a discussion.
• You filed a workers’ compensation claim, which Va. Code § 65.2-308 specifically protects.
• You were summoned for jury duty and fired for attending. That violates Va. Code § 18.2-465.1.
• You refused to falsify a record or sign off on something illegal.

Retaliation is the largest category by a wide margin. EEOC charge data has shown retaliation as the most frequently filed claim type for years running, appearing in a majority of all charges. The pattern matters more than the label: an employee raises a concern, and the employer’s treatment of that employee changes shortly afterward.

Virginia adds protections that surprise people. Since July 1, 2021, Va. Code § 40.1-27.4 has barred most employers from disciplining an employee for the lawful use of cannabis oil under a valid written certification, though exceptions exist for safety-sensitive roles, federal contractors, and on-duty impairment. Employees taking leave to appear as a crime victim in a court proceeding are protected under Va. Code § 40.1-28.7:2.

What feels wrongful but is legal in Virginia?

Plenty of terminations are unfair without being unlawful, and at-will employment is what makes that possible. Under Virginia’s default rule, an employer can fire you without warning, without a written reason, and without following any particular process.

That means these are generally lawful: firing you because your manager dislikes you, replacing you with the owner’s nephew, terminating you the day before a bonus vests, or letting you go with no severance and no notice. Skipping the steps in a company’s own progressive discipline policy is usually legal too, unless that policy created a binding contract, which employee handbooks rarely do in Virginia because most contain express disclaimers.

Private employers can also fire employees over social media posts. The First Amendment restricts government action, not private companies, so a controversial post is not protected speech in a private workplace. Public employees are in a different position and may have constitutional claims a private-sector worker does not.

Can it be wrongful termination if you quit?

Yes, under a doctrine called constructive discharge. If an employer deliberately makes working conditions so intolerable that a reasonable person in your position would feel compelled to resign, the law can treat the resignation as a firing.

The standard is objective and demanding. A hostile supervisor, an unpleasant reassignment, or a stressful stretch will not meet it. Sustained harassment that management refused to address, a sudden demotion with a large pay cut imposed after a discrimination complaint, or being told that resigning is your only alternative to being fired are the kinds of facts courts take seriously.

Timing works in your favor here. In Green v. Brennan, the Supreme Court held in 2016 that the filing clock for a constructive discharge claim starts on the date you give notice of resignation, not on the date of the last bad act that pushed you out.

What about layoffs and reorganizations?

A layoff is lawful when it is real, and unlawful when it is a label attached to a decision that was actually about something else. Employers know that reduction in force is a clean explanation, which is exactly why it gets used as cover.

Questions worth asking about your own layoff: Was your position genuinely eliminated, or posted again within a few months? Were the employees selected disproportionately over 40, or disproportionately from one group? Did anyone who complained about something recently appear on the list? Was there any written criteria for selection, and did the company follow it?

If you are 40 or older and were laid off as part of a group, federal law requires the employer to disclose the job titles and ages of everyone selected and everyone retained in your unit. That disclosure comes with the severance agreement, and it is often the most informative document you will receive.

Not sure which category you fall into

The honest answer for most people is that it depends on facts they have not thought to mention: what was said in a meeting six weeks earlier, whether a coworker got a warning where you got a discharge, how many people the company employs. A Virginia wrongful termination attorney can usually tell within one conversation whether what happened to you is considered wrongful termination or simply a bad outcome the law allows. If your firing was recent, ask that question now, while the record is still intact and your filing deadlines are still open.