Virginia Senate Bill 494 (Prior Session Legislation)

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Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 3-0)
Status: Engrossed on January 24 2022 - 50% progression, died in chamber
Action: 2022-03-03 - Failed to report (defeated) in Commerce and Energy (10-Y 12-N)
Text: Latest bill text (Prefiled) [HTML]

Virginia Human Rights Act; nondiscrimination in employment; definition of employer, statute of limitations, and provision of attorney fees. Amends the definition of "employer" to mean a person employing five or more employees, instead of 15 or more employees under current law, for each working day in each of 20 or more calendar weeks in the current or preceding calendar year, and any agent of such person. The bill provides that a person claiming to be aggrieved by an unlawful discriminatory practice may file a written complaint with the Division of Human Rights within two years of the occurrence of the alleged unlawful discriminatory practice and that an aggrieved person who has been provided a notice of his right to file a civil action for such grievance may do so within one year of receiving such notice or within two years after the alleged discriminatory practice occurred, whichever is later. The bill also changes a court's award of reasonable attorney fees and costs to a successful plaintiff from discretionary to mandatory. Virginia Human Rights Act; nondiscrimination in employment; definition of employer, statute of limitations, and provision of attorney fees. Amends the definition of "employer" to mean a person employing five or more employees, instead of 15 or more employees under current law, for each working day in each of 20 or more calendar weeks in the current or preceding calendar year, and any agent of such person. The bill provides that a person claiming to be aggrieved by an unlawful discriminatory practice may file a written complaint with the Division of Human Rights within two years of the occurrence of the alleged unlawful discriminatory practice and that an aggrieved person who has been provided a notice of his right to file a civil action for such grievance may do so within one year of receiving such notice or within two years after the alleged discriminatory practice occurred, whichever is later. The bill also changes a court's award of reasonable attorney fees and costs to a successful plaintiff from discretionary to mandatory.

Virginia Human Rights Act; nondiscrimination in employment, definition of employer.

Sen. Jennifer McClellan [D]

Sen. Creigh Deeds [D]

Sen. Adam Ebbin [D]

2022-03-03 - House - House: Failed to report (defeated) in Commerce and Energy (10-Y 12-N) (Y: 10 N: 12 NV: 0 Abs: 0) [FAIL]
2022-03-01 - House - House: Reported from General Laws (12-Y 10-N) (Y: 12 N: 10 NV: 0 Abs: 0) [PASS]
2022-02-24 - House - House: Subcommittee recommends reporting (7-Y 1-N) (Y: 7 N: 1 NV: 0 Abs: 0) [PASS]
2022-01-27 - Senate - Senate: Read third time and passed Senate (21-Y 19-N) (Y: 21 N: 19 NV: 0 Abs: 0) [PASS]
2022-01-21 - Senate - Senate: Constitutional reading dispensed (37-Y 0-N) (Y: 37 N: 0 NV: 0 Abs: 3) [PASS]
2022-01-19 - Senate - Senate: Reported from General Laws and Technology (8-Y 7-N) (Y: 8 N: 7 NV: 0 Abs: 0) [PASS]

Date	Chamber	Action
2022-03-03	House	Failed to report (defeated) in Commerce and Energy (10-Y 12-N)
2022-03-01	House	Referred to Committee on Commerce and Energy
2022-03-01	House	Reported from General Laws (12-Y 10-N)
2022-02-24	House	Subcommittee recommends referring to Committee on Commerce and Energy
2022-02-24	House	Subcommittee recommends reporting (7-Y 1-N)
2022-02-23	House	Assigned GL sub: Subcommittee #1
2022-02-23	House	Referred to Committee on General Laws
2022-02-23	House	Read first time
2022-02-23	House	Placed on Calendar
2022-01-27	Senate	Read third time and passed Senate (21-Y 19-N)
2022-01-26	Senate	Passed by for the day
2022-01-25	Senate	Passed by for the day
2022-01-24	Senate	Read second time and engrossed
2022-01-21	Senate	Constitutional reading dispensed (37-Y 0-N)
2022-01-19	Senate	Reported from General Laws and Technology (8-Y 7-N)
2022-01-11	Senate	Referred to Committee on General Laws and Technology
2022-01-11	Senate	Prefiled and ordered printed; offered 01/12/22 22102695D

Chapter	Article	Section	Citation Type	Statute Text
2	2	3905	(n/a)	See Bill Text
2	2	3907	(n/a)	See Bill Text
2	2	3908	(n/a)	See Bill Text

Type	Source
Summary	https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?221+sum+SB494
Text	https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?221+ful+SB494+hil
Supplement	https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?221+oth+SB494F122+PDF
Roll Call	https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?221+vot+S12V0005+SB0494
Roll Call	https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?221+vot+SV0058SB0494+SB0494
Roll Call	https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?221+vot+SV0120SB0494+SB0494
Roll Call	https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?221+vot+H1101V0051+SB0494
Roll Call	https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?221+vot+H11V0233+SB0494
Roll Call	https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?221+vot+H23V0214+SB0494