The Death of Bowman Claims and Virginia’s New Whistleblower Protection Law

Scheduling Note: While this program no longer will be offered on January 19, it still will be presented as scheduled on Thursday, February 10.

For three and a half decades (from 1986 until 2020) Virginia Courts struggled with “Bowman torts,” which are otherwise known as “wrongful termination in violation of public policy.” The law of Bowman torts eventually became unworkable and muddled; fortunately it has now been replaced by Virginia Code § 40.1-27.3.

In this 1-hour seminar, Zach Kitts will break down the July 1, 2020, amendment to the Virginia Code, § 40.1-27.3, titled “Retaliatory action against employee prohibited,” which significantly enhanced whistleblower protections and causes of action in Virginia.

Topics to be covered include:

• A review of the 35-year run of “Bowman cases” or wrongful termination in violation of public policy; the reasons those torts were created in the first place; and what happened to that once-popular tort claim.
• A look at the newish “Bowman Statute”—i.e., Virginia Code § 40.1-27.3, to include an examination of the expanded protections against retaliation from employers for whistleblowers and the statutorily created remedies and how those claims replace common law Bowman torts.

Cancellation Policy: Cancellation/transfer requests will be honored until 5:00 p.m. the day preceding the seminar. You will, however, be charged $40 if you cancel or transfer your registration to a different seminar after the link to the materials has been e-mailed by Virginia CLE.

Full refunds or transfers are available up to two days after a webcast in the unlikely event that you experience technical difficulties.

Inclement Weather Policy and Updates.

The January 19 presentation has been canceled, but the February 10 program still will be presented as originally scheduled.

COURSE SCHEDULE (February 10) (Eastern Time)

• Q&A will be handled via chat room for Webcast attendees.
• Q&A will be handled via e-mail for telephone seminar attendees.

COURSE SCHEDULE (March 10) (Eastern Time)

• Q&A will be handled via chat room for Webcast attendees.
• Q&A will be handled via e-mail for telephone seminar attendees.

ABOUT THE SPEAKER

Zachary A. Kitts, K&G Law Group / Fairfax

Zachary Kitts is a partner at K&G Law Group, PLLC, where he concentrates his practice in the areas of qui tam litigation under the federal False Claims Act and Virginia Fraud Against Taxpayers Act, employment law, business torts, and other complex civil litigation matters.

In 2020 Mr. Kitts was named Qui Tam Lawyer of the Year by the publication Best Lawyers in America.  His cases have been regularly featured in the annual Million Dollar Settlements issue of Virginia Lawyers Weekly, including a $20.7 million settlement with the Virginia Neurological Birth Injury Fund that was the largest settlement in Virginia in 2018. His qui tam practice is national in scope, and he appears regularly in state and federal courts across the country. In total, his qui tam cases have returned more than $117 million to state and federal treasuries and he has been involved in a number of high-profile, precedent-setting cases.

Mr. Kitts is a member of the Virginia State Bar’s standing committee on professionalism and is a member of the Virginia Bar’s Mandatory Professionalism Course faculty; from 2013 to 2019 he served on the Virginia Bar’s Mandatory Continuing Legal Education Board. He has been included in the Virginia and D.C. editions of Super Lawyers magazine every year since 2011 and has been included in Best Lawyers in America every year since 2015. He received his B.A. from George Mason University in 1998 and his J.D. from American University’s Washington College of Law in 2001.