A new Virginia law under Va. Code Section 8.01-42.6 potentially changes the legal landscape for subject employers, especially those in industries serving vulnerable populations. This legislation creates a new path for holding employers accountable for the harmful acts of their employees, even if those acts were intentional and fell outside the traditional “scope of employment.”

Previously, Virginia’s respondeat superior doctrine protected employers from liability for most intentional torts by its employees, such as assault or abuse if the act was not performed to benefit the employer. The new law introduces a different standard, allowing a plaintiff to hold an employer vicariously liable if the employee’s tortious conduct occurred while they had contact with a designated “vulnerable victim” and the employer failed to exercise reasonable care to prevent the harm. Vulnerable victims are defined as those at a substantial disadvantage due to a physical or mental condition, with the law specifically listing patients, residents of assisted living facilities, and passengers of certain carriers, among others.

This change places a greater risk on subject employers, who can no longer rely on the defense that an employee’s intentional act was personally motivated. Instead, a plaintiff can argue that the employer’s own negligence in hiring or supervision created the opportunity for the harm to occur. This shift particularly impacts healthcare and assisted living businesses. Patients and residents are per se vulnerable victims, heightening the importance of credentialing, staffing oversight, chaperone policies, incident reporting, and prompt corrective action to demonstrate reasonable care and control.

Virginia Employment Lawyer