A Virginia law that took effect on July 1, 2025, has expanded the potential liability of employers in certain personal injury and wrongful death actions. Under Virginia’s traditional standard for vicarious liability, an employer could only be held liable for the tortious acts of its employee if the employee acted within the scope of employment. Virginia Code § 8.01-42.6 changes the landscape. The law provides a mechanism to hold employers liable for their employees’ tortious acts under certain circumstances involving “vulnerable victims,” regardless of whether the tortious conduct arose while the employee was performing a job-related service for the employer.

Under § 8.01-42.6, in an action brought against an employee by a vulnerable victim, or by the personal representative of a deceased vulnerable victim, the employer may be held liable if:

1. The employee’s tortious conduct occurred while the employee was reasonably likely to be in contact with the vulnerable victim, and such conduct proximately caused personal injury or death to the vulnerable victim;
2. The employer failed to exercise reasonable care to:
   a. Prevent the employee from intentionally harming such a vulnerable victim; or
   b. Control the employee resulting in an unreasonable risk of a vulnerable victim suffering personal injury or death;
3. The employer knew or should have known of the ability to control the employee; and
4. The employer knew or should have known of the necessity and opportunity for exercising such...

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