2.2-3010 - Definitions.
§ 2.2-3010. Definitions.
As used in this chapter:
"Abuse" means an employer's or employee's conduct or omissions that resultin substantial misuse, destruction, waste, or loss of funds or resourcesbelonging to or derived from federal, state, or local government sources.
"Appropriate authority" means a federal or state agency or organizationhaving jurisdiction over criminal law enforcement, regulatory violations,professional conduct or ethics, or abuse; or a member, officer, agent,representative, or supervisory employee of the agency or organization. Theterm also includes the Office of the Attorney General, the Division of StateInternal Audit of the Department of Accounts, and the General Assembly andits committees having the power and duty to investigate criminal lawenforcement, regulatory violations, professional conduct or ethics, or abuse.
"Employee" means any person who is regularly employed full time on either asalaried or wage basis, whose tenure is not restricted as to temporary orprovisional appointment, in the service of and whose compensation is payable,no more often than biweekly, in whole or in part, by a state agency.
"Employer" means a person supervising one or more employees, including theemployee filing a good faith report, a superior of that supervisor, or anagent of the state agency.
"Good faith report" means a report of conduct defined in this chapter aswrongdoing or abuse which is made without malice and which the person makingthe report has reasonable cause to believe is true.
"Misconduct" means conduct or behavior by an employee that is inconsistentwith state or agency standards for which specific corrective or disciplinaryaction is warranted.
"State agency" means any agency, institution, board, bureau, commission,council, or instrumentality of state government in the executive branchlisted in the appropriation act.
"Whistle blower" means an employee who witnesses or has evidence ofwrongdoing or abuse and who makes or demonstrates by clear and convincingevidence that he is about to make a good faith report of, or testifies or isabout to testify to, the wrongdoing or abuse to one of the employee'ssuperiors, an agent of the employer, or an appropriate authority.
"Wrongdoing" means a violation, which is not of a merely technical orminimal nature, of a federal or state law or regulation or a formally adoptedcode of conduct or ethics of a professional organization designed to protectthe interests of the public or employee.
(2009, c. 340.)