GENERAL INTEREST of right to sue prior to filing suit in a federal district court. Of note, although the VVA does not specifically appear to address the timing of such filings, there is a catchall provision indicating that the deadlines should conform to EEOC requirements. Accordingly, the general presumption is that clients should file with DHR within 300 days and, subsequent to a notice of right to commence a civil action, the client will have 90 days to file a lawsuit in Virginia’s state courts. With regard to damages, unlike Title VII, which has capped damages based upon number of employees, the VVA provides for uncapped compensatory damages and injunc-tive relief. Punitive damages are capped at $350,000 by the general limitation on punitive damages. 11 Additionally, the VVA “may” award attorneys’ fees. Trust us, we will be asking for them. set of laws follows. Wage theft — particularly for hourly workers who could not afford to hire an attorney on an hourly basis and who had no possibility of being awarded attorneys’ fees on the back end of a successful matter — has been an ongoing and unaddressed issue in the Commonwealth for decades. Not only has a private right of action (including claims for retaliation and whistleblower protections) for nonpayment of wages now been created, but the new law expands the Virginia Department of Labor & Industry (“VDOLI”) enforcement options. VDOLI now has the power to review wage records of all employees of a particular employer to determine whether wage theft is more widespread and, accordingly, could result in a collective action. It is particularly helpful that the law pro-vides an explicit attorneys’ fees provision: “If the court finds that the employer know-ingly failed to pay wages, the court shall award the employee reasonable attorney fees and costs and the employer is subject to a civil penalty not to exceed $1,000 for each violation. If the court finds that the employer’s failure to pay wages was willful and with intent to defraud the employee, the court shall award the employee triple the amount of wages due and reasonable attorney fees and costs.” 13 Fronting the cost for legal counsel without the possibility of receiving attorneys’ fees on the back end of a matter is often prohibitive, so we anticipate, based solely on how frequently Not only has a private right of action for nonpayment of wages now been created, but the new law expands the Virginia Department of Labor & Industry enforcement options. Wage Theft While the list of Workers’ Rights passed in Virginia’s 2020 Legislative Session is expan-sive, 12 an analysis of a particularly noteworthy 28 VIRGINIA LAWYER | AUGUST 2020 | VOL. 69 | GENERAL INTEREST FEATURES www.vsb.org