Ryan Furgurson recently scored a victory for Virginia employers in the Supreme Court of Virginia. Ryan represented The Salvation Army, who was (falsely) accused of terminating the plaintiff’s employment for refusing to engage in a relationship with her supervisor. The plaintiff alleged that she was fired for refusal to engage in a criminal act in violation of Virginia public policy. The trial court granted summary judgment, finding that Virginia’s outdated (and unconstitutional) “fornication” statute could not form the basis for a claim of wrongful termination. The case was appealed to the Supreme Court of Virginia, and Ryan argued the case in September. The Supreme Court recently issued an opinion affirming the judgment of the trial court and dismissing the case.

A copy of the Supreme Court’s decision is attached, and an audio recording of the oral argument is available at:

http://www.courts.state.va.us/courts/scv/oral_arguments/2016/sep/home.html

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