Virginia Goes To Work: How The Commonwealth’s Sweeping New Employment Protections Impact Employers

What You Need to Know

• Key takeaway #1

  Virginia has enacted a series of employee-friendly employment laws, most taking effect July 1, 2026, on pay transparency, salary history, restrictive covenants, minimum wage increases, prevailing wages, expanded wage-hour penalties, paid sick and family leave, and employee protections.

• Key takeaway #2

  Going forward, new non-compete agreements with employees who are terminated without cause will be unenforceable, unless the employer expressly provides in the covenant for severance or some “other monetary payment.”

• Key takeaway #3

  Civil enforcement for violations of minimum wage, overtime, prevailing wage, and employee classification laws will be consolidated under a single framework providing liquidated damages and attorneys’ fees. 

• Key takeaway #4

  To ensure compliance with these new laws, employers should review and update their job postings, hiring procedures, worker classifications, restrictive covenants, paid sick leave policies, and wage-payment policies and practices.

The 2026 Statutes

In late April 2026, Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger signed legislation enacting broad worker protections: 

I. Pay Transparency and Salary History Ban — SB 215 — effective July 1, 2026

Virginia’s pay transparency statute, Va. Code § 40.1-28.7:12, prohibits employers from seeking or relying on an applicant’s wage or salary history for compensation decisions, and it requires employers to disclose the position’s “wage or salary range,” set in good faith by reference to actual or budgeted pay scales and wages. While a prospective employee may voluntarily disclose their salary history, the employer may not use the information to refuse an interview, undercut the posted range, or reduce their initial offer.

While the Attorney General may impose civil penalties of $1,000 for a first violation and $5,000 for any subsequent violation, an aggrieved employee may bring a private action within one year of the violation and recover actual damages and equitable relief. However, an employer may avoid a private action by correcting a noncompliant posting within 15 business days of receiving written notice of it.

II. Expanded Non-Compete Restrictions — SB 170 and SB 128 — effective July 1, 2026

Virginia already prohibits covenants not to compete with employees who are non-exempt under the wage-hour laws and earning less than the average Virginia weekly wage ($78,364 annually). SB 170 expands that prohibition prospectively: A new covenant not to compete will be enforceable only if the employer either terminates the employee for “cause” (left undefined) or provides severance benefits or some “other monetary payment,” disclosed in the covenant at the time it is signed. As the statute is silent as to the amount that must be paid, the safer approach — until further guidance is available — will be to pay severance during the entire period of the non-compete.

SB 128 separately prohibits non-compete agreements for licensed healthcare professionals — including physicians, nurses, pharmacists, and other practitioners licensed by a health regulatory board — subject to a limited exception for agreements entered into in connection with the sale of a business. While certain non-disclosure and non-solicitation agreements remain permissible, any non-compete executed, renewed, or amended on or after July 1, 2026, will be void.

III. Virginia Human Rights Act Expansion — SB 637 — effective July 1, 2026

The Virginia Human Rights Act, Va. Code § 2.2-3900 et seq., extends anti-discrimination protections to employers with five or more employees, down from the prior threshold of 15 employees, and it extends the window of time for filing a discrimination complaint from 300 days to two years.

IV. Voluntary Emergency Responder Protections — SB 100 — effective July 1, 2026

Viriginia’s expanded anti-retaliation statute, Va. Code § 40.1-27:5, prohibits employers from retaliating against employees who miss work to respond as voluntary emergency responders during a declared emergency. Employees subjected to retaliation may seek reinstatement and lost wages.

V. Minimum Wage Increases — HB 1 — effective January 1, 2027 and 2028

Virginia’s minimum wage legislation, Va. Code § 40.1-28.10, has been based on increases in the Consumer Price Index (CPI). The new legislation instead establishes set increases from the current $12.77/hour to $13.75/hour in 2027, and $15.00/hour in 2028. Thereafter, wages will again be adjusted annually based on the CPI.

VI. Prevailing Wage Modernization — HB 569 — effective July 1, 2026

Virginia’s prevailing wage statute, Va. Code §§ 2.2-4321.3, 23.1-1009, and 40.1-6, will require state agencies to ensure that employers conducting public works projects of $250,000 or more (1) pay pre-set locality-aligned wages, salaries, and benefits; (2) conduct mandatory orientation for new employees; (3) ensure subcontractors are registered with the statewide electronic procurement system; (4) verify workers have either graduated from a registered apprenticeship programor completed four years of work experience, documented through pay records or sworn statements; and (5) preserve wage records for at least six years.

VII. Expanded Wage Theft Enforcement — HB 238 — effective July 1, 2026

Virginia’s Wage Payment Act, Va. Code § 40.1-29, now defines “wages” to expressly include day rates, salaries, commissions, tips, bonuses, and even overtime wages and misclassification damages — all of which are tied to the full civil enforcement framework, which provides for liquidated damages and attorneys’ fees for violations of traditional wage payment obligations.

Virginia’s new “wage theft” enforcement provisions — Va. Code §§ 40.1-28.7:7, 40.1-28.12, and 40.1-29 — extend those same civil remedies to four new categories of violation that previously had to be pursued under separate, standalone statutes with weaker enforcement regimes: (1) minimum wage violations, (2) overtime violations, (3) worker misclassification, and (4) prevailing wage violations.

VIII. Statewide Paid Sick Leave — HB 5 — effective July 1, 2027

Virginia’s statewide paid sick leave law, Va. Code §§ 40.1-33.4 and 40.1-33.5, as amended, will require employers to provide employees with one hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours worked, up to 40 hours per year, with employers permitted to frontload the full 40 hours in lieu of tracking accrual, unused accrued leave carrying over year to year, and no payout required upon termination. The statute will apply to employers of 50 or more employees beginning July 1, 2027; 25 or more employees beginning January 1, 2028; and all employers beginning January 1, 2029. The law covers leave used to address physical or mental health conditions, to care for a family member, and to seek services or to relocate due to domestic abuse, sexual assault, or stalking.

IX. Paid Family and Medical Leave Insurance — SB 2 — effective April 1, 2028

Virginia’s paid family and medical leave insurance program, Va. Code § 60.2-800,will provide eligible employees with up to 12 weeks of paid leave per application year for qualifying family and medical reasons, including care of adult children with a serious health condition, which runs concurrently with FMLA leave where applicable, and a separate four weeks of paid leave for domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking services per benefit year. Benefits are calculated at 80 percent of the employee’s average weekly wages, capped at 100 percent of the statewide average weekly net earnings, and adjusted annually. To be entitled to job restoration upon return, an employee must have been employed for at least 120 days prior to the commencement of leave — notably shorter than the FMLA’s 12-month threshold.

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