Summary:
- Development: Multiple 2026 Virginia employment laws introduce minimum wage increases, expanded paid sick and family leave, pay-history and pay-transparency requirements, VHRA and discrimination-claim changes, heat-safety rules, and non-compete limits, with effective dates from 2026 through 2029.
- Why it matters: These changes expand employer compliance obligations, increase potential penalties and private remedies, and require updates to payroll, leave, hiring, workplace-safety, and employment agreement practices.
- Action point: Audit payroll and leave policies, update job postings to include salary ranges, review non-compete agreements, and prepare for heat-safety training and compliance obligations ahead of the applicable effective dates.
In March, the Virginia Legislature sent several employment bills to the Governor’s desk. These proposals are outlined in a prior Leech Tishman alert. Now that the legislative session has concluded, this updated alert examines which laws are going into effect and how they fit into nationwide trends in employment legislation.
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This infographic summarizes the new laws; additional information for each new law is outlined in greater detail, below.
H.B. 1 & S.B. 1 – Raising the Minimum Wage
Governor Spanberger signed this proposal into law, effective July 1, 2026. The first of the tiered minimum wage increases will take effect this year, with annual increases reaching $15.00 in January 2028. Thereafter, employers must also make annual adjustments to that minimum wage based on the consumer price index. Companies should review their payroll budgets to ensure they are prepared to implement the increases swiftly.
The Governor returned H.B. 1’s companion proposed legislation, H.B. 238, with recommendations which were adopted by the legislature. Under the revised statute, employers will face severe penalties for failure to meet the minimum wage requirements. Specifically, employers are liable for triple damages plus attorney’s fees and court costs. The statute of limitations on these claims is three years.
H.B. 238 also states that the Attorney General may independently investigate and bring an action against an employer on behalf of employees. If successful, the employer is liable for triple damages, attorney’s fees and court costs, and civil penalties to the state. The Governor’s office amended the original text of this statute to delay the joint and several wage liability provision for construction contracts specifically by six years, to expand the commissioner’s investigative authority, and protect complainant confidentiality.
H.B. 5 & S.B. 199– Expansion of Paid Sick Leave
This bill expands paid sick leave to cover all private employees (not just healthcare workers), along with state and local government workers. It also provides employees with an hour of paid sick leave for every thirty hours worked. Further, it mandates that employers allow up to a full week of paid sick leave per year for any reason related to an employee’s physical or mental wellbeing, as well as for the employee to care for a family member. The definition of family member has been expanded to include anyone “whose close association with an employee is the equivalent of a family relationship,” making it incredibly flexible for employees. Several of the broad expansions to permissible uses for leave were added by the Governor’s office. This provision echoes New York City’s recently passed Local Law 145, expanding sick leave allowances and the permitted reasons for them.
The provisions do not begin to take effect until July 2027, allowing employers time to prepare for the implementation of the new requirements. The rollout will immediately affect companies with at least fifty employees, but the bill provides an additional year-long grace period for private employers with twenty-five or less employees.
Under this statute, the state will be able to investigate complaints by workers and pursue civil penalties against employers who fail to meet their obligations.
H.B. 1207 & S.B. 2 – Paid Family & Medical Leave
This family and medical leave bill establishes a new program under the Virginia Employment Commission, funded through payroll contributions from both employers and employees. It provides eligible employees with 80% of their average weekly wage for up to twelve weeks of paid family and medical leave per covered year.
The bill broadly defines permissible usage to include an employee’s medical condition or caring for a family member with a serious health condition. The Governor’s amendments expanded the definition of who can be considered a family member of the act. Permissible uses include parental leave. The program would be available to self-employed individuals as well.
Payroll deductions begin April 1, 2028 and the program will begin paying out benefits in January 2029.
H.B. 636 & S.B. 215 – Ban on Pay History Inquiries
This bill prohibits employers from asking potential job applicants about their salary history or using that history in hiring and salary negotiations. It also includes anti-retaliation provisions for employees that choose not to share their salary history.
In addition to protecting employee pay history, the bill penalizes companies for not including salary ranges upfront in job listings. Damages for claims made pursuant to this bill could total up to $10,000, plus attorney’s fees and court costs.
Virginia is not the only state to enact a ban on considering an applicant’s economic situation in hiring decisions. Thirteen states have already banned the use of credit history when making employment decisions. Most recently, New York State amended its Fair Credit Reporting Act to restrict employers from requesting or obtaining the credit history of an applicant or employee and prohibiting the use of that information in employment decisions. Senate Bill S03072, effective April 18, 2026, broadly defines “consumer credit history” to include an individual’s credit worthiness, credit standing, credit capacity, or payment history as enumerated in credit reports, credit scores, or information obtained directly from an individual about their financial history. New York’s statute places restrictions on consumer reporting agencies as well, instructing these institutions not to provide credit history for employment purposes if requested. Limited exceptions under the prohibition include responses to law enforcement, regulatory organizations, and where otherwise required by federal or state law. This follows New York City’s ban, the Stop Credit Discrimination in Employment Act, from 2015.
New York and Virginia join California, Colorado, Connecticut, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Nevada, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington State in regulating whether and how employer can use an individual’s financial history in employment decisions.
S.B. 637 – Definition of “Employer” Under the VRA
The legislature expanded the definition of an “employer” under the Virginia Human Rights Act to include businesses with at least five employees, which is a reduction from the prior requirement of fifteen, making the nondiscrimination protections of the VHRA applicable to a broader array of enterprises.
H.B. 925 – Statute of Limitations for Discrimination Claims
This bill expands the statute of limitations for employees to file a workplace discrimination complaint with the Virginia State Attorney General’s Office of Civil Rights under the Virginia Human Rights Act from 300 days to 2 years from the date of the alleged discriminatory act. The legislature and the Governor’s office have exchanged drafts of this bill over the past two months with the primary dispute being the length of the statute of limitations.
H.B. 925 also allows an employee to initiate a lawsuit in the appropriate court 180 days after their initial administrative complaint to the local human rights commission, with or without a right-to-sue letter.
H.B. 1092 – Heat Illness Safety Standards
Governor Spanberger signed this proposal into law, effective July 1, 2026. This bill requires the Virginia Safety and Health Codes Board to issue regulations establishing heat illness prevention standards for both indoor and outdoor workplaces. The regulations are due to the Commonwealth on May 1, 2028, and will likely include things like access to water, shade, climate-controlled locations, rest periods, and associated training for managers. These rules would apply not only to W-2 employees, but to independent contractors as well.
The statute allows employees to seek injunctive relief and statutory damages for any violations of the regulations.
S.B. 170 – Bar on Enforcement of Non-Competes Absent Severance
This finalized bill, signed by Governor Spanberger on April 13, 2026, bars enforcement of any non-compete agreement following an involuntary termination if the employer does not offer severance benefits or other monetary payment. The only exception under this statute is if an employee is terminated for cause.
The bill does not have a look back provision, so these restrictions only apply to non-compete agreements entered into on or after July 1, 2026.
The Governor also approved a similar bill, categorized as both H.B. 627 & S.B. 128, which bans non-compete agreements completely for a broad swath of health care professionals, including doctors, nurses, social workers, and pharmacists. The statute also imposes civil penalties of $10,000 for each violation.
Leech Tishman has extensive experience advising employers on evolving labor and employment laws. Our team is prepared to help employers navigate Virginia’s newly enacted employment law changes, assess compliance obligations, review workplace policies, and prepare for implementation ahead of applicable effective dates. For assistance or additional information, please contact Lydia A. Pappas at lpappas@leechtishman.com, attorney in Leech Tishman’s Labor & Employment Practice Group.