Virginia Enacts Wide-Ranging Set of Employment-Related Reforms

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Quick Hits

• Virginia has enacted laws prohibiting certain noncompete agreements for healthcare professionals and restricting the enforceability of noncompete agreements for discharged employees.
• HB1 and SB1 establish a multiyear schedule to increase Virginia’s minimum wage to $15 per hour by January 1, 2028, with further adjustments based on the Consumer Price Index starting in 2029.
• SB790 introduces health insurance coverage for menopause and perimenopause symptoms.

Limitations on Noncompete Agreements for Discharged Employees (SB170)

Governor Spanberger recently signed into law Senate Bill (SB) 170 (Chapter 883), which prohibits an employer from enforcing a noncompete covenant with an employee who is discharged and not offered severance, unless the employer discharged the employee for cause. Virginia’s preexisting limitations on the use of noncompete agreements with so-called “low-wage” workers remain.

Ogletree Deakins’ article, “Virginia Further Limits Noncompete Agreements,” specifically covers Virginia’s latest restrictions on noncompete agreements for discharged employees in detail.

Prohibited and Exempted Health Care Noncompete Agreements (SB128)

Newly enacted SB 128 (Chapter 1114)broadens the existing ban on “low-wage” covenants not to compete to include all “health care professionals.” Current Virginia law restricts noncompete agreements only for low-wage employees or those classified as nonexempt under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The law now prohibits employers from entering into, enforcing, or threatening to enforce such agreements with any low-wage employee or health care professional (i.e., “any person licensed, registered, or certified by the Board[s] of Medicine, Nursing, Counseling, Optometry, Psychology, or Social Work”).

The law, however, exempts the following:

• “[n]ondisclosure agreements intended to prohibit the taking, misappropriating, threatening to misappropriate, or sharing of certain information to which an employee has access,” such as trade secrets and proprietary or confidential information;
• noncompetition or “similarly restrictive covenants with any health care professional or such person’s business entity as part of a sale of business,” provided the restriction is “reasonable in scope, duration, and geographic area”;
• “provisions in employment agreements, through a promissory note or otherwise, that require repayment for all or a prorated portion of recruitment-related costs, including relocation expenses, signing or retention bonuses, and other remuneration provided to induce relocation or establishment of a practice in a specified geographic area, as well as recruiting, education, or training expenses from a departing health care professional who has been employed for fewer than five years”; and
• “provisions in employment agreements requiring a [departing] health care professional, for the benefit of an employer and for a stated period of time … to refrain from soliciting or attempting to solicit, directly or by assisting others, any business from any of [the] employer’s customers, including actively seeking prospective customers, with whom the [departing health care professional] had material contact during his [or her] employment, for purposes of providing products and services that are the same [as] or substantially similar to those provided by the employer.”

Newly enacted SB128 authorizes a low-wage employee or health care professional to bring a civil action to void any violative agreement and to recover liquidated damages, lost compensation, damages, and reasonable attorneys’ fees and costs, in addition to the $10,000 civil penalty already in place under the law for each violation.

SB128 takes effect on July 1, 2026.

Minimum Wage Increases (HB1 and SB1)

While Virginia’s minimum wage rate currently sits at $12.77 per hour following recent inflation adjustments, House Bill (HB)1/SB1 (Chapters 350 and 351) establish a multiyear schedule for further increases. Specifically, the law now mandates the following schedule for all Virginia employers:

• $13.75 per hour, effective January 1, 2027
• $15.00 per hour, effective January 1, 2028

Effective January 1, 2029, Virginia employers will be required to pay a minimum wage adjusted annually by reference to the Consumer Price Index published by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Salary History and Pay Transparency (HB636 and SB215)

Virginia has enacted legislation further regulating the considerations Virginia employers may take into account when setting pay. Specifically, HB636/SB215 (Chapters 1063 and 996) prohibit covered employers from (1) seeking or requiring a prospective employee’s wage or salary history or (2) relying on prior pay information when setting pay or making hiring decisions. The law includes a narrow exception that permits prospective employees to voluntarily disclose wage or salary histories, but only after receiving offers of employment containing initial compensation offers. In such instances, a wage or salary history may be used only to support or confirm a wage or salary higher than the initial offer.

Also, like several states with similar provisions, Virginia’s law requires that public or internal job postings—including those for promotions or transfers—include specific wage or salary ranges. Relatedly, all wage or salary ranges must be set in “good faith” and in consideration of the breadth of such ranges.

Aggrieved employees may now pursue individual actions for alleged violations. The new law also authorizes the Office of the Attorney General of Virginia to enforce these provisions with successful actions carrying statutory damages of between $1,000 and $5,000. Job posting–related claims are subject to a fifteen-day notice-and-cure requirement before an action may be brought, allowing an employer to fix an issue if adequately brought to its attention. As stipulated in the statute, claims must be filed within one year.

These requirements take effect on July 1, 2026.

Paystub Recordkeeping Requirement (HB238)

Effective July 1, 2026, pursuant to enacted HB238 (Chapter 1040), employers must retain employee paystubs or online accounting for at least three years after the work is performed.

Volunteer Emergency Responder Leave (SB100)

Under enacted SB 100 (Chapter 330), Virginia law will prohibit employers from discharging or otherwise retaliating against employees who are absent from work because they are serving as volunteer emergency responders actively responding to emergency alarms or serving during states of emergency. To take this new emergency responder leave, an employee will need to provide his or her employer with a notice of intent to render emergency services at least one hour before the employee is scheduled to work, and, upon returning to work, provide the employer with an incident report and an official certification that the employee was responding to an emergency situation. Employers are not required to pay employees who use this time, though employees may use paid leave for their volunteer emergency response absences.

This change becomes effective on July 1, 2026.

Paid Sick Leave (SB199) and Paid Family and Medical Leave (SB2)

Virginia recently enacted a paid sick leave law (SB 199 and Chapter 1129) as well as an expanded paid family and medical leave entitlement (SB 2 and Chapter 981). Virginia’s new paid sick leave law will provide coverage to all public and private employees in the Commonwealth. The paid sick leave entitlement will accrue at a rate of one hour for every thirty hours worked, with an annual cap of forty hours. For employers with at least fifty employees, paid sick leave coverage will commence on July 1, 2027, with delayed implementation for smaller employers.

Meanwhile, Virginia’s paid family and medical leave law establishes a payroll-funded insurance program that provides qualifying employees with up to twelve weeks of paid leave for family and medical reasons at 80 percent of the employee’s average weekly wage, subject to a maximum weekly benefit cap set at 100 percent of the statewide average weekly wage. This leave can then be used for a number of qualifying family- and medical-related reasons. The program will be administered by the Virginia Employment Commission, which will set the contribution amounts on October 1, 2027. The program will officially begin collecting contributions on April 1, 2028, and begin benefit payouts on December 1, 2028.

Ogletree Deakins’ article, “Virginia Expands Provisions for Paid Sick Leave and Paid Family and Medical Leave,” specifically covering Virginia’s new paid leave laws, contains more details about both laws.

Virginia Human Rights Act Expansion (SB637)

SB637 (Chapter 950) expands the statute of limitations for Virginia Human Rights Act (VHRA) claims and redefines “employer” to include small businesses. Previously, the VHRA applied mostly to employers with fifteen or more employees. SB637 expands this coverage to employers with five or more employees.

Additionally, SB637 modifies the former 300-day limitations period to permit written complaints filed with the Office of Civil Rights within two years from the date of the alleged discriminatory practice.

This expansion takes effect on July 1, 2026.

Insurance Coverage for Menopause and Perimenopause Symptoms (SB790)

Governor Spanberger signed SB790 (Chapter 955) into law, adding health insurance regulations covering menopause as a protected condition. SB790 introduces new mandates for health insurance coverage and requires health insurers to provide coverage for “medically necessary” treatments for menopause and perimenopause symptoms, such as hot flashes, bone density loss, and sleep disruptions. The insurance mandates of SB790 apply to policies issued or renewed on or after January 1, 2027, though they do not apply to self-insured plans.

In a similar vein, Governor Spanberger vetoed bills (HB1173/SB258) that would have explicitly amended the VHRA to include “menopause or perimenopause” as a protected characteristic, thereby prohibiting employers from discriminating against employees based on these conditions. The governor explained in her official veto statement that these conditions were already protected by prohibitions against discrimination on the basis of age and sex.

Au Pair Exemption (SB28)

SB28 (Chapter 983) expands Virginia’s overtime requirements to include domestic workers, such as housekeepers and nannies. The Virginia General Assembly accepted Governor Spanberger’s recommendation to move the effective date from July 1, 2027, to July 1, 2028. Additionally, SB28 will not become effective unless reenacted by the 2027 General Session.

Staying Informed

Ogletree Deakins’ Richmond office will continue to monitor developments and will provide updates on the Healthcare, Leaves of Absence, Pay Equity, Unfair Competition and Trade Secrets, Virginia, and Wage and Hour blogs as additional information becomes available.

J. Clay Rollins is a shareholder in the Richmond office of Ogletree Deakins.

Sebastian L. Brana is an associate in the Richmond office of Ogletree Deakins.

Sam Sylvester, an administrative assistant in the Richmond office of Ogletree Deakins, contributed to this article.

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