Top Twelve (Not 10!) Takeaways for Employers from Virginia's 2026 General Assembly Session — Updated!

The 2026 General Assembly Session is in the books. However, Governor Spanberger did not just rubber stamp all the bills that passed in March. Here are the key updates to those laws:

1. Minimum Wage Increases Are Officially Here (HB 1/SB 1)

Virginia's minimum wage will rise to $13.75 on January 1, 2027, then $15.00 on January 1, 2028, followed by an adjusted rate in 2029 set by the Department of Labor and Industry.

Action item: To avoid surprises, employers should prepare their payroll systems now for these annual increases.

2. Pay Transparency and Ban on Salary History (SB 215/HB 636)

Effective July 1, 2026, Employers may no longer seek or rely on salary history and must disclose wage or salary ranges in all job postings, both internal and external.  The Governor's amendments softened enforcement significantly:

• Civil penalties capped at $5,000;
• Statute of limitations shortened to one year;
• No collective actions, statutory damages, and no attorney's fees;
• A 15-day cure period for posting violations; and
• Sovereign immunity remains a viable defense for public employers.

Action items: Employers should audit all job postings for salary ranges. Train your recruiters to stop asking about salary history—focus only on what candidates are looking for in pay. Document your methodology for setting "good faith" ranges, and don’t just widen the ranges because the breadth could work against you if a claim is made under this new law. Further, be mindful that this new law impacts internal postings as well, so make sure your current employees have access to the pay range for internal positions they might seek.

3. Wage and Hour Consolidation (HB 238)

Effective July 1, 2026, HB 238 consolidates Virginia's wage and hour remedies into a single framework with a three-year statute of limitations, collective action availability, and a 14-day safe harbor to cure wage violations. Notably, the alignment of the "employer" definition with the Fair Labor Standards Act arguably now requires public sector employers to comply with the Virginia Wage Payment Act, Va. Code § 40.1-29, including requirements such as bi-monthly payroll for hourly workers and contemporaneous authorization for any wage deductions.

There is good news for employers with this final cut: The sweeping HB 930 retaliation bill that would have expanded claims by lowering the bar for proving causation, lengthened the effective statute of limitations, and banned confidential settlement agreements, was completely deleted from this bill.

Action items: Revise your handbooks to align your wage safe and harbor provision with that of the new Virginia 14-day cure process for complaints, and public employers should closely review the VWPA to determine what payroll practices they may need to change to avoid being the first to test the new law. 

4. More Time for Employees to Bring Claims Under the VHRA (HB 925/SB 637)

As of July 1, 2026, the time for employees to bring discrimination claims will extend from 300 days to two years under the Virginia Human Rights Act. The small business exception for non-discharge discrimination is eliminated, so employers with as few as five employees now face the full range of discrimination claims for all adverse actions, not just termination.

Action items: Employers should adjust their litigation hold practices and retain records for at least two years, and small employers should ensure compliance with the VHRA, not just federal law, when making employment decisions.  

5. Paid Sick Leave as of 2027 (HB 5/SB 199)

Beginning July 1, 2027, employers with 50 or more employees must provide one hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours worked, up to 40 hours of sick leave per year, with a one-year carryover. Paid sick leave won’t just be for an employee’s own illness—it can be used for the care of a “family member,” which is broadly defined, or to help seek safety services for domestic violence or sexual assault. Employers with existing PTO policies that meet or exceed these requirements will be exempt. This law will extend to all employers with at least 25 employees as of July 1, 2028, then ultimately to all employers, regardless of size, as of July 1, 2029.

Action items: Audit your current PTO policy against the statutory requirements. Make sure that PTO policies  enlarge in scope to include leave to care for  “family” as defined by the new law so that your to include all “family members” and safety services. Notably, the definition of “family member” for paid sick leave is broader than “family member” as defined by the new Paid Family and Medical Leave, discussed below. Employers will need to track both. All employers should prepare for this change even though larger employers are the first to be covered next year.

6. Paid Family and Medical Leave Coming in 2028 (SB 2/HB 1207)

Beginning on April 1, 2028, employers will pay a new payroll tax to fund the new Paid Family and Medical Leave trust fund that the Virginia Employment Commission will administer. This new fund will pay out 12 weeks of paid sick leave, up to 80% average weekly wages (capped at 100% of the state weekly wage) for certain covered events:

• Birth or placement of a child (including adoptions and foster children)
• Serious health conditions of an employee or their “family member”
• Military exigency
• Safety services for domestic violence or sexual assault

Employers with 10 or more employees share the payroll contribution cost with employees, while smaller employers will pass 50% of the cost to employees with no additional employer obligation.

The Governor's amendments included a 120-day employment prerequisite for job restoration; the requirement for intermittent leave to be coordinated with the employer; a narrower definition of "family member" to exclude mere cohabitants; a cap of 4 weeks for safety services leave, a reduction of the statute of limitations from two to one year (3 for willful violations), and the elimination of attorney’s fees for claims. While the benefits of this new law will run concurrently with the federal FMLA, its broader coverage opens the door to situations where an employee of a larger employer might be able to use paid leave under this new Virginia law for a situation that is not covered under the federal FMLA, then subsequently use federal FMLA for another event while maintaining job protection. Perhaps the VEC’s regulations will speak to this “stacking” situation, but employers everywhere should prepare for this shift as Virginia becomes the first state in the South to offer paid family and medical leave.

Action items: Employers should begin budgeting for payroll contributions and preparing for significant handbook revisions. We anticipate that the market will respond with private plans that will broaden coverage given this new law’s greater scope compared to the federal FMLA. Large employers should also prepare for at least three definitions of “family member” under each of the three laws that will now apply to them: federal FMLA, Virginia FMLA, and Virginia paid sick leave.  

7. Severance Required for Noncompetes (SB 170/SB 569)

As of July 1, 2026, Employers must now provide "severance benefits or other monetary payment” to enforce any noncompete under Va. Code § 40.1-28.7:8. The amount of the severance must be disclosed when the employee signs the agreement. However, there is one exception: Employees who are terminated for cause. The statute does not specify how much must be paid as a severance, so employers should carefully establish amounts that can survive judicial scrutiny with their legal counsel, particularly if a release of claims is sought at the same time. Regardless, noncompetes remain prohibited for employees earning less than ~$78,000 annually and all non-exempt workers, and threatening to enforce a prohibited noncompete carries a $10,000 penalty. This new law does not apply to agreements entered into before July 1, 2026, but it does apply to agreements amended or renewed after this date.

Action items: Review all noncompetes signed, amended, or renewed on or after July 1, 2026, to ensure compliance with this new severance agreement, and post a copy of the new statute with your other workplace posters.

8. No Noncompetes for Health Care Professionals (SB 128/HB 627)

Effective July 1, 2026, noncompetes are now prohibited for anyone licensed or certified by the Boards of Medicine, Nursing, Counseling, Optometry, Psychology, or Social Work—regardless of whether they still have a clinical practice. Nondisclosure agreements and practice-owner covenants remain permissible. The Governor amended the bill to add a patient-notification right, permitting  departing professionals to inform patients of their new location and the patient's right to choose their provider. This new law makes medical professionals the second industry to ban noncompetes in their entirety, second only to lawyers.

Action items: Stop including noncompetes in new or renewed health care professional agreements after July 1, 2026. Structure any remaining patient nonsolicitation provisions carefully given the new notification right. Also, we’ll be watching the pending case of Sentry Force Security, LLC v. Barrera (Va. Ct. App., Jan. 27, 2026), which struck down an employee nonsolicitation provision as an impermissible noncompete—now on appeal.

9. Title 40.1 Expansion to Public Employers (Possibly) (HB 670)

The General Assembly has potentially extended virtually all private-sector employment protections to the Commonwealth, localities, and school boards—but only if the General Assembly reenacts this bill in 2027. This would include laws related to health and safety, anti-retaliation, equal pay, misclassification, social media, and more. Again, HB 238's alignment of the definition of "employer" with the federal Fair Labor Standards Act, 29 U.S.C. § 203, may now obligate public employers to comply with the Virginia Wage Payment Act if sovereign immunity has been effectively waived.

Action items: Don't wait—analyze your employment and payroll practices and policies against Title 40.1’s requirements now and address any gaps. Reenactment of this new law is politically likely.

10. New Protected Class: Volunteer Emergency Responders (SB 100)

As of July 1, 2026, Employers may not take adverse action against employees who miss work because of volunteer emergency responder duties. Employees must give one hour's notice before their shift and provide an incident report afterward. No pay is required for missed time, but employees may use available paid leave. An exception exists for designated "essential employees."

Action items: Update attendance policies; establish a process for receiving responder documentation; and designate essential employees in contracts where appropriate.

11. Additional Developments

The following summarizes additional, industry-specific laws effective as of July 1, 2026, unless otherwise indicated:

• Unconscious Bias Training (SB 22): Medical professionals must now complete implicit bias CE.
• Physician Assistant Practices (HB 746): PAs with 3+ years’ experience may now practice without a practice agreement.
• Educator Leave (HB 139): School boards must now provide up to four years unpaid leave for employee association officers.
• Domestic Workers Overtime (SB 28/HB 27): Overtime will be required for domestic workers effective July 1, 2028.
• Farm Laborers (HB 20): Minimum wage exemptions will be eliminated effective January 1, 2027.

12. Bonus: Key Bills that Were Vetoed (But Pay Attention to the Budget!)

• Public Employee Collective Bargaining (SB 378/HB 1263): This bill has made headlines as the General Assembly and the Governor have gone back and forth about its implementation deadlines and substantive policy. The General Assembly sought to create a statewide collective bargaining framework with binding arbitration and a new statewide agency, the Personnel Employee Review Board (PERB). The Governor amended the bill significantly, delaying its implementation and upholding the local discretion of political subdivisions over their budgets for a more pragmatic, phased-in approach. The Governor has publicly stated her desire to be the first Governor to sign a bill to allow statewide collective bargaining, but the General Assembly rejected all of her amendments. Whether another attempt is made by legislators to resurrect this bill via the budget process this year or a compromise bill during in next year’s session, local governments should continue to be vigilant and confer with legal counsel on the potential impact this bill could eventually have on the current state of their labor relations.
• Class Actions (SB 229): An effort to pass Virginia's first class action procedure bill was vetoed after the General Assembly rejected the Governor's amendment to permit class actions to resolve with summary judgment based on evidence gathered through depositions.
• Menopause/Perimenopause Protections (SB 258/HB 1173): This bill, if passed, would have added menopause as a protected VHRA category. The Governor amended the bill to slow down implementation in favor of a study on the best practices for accommodating these conditions in the workplace, but the General Assembly rejected these amendments. The Governor then vetoed the original bill, noting separate legislation mandating the coverage of these conditions by health insurance (SB 790).

The Bottom Line

The 2026 session is another big moment for Virginia workplace relations. Every Virginia employer needs to revisit its handbook, retrain managers, and update their payroll and leave systems. While numerous, significant proposals (i.e., collective bargaining, class actions, broad retaliation expansion) were vetoed or deleted, we expect them back in 2027. In the meantime, Virginia employers have plenty to do to ensure compliance with these new laws, both this year and in the near future.

The Sands Anderson Labor and Employment Team stands ready to advise both private and public sector employers on compliance, budgeting, and HR practices to meet Virginia's latest legislative developments. 

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