Virginia Employment Law Changes for 2026

Several new Virginia employment laws took effect on July 1, 2026, and more phase in through 2028. If you run a company with 20 to 100 employees and no in-house HR team, this is the kind of change that quietly turns into risk: a job posting without a pay range, an out-of-date complaint procedure, an old non-compete nobody has looked at in years.

This guide covers what changed, what is coming next, and a short list of what to update now. It is a practical summary for business owners, not legal advice, so have employment counsel review anything that touches contracts or litigation risk.

What changed on July 1, 2026

Pay transparency and salary history. Virginia employers must now include wage or salary ranges in job postings, and they may not seek or rely on an applicant''s pay history. The law allows a 15-business-day window to correct a violation, but the fix is easy to make before it matters: update your job posting templates and remove salary-history questions from your application forms.

A broader Virginia Human Rights Act. The Act now applies to employers with five or more employees, down from 15. The window to file a discrimination complaint has also grown from 300 days to two years. If your handbook and complaint procedure were written for the old thresholds, they are out of date.

New wage-and-hour rules. House Bill 238 sets a three-year statute of limitations for wage claims, requires employers to keep paystubs and pay records for three years, standardizes damages for minimum wage, overtime, and misclassification claims, and widens the definition of "employer." Employers that correct a violation within 14 days may have a good-faith defense. Now is the time to double-check who is classified as exempt, who is non-exempt, and who is a contractor.

Tighter limits on non-competes. A non-compete is now unenforceable against an employee discharged without cause unless the employer disclosed severance or other payment terms when the agreement was signed. Non-competes for licensed healthcare professionals are largely prohibited, and Virginia already restricts non-competes for lower-wage employees. If your offer letters use a standard non-compete, review it.

Retaliation and emergency responders. Penalties are higher for retaliating against employees who report wage theft, including retaliation tied to immigration status. Employers also cannot penalize employees who miss work for volunteer emergency responder service, and those employees can use paid leave for the absence.

Retirement plans. Under House Bill 176 and Senate Bill 149, employers with five or more employees that have been in business more than two years and offer no retirement plan must either register for the state''s RetirePath Virginia program or provide their own plan. Watch for a notice from the state outlining your deadline.

Heat illness rules. The Safety and Health Codes Board is developing heat illness regulations covering water, shade, rest breaks, and training. If you have crews, warehouse staff, or field employees, start thinking about your procedures now.

What is coming next

• January 1, 2027: the state minimum wage rises from $12.77 to $13.75 an hour.
• January 1, 2028: the minimum wage rises to $15.00, then adjusts with inflation.
• July 1, 2027: paid sick leave expands beyond home health workers to Virginia employers generally, with one hour earned for every 30 hours worked, up to 40 hours a year.
• April 1, 2028: the state''s paid family leave program begins, offering up to 12 weeks of benefits at 80 percent of average weekly wages, funded through employer and employee premiums.

A practical update checklist

Most small employers can work through the essentials in a few focused sessions:

• Add a wage range to every open job posting and remove salary-history questions from applications.
• Update your anti-discrimination policy and complaint procedure to reflect the five-employee threshold and the two-year filing window.
• Confirm that pay records and paystubs are kept for at least three years.
• Review exempt, non-exempt, and contractor classifications.
• Pull every non-compete and severance provision and check them against the new rules.
• Add a non-retaliation statement and an emergency responder leave provision to your handbook.
• Train managers on retaliation, because how a manager reacts to a complaint often matters more than what the policy says.
• Put the 2027 and 2028 dates on your calendar so wage, sick leave, and family leave changes do not surprise your payroll.

Why this hits growing companies hardest

Large employers have compliance teams. Very small employers were often outside the old thresholds. Businesses in the middle, with 20 to 100 employees, now face the full set of obligations with the same lean staffing they had two years ago. That gap is where handbook updates get postponed and small problems grow into expensive ones. If you operate in more than one state, our multi-state compliance checklist covers how to keep policies consistent across locations.

Getting help

If reading this list made you realize your handbook has not been updated in years, you are not alone. A short HR audit can show exactly where your policies, postings, and records stand and what to fix first. Explore our services or book a consultation. Loudoun County employers may also qualify for county-funded HR project support through Launch Loudoun, so ask about eligibility when you get in touch.

This article is general information, not legal advice. Laws change, and application depends on your facts, so consult an employment attorney for legal questions.

Sources: Virginia Department of Labor and Industry, "Employment Law Updates: New Legislation Protecting Virginia Workers Applies Beginning July 1, 2026"; Hunton Andrews Kurth, "2026 Virginia Employment Law Update"; Fredericksburg Regional Chamber of Commerce, "Virginia Just Changed Requirements for Small Business Owners."