Effective July 1, 2026, two separate bills enacted in the 2026 Virginia General Assembly session amend Va. Code § 40.1-28.7:8 — the statute prohibiting covenants not to compete with low-wage employees. Senate Bill 170 adds a new prohibition that renders any non-compete unenforceable when an employer discharges an employee without providing severance benefits or other...Read More

Virginia’s Veteran Preferential Hiring Law, Va. Code § 40.1-27.2 (“VPHL,” titled “Preference for veterans and spouses,”) allows employers to choose to grant preference in hiring and promotion to veterans or the spouses of disabled veterans.  Definition of Disabled Veteran The VPHL generally defines “disabled veteran” for the purposes of its provisions as a veteran who has been...Read More

Virginia’s Civil Air Patrol Leave Law, Va. Code § 40.1-28.7:6 (“CAPLL,” titled “Employers to allow leave for volunteer members of Civil Air Patrol; civil remedy”), provides that employees who are volunteer members of the Civil Air Patrol are entitled to limited amounts of job-protected leave for training for or responding to emergency missions.  Job-Protected Leave...Read More

Virginia’s Misclassification Anti-Retaliation Law, Va. Code § 40.1-33.1 (“MARL,” titled “Retaliatory actions prohibited; civil penalty”), provides that employers shall not discharge, penalize, or take any retaliatory action against an employee or independent contractor for reporting, or planning to report, to an appropriate authority an employer’s failure to properly classify an individual as an employee and failure to...Read More