|
Virginia
|
|
Law
|
Main Topic
|
Summary
|
Effective Date
|
|
Code of Virginia §40.1-29.1
|
Wage Payment Investigations
|
Authorizes the Commissioner of Labor and Industry, if he acquires information during an investigation of a complaint of an employer’s failure or refusal to pay wages and that information creates a reasonable belief that other employees of the same employer may not have been paid wages, to investigate whether the employer has failed or refused to make a required payment of wages to other employees. The measure also provides that if the Commissioner finds in the course of such investigation that the employer has committed a violation, the Commissioner may institute proceedings on behalf of any employee against their employer. In such proceedings, the Commissioner is not required to have obtained a written complaint of the violation or the written and signed consent of any employee.
|
July 1, 2020
|
|
Code of Virginia 15.2-965
|
Discrimination: gender identity and sexual orientation
|
Allows localities to enact ordinances protecting people from discrimination on the basis of gender identity and sexual orientation.
|
July 1, 2020
|
|
Code of Virginia 2.2-3901
|
Hairstyle Discrimination
|
Adds “traits historically associated with race, including hair texture, hair type, and protective hairstyles such as braids, locks, and twists” to the definition of “on the basis of race” and “because of race” under state discrimination law.
|
July 1, 2020
|
|
Code of Virginia 40.1-121
|
Discrimination: Apprenticeship Programs
|
Prohibits discrimination by apprenticeship programs on the basis of “basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age if the age of the individual is 40 years of age or older, genetic information, or disability.”
|
July 1, 2020
|
|
Various, including §§ 15.2-1627, 16.1-228, 16.1-260, 16.1-273, 18.2-247, 18.2-248.1, 18.2-250.1, 18.2-251, 18.2-251.02, 18.2-252, 18.2-254, 19.2-392.2, 54.1-3401 of the Code of Virginia
|
Marijuana Decriminalization
|
Decriminalizes simple marijuana possession and provides a civil penalty of no more than $25. Current law imposes a maximum fine of $500 and a maximum 30-day jail sentence for a first offense, and subsequent offenses are a Class 1 misdemeanor. The law provides that any violation of simple possession of marijuana shall be charged by a summons in form the same as the uniform summons for motor vehicle law violations and that no court costs shall be assessed for such violations. The law also provides that a person's criminal history record information shall not include records of any charges or judgments for such violations and records of such charges or judgements shall not be reported to the Central Criminal Records Exchange.
|
July 1, 2020
|
|
Various, including §§ 60.2-212, 60.2-229, 60.2-508, 60.2-512, 60.2-513, and 60.2-627 of the Code of Virginia
|
Unemployment; Independent Contractor
|
Amends various provisions regarding unemployment compensation and the Virginia Employment Commission. The law provides, among other things: the Commission shall base its determination on whether an individual is an employee on the standard used by the Internal Revenue Service for such determinations; any employing unit is required to establish an account with the Commission by the end of the calendar quarter in which it becomes subject to the requirements for unemployment compensation; an employer that has become subject to liability under the unemployment compensation provisions must submit the required reports by the due date of the calendar quarter in which the employer has initially become subject to such liability; and all employers must file their quarterly payroll and tax reports on an electronic medium using a format prescribed by the Commission.
|
July 1, 2020
|
|
Code of Virginia 40.1-28.7:7
|
Retaliation: Wage Transparency
|
Prohibits an employer from discharging or taking other retaliatory action against an employee because the employee inquired about or discussed with, or disclosed to, another employee any information about either the employee's own wages or other compensation or about any other employee's wages or other compensation. Violations are subject to a civil penalty of $100.
|
July 1, 2020
|
|
Code of Virginia 2.2-3901 and 2.2-3903
|
Pregnancy and Child Birth Accommodation
|
Requires employers, defined in the bill, to make reasonable accommodation for the known limitations of a person related to pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions, if such accommodation is necessary to assist such person in performing a particular job, unless the employer can demonstrate that the accommodation would impose an undue hardship on the employer.
|
July 1, 2020
|
|
Code of Virginia 38.2-3438, 38.2-3442, and 38.2-3451
|
Health Insurance
|
Requires a health carrier offering or providing a health benefit plan, including (i) catastrophic health insurance policies and policies that pay on a cost-incurred basis; (ii) association health plans; and (iii) plans provided by a multiple-employer welfare arrangement, to provide, as an essential health benefit, coverage that includes preventive care.
|
July 1, 2020
|
|
Amendments to Virginia Human Rights Act
|
Discrimination: Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity
|
Prohibits discrimination in employment, public accommodation, public contracting, apprenticeship programs, housing, banking, and insurance on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity. The bill also adds discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity to the list of unlawful discriminatory housing practices.
|
July 1, 2020
|
|
Code of Virginia 40.1-27.3
|
Whistleblower Retaliation
|
Prohibits an employer from discharging, disciplining, threatening, discriminating against, penalizing, or taking other retaliatory action against an employee regarding the employee's compensation, terms, conditions, location, or privileges of employment because the employee (i) reports a violation of any federal or state law or regulation to a supervisor or to any governmental body or law-enforcement official; (ii) is requested by a governmental body or law-enforcement official to participate in an investigation, hearing, or inquiry; (iii) refuses to engage in a criminal act that would subject the employee to criminal liability; (iv) refuses an employer’s order to perform an action that violates any federal or state law or regulation and the employee informs the employer that the order is being refused for that reason; or (v) provides information to or testifies before any governmental body or law-enforcement official conducting an investigation, hearing, or inquiry into any alleged violation by the employer of federal or state law or regulation.
|
July 1, 2020
|
|
Code of Virginia 40.1-29
|
Wage and Hour: Private Right of Action
|
Provides that an employee has a private cause of action, individually, jointly, with other aggrieved employees as a collective action, or on behalf of similarly situated employees as a collective action, under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act against an employer that fails to pay wages to recover the amount of wages due plus interest at eight percent annually from the date the wages were due, an additional amount as liquidated damages, and reasonable attorney fees and costs. Adds a $1,000 civil penalty for “knowing” violations.
|
July 1, 2020
|
|
Code of Virginia 65.2-601.2
|
Unemployment
|
Requires employers to advise an employee filing for unemployment, within 30 days following the date of an order from the Commission, whether the employer (i) intends to accept the claim, (ii) intends to deny the claim, or (iii) is unable to determine whether it intends to accept or deny the claim because the employer lacks sufficient information from the employee or a third party to make such determination.
|
July 1, 2020
|
|
Various, including §§ 38.2-326, 38.2-3455, 38.2-3456, 38.2-3457, 38.2-3459, 38.2-3460, 38.2-4214, 38.2-4319, 38.2-4509, 58.1-3, and 58.1-341.1 of the Code of Virginia
|
Health Insurance
|
Creates the Virginia Health Benefit Exchange, which will be established and operated by a new division within the State Corporation Commission (SCC). The Exchange shall facilitate the purchase and sale of qualified health plans and qualified dental plans to qualified individuals and qualified employers.
|
July 1, 2020
|
|
Code of Virginia 40.1-28.7:7
|
Non-Compete Agreements
|
Prohibits an employer from entering into, enforcing, or threatening to enforce a covenant not to compete between the employer and a low-wage employee. The employer is subject to a civil penalty of $10,000 per violation. “Low-wage employee” means an employee whose average weekly earnings, calculated by dividing the employee’s earnings during the period of 52 weeks immediately preceding the date of termination of employment by 52, or if an employee worked fewer than 52 weeks, by the number of weeks that the employee was actually paid during the 52-week period, are less than the average weekly wage of the Commonwealth.
|
The provisions of the bill are applicable to covenants not to compete entered into on or after July 1, 2020
|
|
Code of Virginia 40.1-33.1
|
Retaliation: Wage Claims
|
Prohibits an employer from discharging or otherwise discriminating against an employee because such employee has filed any complaint or instituted or caused to be instituted any proceeding related to the failure to pay wages, or has testified or is about to testify in any such proceeding.
|
July 1, 2020
|
|
Code of Virginia 24.2-119.1
|
Retaliation: Service as Electoral Board Members and Assistant General Registrars
|
Prohibits discrimination in employment against electoral board members and assistant general registrars on the basis of service on Election Day or at a meeting of the electoral board following the election to ascertain the results of the election. Current law prohibits such employment discrimination only on the basis of Election Day service and only against officers of election. A violation of the bill’s provisions is a Class 3 misdemeanor.
|
July 1, 2020
|
|
Various, including §§16.1-278.16, 20-79.1, 20-79.2, 20-79.3, 63.2-1900, 63.2-1903, 63.2-1929, 63.2-1944, and 63.2-1946 of the Code of Virginia
|
Withholdings; Independent Contractors
|
Clarifies that income earned by an independent contractor may be withheld by court order for payment of child support obligations.
|
July 1, 2020
|
|
Code of Virginia 2.2-3300
|
Holidays
|
Designates Election Day, the Tuesday after the first Monday in November, as a state holiday and removes Lee-Jackson Day as a state holiday.
|
July 1, 2020
|
|
Code of Virginia 40.1-28.7:7
|
Independent Contractor Misclassification; Private Right of Action
|
Authorizes an individual who has not been properly classified as an employee to bring a civil action for damages against their employer for failing to properly classify the employee if the employer had knowledge of the individual's misclassification. The court may award damages in the amount of any wages, salary, employment benefits, including expenses incurred by the employee that would otherwise have been covered by insurance, or other compensation lost to the individual, a reasonable attorney fee, and the costs incurred by the employee in bringing the action.
|
July 1, 2020
|
|
Code of Virginia 40.1-33.1
|
Retaliation: Independent Contractor Misclassification
|
Prohibits an employer from discharging, disciplining, threatening, discriminating against, or penalizing an employee or independent contractor because the employee or independent contractor reported or plans to report that an employer or any officer or agent has failed to properly classify an individual as an employee and failed to pay required benefits or other contributions.
|
July 1, 2020
|
|
Repeals the fourth enactment of Chapter 442 of the 2014 Acts of Assembly
|
Unemployment; Military Spouse
|
Repeals the sunset provision on the current statutory provision that provides that good cause for leaving employment exists if an employee voluntarily leaves a job to accompany the employee’s spouse, who is on active duty in the military or naval services of the United States, to a new military-related assignment established pursuant to a permanent change of duty order from which the employee’s place of employment is not reasonably accessible.
|
July 1, 2020
|
