Virginia

On August 26, 2021, the Virginia Safety and Health Codes Board adopted revised amendments to the Final Permanent Standard for Infectious Disease Prevention of the SARS-CoV-2 Virus That Causes COVID-19 (the Final Permanent Standard). Governor Ralph Northam then proposed an additional amendment, which

Over the past 16 months, a quiet labor and employment law revolution has been underway in Virginia. In the first quarter of 2021, the Virginia General Assembly doubled down legislative initiatives, imposing several additional labor and employment changes that will present challenges for many employe

In Virginia, returning — or planning to return — to the physical workplace following the COVID-19 pandemic means ensuring employment practices comply with the Commonwealth’s significantly changing legal landscape.

Consistent with legislative trends, Virginia weighed in further on the nationwide marijuana debate by enacting two new comprehensive cannabis-related laws.

Starting on July 1, 2021, most Virginia employers must include information in their employee handbooks about reasonable accommodations for persons with disabilities and provide that information directly to any employee within 10 days after receiving notice that the employee has a disability.

The Virginia Overtime Wage Act (VOWA), Va. Code § 40.1-29.2, becomes effective July 1, 2021, and will significantly alter employers’ wage and hour obligations in Virginia. At first glance, the VOWA appears to track federal law under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). Upon closer examination, howev

On April 21, 2021, Virginia Governor Ralph Northam signed into law House Bill No. 2312 and Senate Bill No. 1406 , moving the date of recreational marijuana legalization in Virginia up to July 1, 2021. The legalization movement, which has increased in momentum in the Commonwealth since Democrats gain

On March 30, 2021, Governor Ralph Northam signed into law the Virginia Overtime Wage Act (VOWA), creating new wage and hour requirements for Virginia employers. Set to take effect July 1, 2021, the VOWA also includes numerous employee protections. The VOWA amends the Virginia Code to authorize colle

Virginia employers are at increased risk of class action wage litigation following passage of the Virginia Overtime Wage Act . “Previously, Virginia had been content to rely on the overtime pay requirements of the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA),” note Kristina H. Vaquera and Shaun M. Bennet

Effective July 1, 2021, Virginia joins the District of Columbia and many other states with paid leave for designated workers ( Virginia’s Paid Sick Leave Law ), home health workers in this case. Paid sick leave is compensated at the same hourly rate and with the same benefits, including healthcare b

Statements made in a disciplinary action form that did not hold the requisite defamatory “sting” to the reputation of the plaintiff cannot support a defamation claim, and statements made during proceedings before the Virginia Employment Commission (VEC) are protected by absolute privilege and cannot

Effective July 1, 2021, Virginia further expands the scope of the Virginia Human Rights Act (VHRA) to prohibit discrimination on the basis of disability. The state also enacted protections and benefits for domestic workers.

Given the current political trifecta (where democrats control both houses of the state legislature and the governorship), paid sick leave proponents had high hopes that Virginia would follow other states’ lead and pass legislation to mandate employers provide paid leave, particularly in light of the

Beginning July 1, 2021, Virginia employers will be subject to new state overtime pay requirements. Virginia Governor Ralph Northam signed into law the Virginia Overtime Wage Act on March 31, 2021. Previously, Virginia had been content to rely on the overtime pay requirements of the federal Fair Labo

Virginia has joined California as the second state to enact a comprehensive data privacy law. On March 2, 2021, Virginia Governor Ralph Northam signed the Virginia Consumer Data Protection Act (VCDPA) into law. The VCDPA does not go into effect until January 1, 2023, but the broad privacy mandate wi

Historically, Virginia has not had a standalone overtime law, instead relying on the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) to provide protections to employees who work more than 40 hours a week. But that will change on July 1, 2021. Continuing a pattern of legislative action that is quickly

On March 19, 2021, Governor Jim Justice signed legislation enacting a coronavirus liability shield law. Senate Bill 277, the COVID-19 Jobs Protection Act (“the Act”), is effective retroactively from January 1, 2020 and applies to any cause of action accruing on or after that date. The Act’s stated p

When the California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018 (CCPA) became law, it was only a matter of time before other states adopt their own statutes intended to enhance privacy rights and consumer protection for residents.

On January 27, 2021, Virginia Governor Ralph Northam announced that he had approved a Final Permanent Standard (Permanent Standard) for preventing COVID-19 in the workplace, making Virginia the first state in the nation to implement a permanent COVID-19 workplace safety and health standard. The Perm

In July 2020, the Safety and Health Codes Board of the Virginia Department of Labor and Industry approved an emergency temporary standard for COVID-19. In so doing, Virginia became the first state to issue such a temporary standard. On January 13, 2021, the Virginia Safety and Health Codes Board ena