Part 2 of a 3-part series recapping this week’s BOSS Seminar, “Virginia Employment Law Update for Business Owners,” presented by Deb Collins of Yeng Collins Law, PLLC.
Two additional Virginia statutes changed effective July 1, 2026: the Virginia Human Rights Act (VHRA) and the Virginia Wage Payment Act (VWPA). This post reviews the scope of each law, what changed, and what businesses should track going forward.
Virginia Human Rights Act: Scope and Background
The VHRA, codified at Va. Code § 2.2-3900, addresses discrimination and retaliation in employment based on race, color, ethnicity, religion, national origin, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, lactation, and related medical conditions), age for individuals 40 and over, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, veteran status, and military status.
The statute’s scope has changed incrementally since 2020. In earlier versions, the VHRA addressed only unlawful discharge and capped damages at one year of salary. Since then, the legislature has expanded the law’s coverage and remedies in each subsequent session. Two features distinguish the VHRA from the federal counterpart, Title VII: the VHRA places no cap on compensatory damages or lost wages, whereas Title VII caps compensatory damages based on employer size at a maximum of $350,000, and VHRA claims filed in state court are more likely to survive to trial than federal claims.
What Changed on July 1, 2026
Two amendments took effect this year:
- The VHRA’s anti-discrimination and anti-retaliation provisions now apply to employers with 5 or more employees, down from the prior threshold of 15 employees.
- The filing deadline for a complaint with the Office of Civil Rights is now 2 years from the date of the alleged discriminatory or retaliatory act, up from the previous 300-day limit.
Together, these two changes affect two different variables: which employers are covered, and how long a complaint remains viable after an incident occurs. Businesses with 5 to 14 employees that were previously outside the VHRA’s coverage are now included, and complaints tied to older incidents, within the new 2-year window, are now within scope regardless of employer size.
Virginia Wage Payment Act: Core Requirements
The VWPA, at Va. Code § 40.1-29, establishes baseline requirements for how and when employees must be paid. The statute requires employers to:
- Establish a regular pay period and rate of pay. With limited exceptions, salaried employees must be paid at least once a month, and hourly employees must be paid at least once every two weeks or twice a month.
- Pay a departing employee all wages owed no later than the date they would have otherwise been paid, meaning the next regularly scheduled payday following separation.
- Refrain from withholding any portion of an employee’s wages without written, signed authorization from the employee, except for standard exceptions such as taxes, wage garnishments, and pay advances.
- Allow employees to file suit if wages are not paid in accordance with the statute.
The seminar identified unauthorized wage withholding as one of the more frequent compliance issues employers encounter under this statute, generally arising from deductions made without a corresponding signed authorization on file.
Changes to the VWPA Effective July 1, 2026
Three amendments affect how the statute operates going forward:
- The definition of “wages” now explicitly includes commissions, tips, bonuses, and damages arising from employee misclassification, in addition to standard pay.
- Employers accused of a VWPA violation may now cure the violation within 14 days of receiving notice by paying all wages that were unlawfully withheld. Doing so allows the employer to assert a “good faith” defense against additional damages or penalties.
- Employers must retain employee paystubs, or maintain an equivalent online accounting of pay records, for a minimum of 3 years.
This retention requirement operates alongside an existing obligation under Va. Code § 8.01-413.1, which requires employers to provide certain personnel records to a current or former employee upon written request. Covered records include dates of employment, wage and salary history, job title and description, and any workplace injuries. Employers generally have 30 days to respond to such a request. If more time is needed, the employer must notify the requester in writing of the reason for the delay and complete the request within an additional 30 days. Employers may charge a reasonable per-page fee for paper records or a reasonable fee for electronic records.
Practical Implications
For businesses near the 5-employee threshold, the relevant question is whether current headcount brings the company within VHRA coverage, since that determines whether discrimination and retaliation claims under state law, with no damages cap, are available to employees and applicants. The extended 2-year filing window also means that complaints referencing events further in the past than previously possible may now proceed.
On the wage payment side, a periodic audit of payroll deduction authorizations, final-paycheck timing, and record retention practices would align operations with the current statute. Because the VWPA’s cure provision runs on a 14-day clock starting from the date of notice, having a designated process for reviewing and responding to wage-related complaints promptly may be useful for businesses seeking to preserve the good-faith defense.
Summary
Both statutes reviewed here, the VHRA and the VWPA, were amended as part of the broader set of changes that took effect July 1, 2026. The VHRA amendments primarily affect which employers are subject to the law and how long a complaint remains actionable. The VWPA amendments affect the scope of what counts as “wages,” the process for correcting a violation, and recordkeeping obligations. Businesses reviewing their employment policies and payroll practices this year may want to incorporate both sets of changes into that review, alongside the pay transparency and non-compete updates covered separately in this series.