Virginia Labor Laws 2025 bring a wave of updates that impact both employees and employers. With these changes, understanding your rights and obligations is more important than ever.
In this article, we’ll break down the key changes under Virginia Labor Laws 2025 and explain how they strengthen worker rights in the commonwealth.
Introduction
Virginia Labor Laws 2025 mark a pivotal shift in how employment relationships are regulated. These changes aim to expand protections, clarify rules around non-compete agreements, adjust wages, and increase employer liability in certain cases. For workers and businesses alike, knowing what’s new—and what rights you now have—is crucial.
Minimum Wage and Wage Adjustments
One of the most tangible changes under Virginia Labor Laws 2025 involves wages:
- Effective January 1, 2025, Virginia’s minimum wage increases from $12.00 to $12.41 per hour.
- The statute requires that the adjusted state minimum wage be recalculated annually based on the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U).
- Under § 40.1-28.10, from January 1, 2025 onward, employers must pay at least the greater of the adjusted state wage or the federal minimum wage.
- For tipped employees, their hourly wage plus tips must still equal or exceed $12.41; if not, the employer must make up the difference.
- Exemptions remain for certain categories: agricultural workers, domestic servants, some minors, and others as defined under state and federal law.
Worker right takeaway: If you’re working in Virginia in 2025, you should not be paid less than $12.41 per hour (unless exempt). Any tips you earn must bring your total wage up to that level.
Expanded Restrictions on Non-Compete Agreements
One of the more significant reforms in Virginia Labor Laws 2025 concerns non-compete agreements and their enforceability:
- Under Senate Bill 1218 (effective July 1, 2025), Virginia expands its ban on non-compete agreements to cover all non-exempt employees (i.e., employees eligible for overtime under the FLSA), regardless of how much they earn.
- Previously, the state prohibited non-competes only for “low-wage employees” (those earning less than the average weekly wage, currently $1,463.10/week or about $76,081 annually).
- Now, the definition is broader: any employee who is non-exempt under federal law cannot be bound by a non-compete—even if their earnings exceed the previous threshold.
- The reform does not apply retroactively. Non-compete agreements entered into or renewed before July 1, 2025 remain unaffected.
- Employers must also continue to post notice (or a summary) of the law in the workplace; failure to do so may incur fines.
- Violations can lead to civil liability: courts may void the non-compete and award damages, attorney fees, and liquidated damages. Employers may face fines up to $10,000 per violation.
Worker right takeaway: If you’re classified as non-exempt, come July 2025 your employer can’t force you into a non-compete agreement. You will have more freedom to move jobs without undue restriction.
Expanded Employer Liability for Intentional Harms
Another important area in Virginia Labor Laws 2025 relates to employer liability when employees commit intentional misconduct:
- Beginning July 1, 2025, employers can be directly liable in civil court for injuries or death caused by intentional misconduct by their employees or agents on the job.
- This includes acts such as assault or sexual assault. In prior law, victims often struggled to sue the employer; now, the employer may be held responsible.
- The change increases employer accountability and reinforces worker protections in high-risk or vulnerable contexts.
Worker right takeaway: If someone suffers harm on the job due to intentional actions by an employee, the employer can be held accountable. This gives you stronger recourse in serious situations.
Child Labor, Work-Study, and Minor Protections
Virginia Labor Laws 2025 also update rules concerning younger workers and work-study programs:
- Effective July 1, 2025, new statutes regulate work-study programs for children aged 16 or older.
- For minors under 16 involved in content creation (e.g. social media earnings), a portion of their earnings must now be placed into a trust account.
- The statutes strengthen oversight and ensure that minors’ earnings are protected.
Worker right takeaway: If you’re a minor or manage minor workers, these rules guard your earnings and regulate work access more carefully.
Other 2025 Updates Worth Noting
Beyond the headline changes, there are several additional updates under Virginia Labor Laws 2025 worth keeping in mind:
- Employers in Virginia must stay vigilant about background checks, artificial intelligence in hiring, and criminal record access policies. Virginia passed laws limiting how criminal history can be used in employment decisions.
- The Virginia Human Rights Act (VHRA) was amended to include ethnic origin as a protected characteristic. That means discrimination claims based on ethnic origin are now explicitly covered.
- The Virginia Employment Commission’s tax rates for unemployment claims may increase in 2025. Notices are expected mid-December.
- Some other proposed bills—such as a more aggressive minimum wage hike to $15 or mandating paid family leave—were vetoed by the governor.
How These Changes Affect You (Worker Rights Summary)?
Here’s a quick breakdown of your rights under Virginia Labor Laws 2025 as a worker:
- Right to minimum wage $12.41/hour (unless exempt).
- Right against unfair non-compete binding if you’re non-exempt.
- Right to civil recourse against employer for intentional misconduct by coworkers.
- Protections for minors’ earnings and work opportunities.
- Anti-discrimination protection by ethnic origin and expanded criminal background safeguards.
What Employers Must Do (Implications for Business)
Though your focus is likely your rights, it’s useful to know what employers must adjust:
- Review all employment contracts, especially non-competition, to ensure compliance post–July 1, 2025.
- Update workplace notice postings with summaries or copies of the new non-compete rule.
- Adjust payrolls to ensure no employee falls below $12.41/hour.
- Assess liability exposure in high-risk roles and strengthen compliance.
- Revise recruitment, screening, and background check policies to align with new legal limits.
- Monitor unfolding wage indexing and adjust annually.
Conclusion
Virginia Labor Laws 2025 usher in meaningful reform designed to bolster worker rights across the Commonwealth. The key changes under Virginia Labor Laws 2025—notably the wage hike, broader restrictions on non-competes, expanded employer liability, and enhanced protections for minors—reflect a shift toward greater fairness for workers. As 2025 rolls on, staying informed and asserting those rights is important.
Read Related Articles:
California State Employee Labor Laws
