Virginia Raises the Minimum Wage and Restricts Use of Non-Competes

Summary — Virginia lawmakers are advancing employment law changes, including major restrictions on non-compete agreements (now largely banned unless tied to defined severance) and a scheduled minimum wage increase to $15 by 2028. Additional updates expand youth apprenticeships and protect volunteer emergency responders.

This year marks the first time since 2021 that Virginia Democrats have full control of the levers of government, and their legislative agenda reflects this sea change. The employment law space is no exception. Indeed, House Bill 1 was a bill to increase the Commonwealth’s minimum wage to $15 per hour, signaling that this would be a legislative session focused on helping Virginia’s employees. In all, the General Assembly drafted 30 individual bills addressing various employment law issues. 

So far, Governor Spanberger has signed or approved some of these bills and returned others to the General Assembly with recommended amendments. It is widely anticipated that all the employment-related bills sent to her desk will eventually become law, including bills mandating paid family and medical leave and paid sick leave. We will provide a future client alert when these bills are signed. 

Here are the key employment laws that have been signed or unopposed by Governor Spanberger to date:

Non-Competes Curtailed

Presently, Virginia bans non-compete agreements for workers earning less than $1,507.01 per week, which the statute defines as “low-wage employees”. Similarly, non-compete agreements are banned for non-exempt workers who are eligible for overtime. Additionally, low-wage employees may only be subject to customer non-solicitation provisions that make clear it is not prohibiting the employee from providing services to a customer who initiates contact.

As of July 1, 2026, all non-compete agreements—regardless of the employee’s wage or industry—are banned unless the employer promises to provide a severance package when the worker leaves employment. Thus, valid non-competes are now contingent upon severance benefits. Importantly, to be enforceable, the non-compete agreement must articulate the severance benefit to which the employee will be entitled; in other words, the severance package must be defined up front. Employers are not required to pay a severance benefit if an employee is discharged for cause, however, and the statute does not explain what behavior would constitute termination “for cause.” Further, pursuant to a recent Court of Appeals of Virginia decision, this law also bans covenants prohibiting the solicitation or hiring of fellow employees.

It is also widely expected that non-compete agreements for health care professionals will be banned entirely soon. One notable bill sent to Governor Spanberger proposes to prohibit non-compete agreements for all health care professionals in Virginia. The bill broadly defines “health care professionals” as any person licensed, registered, or certified by the Board of Medicine, Nursing, Counseling, Optometry, Psychology, or Social Work. The Governor returned the bill to the General Assembly with minor recommended amendments. These amendments may delay the bill’s entry for a few weeks, but it is widely expected to become law soon. We will continue to monitor this proposed legislation and report on its outcome.

Minimum Wage Increase

This is the most straightforward of all the bills to pass. In 2020, the General Assembly passed a law that increased the minimum wage gradually from the federal $7.50 per hour to $12.00 per hour by 2023. Thereafter, the minimum wage was set to rise to the greater of the federal minimum wage or what was deemed the “adjusted state hourly minimum wage,” which was tied to the Consumer Price Index. 

As of January 1, 2026, Virginia’s minimum wage was $12.77 per hour. Per this new law, that will increase to $13.75 on January 1, 2027, then to $15.00 on January 1, 2028. It will then increase based on a similar formula tied to the Consumer Price Index.

Culinary and Information Technology Apprenticeships

Virginia high school students aged 16 years or older are now permitted to participate in culinary or information technology apprenticeships, provided that (a) the child is continuously enrolled in school with a letter of support from a school official, (b) the child is employed in a work-training program, and (c) the child is a registered apprentice. To commence a registered apprenticeship, employer and apprentice must enter a written agreement, and the agreement must be approved by the Commissioner of the Department of Workforce Development and Advancement. 

As with traditional employees, apprenticeships are subject to the federal Fair Labor Standards Act and Virginia Occupational Safety and Health Program (VOSH), and apprentices must be paid no less than the highest applicable minimum wage. 

Volunteer Emergency Response Leave

Under this law, employers generally must permit employees to participate in volunteer fire department or volunteer emergency medical services during work hours. If an employee is a volunteer emergency responder and fails to report to work due to assisting with an emergency, the employer may not penalize or take any other retaliatory action against the employee. However, the employee must (a) provide at least an hour’s notice that he or she will be absent or late due to an emergency and (b) must provide both a copy of the incident report and a certification that the employee was indeed rendering emergency services. Employers are not required to pay employees for the missed work time, but employees must be permitted to use any accrued paid sick leave or other accrued applicable paid leave. Notably, this new law does not apply to employees deemed essential by contract or statute.

As noted above, there are additional employment-related bills that are pending action on the Governor’s recommended amendments. We will report on the status and contents of those bills once the General Assembly has acted on the amendments.