On April 22, 2026, Virginia enacted legislation establishing a statewide paid family and medical leave (PFML) insurance program. The program, which will be administered by the Virginia Employment Commission (VEC), will begin collecting payroll contributions on April 1, 2028, and will begin accepting applications for benefits on December 1, 2028. The legislation significantly expands access to paid family and medical leave in the commonwealth and will impose new obligations on employers once it becomes effective.
Virginia Enacts New Restrictions on the Use of Noncompetes
Employers will soon be obligated to provide employees with severance benefits if they want to have an enforceable noncompete in Virginia and they also will be prohibited from entering into noncompetes with health care professionals, except in connection with the sale of a business. These obligations and several other new restrictions are part of Senate Bill 170 and House Bill 627, landmark legislation recently passed by the General Assembly and slated to take effect on July 1, 2026.
Changes to Virginia’s Noncompete Statute
Effective July 1, new legislation will take effect in Virginia imposing further restrictions on the use of covenants not to compete and prohibiting their use for employees who are eligible to receive overtime pay under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), i.e., non-exempt employees.