Prospective employer; prohibited from seeking wage or salary history of prospective employees.
Summary
Prohibiting employer seeking wage or salary history of prospective employees; wage or salary range transparency; cause of action. Prohibits a prospective employer from (i) seeking the wage or salary history of a prospective employee; (ii) relying on the wage or salary history of a prospective employee in considering the prospective employee for employment; (iii) relying on the wage or salary history of a prospective employee in determining the wages or salary the prospective employee is to be paid upon hire; (iv) refusing to interview, hire, employ, or promote or otherwise retaliating against a prospective or current employee for not providing wage or salary history or requesting a wage or salary range; (v) failing or refusing to disclose in each public and internal posting for each job, promotion, transfer, or other employment opportunity the wage, salary, or wage or salary range; and (vi) failing to set a wage or salary range in good faith. The bill establishes a cause of action for an aggrieved prospective employee or employee and provides that an employer that violates such prohibitions is liable to the aggrieved prospective employee or employee for statutory damages between $1,000 and $10,000 or actual damages, whichever is greater, reasonable attorney fees and costs, and any other legal and equitable relief as may be appropriate. This bill incorporates HB 1164 and is identical to SB 215.
Bill status
vetoed
4 of 5 stages cleared
Introduction
Jan 2026
Committee Review
Mar 2026
House of Delegates Passage
Mar 2026
Senate Passage
Mar 2026
Vetoed
Apr 2026
Introduced Jan 13, 2026
Vetoed Apr 13, 2026
Maddy AI version diff · 3 comparisons
What changed between versions
Labor and Commerce Substitute
→
Governor Substitute
·
4 edits
MODERATE
The bill was revised from a House Substitute to a Governor Substitute, shifting the enforcement mechanism from private lawsuits by employees to civil penalties enforced by the Attorney General. The liability structure was significantly altered: the original version allowed employees to sue for statutory damages ($1,000-$10,000) or actual damages, while the new version imposes fixed civil penalties ($1,000 for the first violation, $5,000 for subsequent ones) payable to the state general fund. Additionally, the statute of limitations for filing a private lawsuit was shortened from two years to one year, and the rules for correcting posting violations were clarified to allow any person to provide notice.
ENFORCEMENT
Enforcement authority shifted from individual employees bringing private lawsuits to the Attorney General initiating civil actions.
Liability changed from employee recoverable statutory damages ($1,000-$10,000) to state-collected civil penalties ($1,000 for first violation, $5,000 for subsequent violations).
TIMELINE
The statute of limitations for private lawsuits was reduced from two years to one year.
REQUIREMENT
The process for correcting posting violations was updated to allow any person (not just aggrieved employees) to provide written notice, with the correction period remaining at 15 business days.
Floor votes · Senate Mar 4, 2026 · House of Delegates Feb 16, 2026
How they voted
38–0
Passed · 1 other
Total votes 39
Mar 4, 2026
D
Democratic20
100% Yea
R
Republican19
94% Yea
Vote distribution
All Yea
All Nay
Mixed
No data
Full legislative history
Actions timeline
Total actions
36
Key actions
14
Committee
9
Amendments
3
Apr 13, 2026
Vetoed
Governor's recommendation received by House
executive
Mar 14, 2026
Upper · Passed
Signed by President
upper
Mar 14, 2026
Lower · Passed
Signed by Speaker
lower
Mar 14, 2026
Lower · Passed
Bill text as passed House and Senate (HB636ER)
lower
Mar 9, 2026
Lower · Passed
Senate amendment agreed to by House (63-Y 34-N 0-A)
lower
Mar 5, 2026
Upper · Passed
Passed Senate with amendment (20-Y 19-N 0-A)
upper
Mar 5, 2026
Introduced
Engrossed by Senate as amended
upper
Mar 5, 2026
Upper · Passed
Commerce and Labor Amendment agreed to
upper
Mar 4, 2026
Upper · Passed
Passed by for the day (Voice Vote)
upper
Mar 2, 2026
Upper · Passed
Reported from Commerce and Labor with amendment (8-Y 6-N)
upper
Mar 2, 2026
Upper · Passed
Senate committee offered
upper
Feb 23, 2026
Upper · Passed
Senate committee offered
upper
Feb 17, 2026
Committee
Referred to Committee on Commerce and Labor
upper
Feb 16, 2026
Lower · Passed
Read third time and passed House (65-Y 33-N 0-A)
lower
Feb 10, 2026
Lower · Passed
Reported from Labor and Commerce with substitute (16-Y 6-N)
lower
Feb 5, 2026
Lower · Passed
Subcommittee recommends reporting with amendment(s) (4-Y 2-N)
lower
Feb 5, 2026
Lower · Passed
House subcommittee offered
lower
Jan 20, 2026
Committee
Assigned HCL sub: Subcommittee #2
lower
Jan 13, 2026
Committee
Referred to Committee on Labor and Commerce
lower
1 primary · 17 co-sponsors
Sponsors
Role
Legislator
Party
State
District
P
Michelle Maldonado
DDemocratic
Co
Bonita Anthony
DDemocratic
Co
Cia Price
DDemocratic
Co
Dan Helmer
DDemocratic
Co
Elizabeth Bennett-Parker
DDemocratic
Co
Holly Seibold
DDemocratic
Co
Irene Shin
DDemocratic
Co
J.R. Henson
DDemocratic
Co
Jackie Glass
DDemocratic
Co
Josh Cole
DDemocratic
Co
Kathy Tran
DDemocratic
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