Alyssa's Law; public schools; wearable panic alarm systems permitted. Permits any school board to provide any school board employee in a public elementary or secondary school building in the local school division with a wearable panic alarm system, defined in the bill as a security system that is capable of being worn on the body of the user and by which the user manually activates a device that sends (i) a signal to the local 9-1-1 public safety answering point that indicates a school security emergency that requires immediate response and assistance from such public safety answering point and (ii) a multisensory schoolwide school security emergency notification, when appropriate.
Military leaves of absence for employees of the Commonwealth or political subdivisions; law-enforcement officers. Provides that any person who is employed by the Commonwealth or a political subdivision of the Commonwealth as a law-enforcement officer shall receive paid leaves of absence for up to 388 hours for which a leave of absence is required, during which such person is engaged in federally funded military duty, to include training duty, or is called forth by the Governor for military duty.
Workers' compensation; presumption of compensability for certain cancers. Expands the workers' compensation presumption of compensability for certain cancers causing the death or disability of certain employees who have completed five years of service in their position to include lung cancer and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma for any individual diagnosed with such a condition on or after July 1, 2027.
Unemployment benefits; maximum duration. Provides that, beginning July 1, 2026, for claims effective on or after July 1, 2026, an eligible individual's weekly unemployment compensation benefit amount shall be paid for a maximum duration of 26 weeks.
Labor and employment; nondiscrimination; prohibiting employer seeking wage or salary history of prospective employees; wage or salary range transparency; predictive scheduling for large employers; causes of action; civil penalties. Prohibits an employer, labor organization, employment agency, or joint apprenticeship committee controlling an apprenticeship or other training program to discriminate based on an individual's name or address, if the individual's name or address are used as a proxy for race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions, age, military status, disability, or ethnic or national origin. Additionally, the bill 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 determining the wages or salary the prospective employee is to be paid upon hire; (iii) relying on the wage or salary history of a prospective employee in considering the prospective employee for employment; (iv) refusing to interview, hire, employ, or promote a prospective employee or otherwise retaliating against a prospective employee for not providing wage or salary history; and (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. 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.The bill also requires an employer that is a retail establishment, hospitality establishment, or a food services establishment, including a chain or integrated enterprise, employing 500 or more employees worldwide to provide a written good faith estimate of each new employee's work schedule at the time of hire, to provide 14 days' advanced notice of an employee's work schedule, and to compensate employees for certain employer-requested changes that occur to an employee's work schedule without such advanced notice. The bill prohibits such an employer from scheduling or requiring an employee to work during certain required rest periods and from retaliating against an employee for inquiring about or seeking enforcement of the bill's provisions. The bill permits an employee who is unlawfully discharged, disciplined, threatened, discriminated against, or penalized in violation of its provisions to bring a civil action for certain enumerated remedies. Additionally, the bill subjects an employer who violates any of its provisions to certain civil penalties.
Virginia Economic Development Partnership Authority; Division of Incentives; due diligence for major projects. Requires the due diligence review performed by the Division of Incentives at the Virginia Economic Development Partnership Authority for proposed economic development projects to include whether and to what extent the business involved has executed a labor peace agreement, as defined in the bill, with its employees if the project is a major one for which (i) incentives require a change to the law, (ii) incentives involve cash payments in excess of $3.5 million prior to any performance, or (iii) the aggregate amount of state incentives exceeds $10 million in value.
Labor and employment; payment of wages. Provides that for purposes of requirements under existing law related to the payment of wages by employers, "wages" means all remuneration paid, or that should have been paid, for personal services, including salaries, commissions, bonuses, tips, back pay, dismissal pay, severance pay, and any other payments made by an employer to an employee during his employment and thereafter, and the cash value of all remuneration payable in any medium other than cash. The bill is intended to reverse Groundworks Operations, LLC v. Campbell, No. 241092 (Va. Dec. 30, 2025).
Workers' compensation; presumption for certain cancers; sheriffs and deputy sheriffs. Expands the workers' compensation presumption of compensability for certain cancers causing the death or disability of certain employees who have completed five years of service in their position to include sheriffs or deputy sheriffs.
Virginia Minimum Wage Act; enforcement; penalties. Provides that an employer that violates provisions relating to minimum wage is liable to the employee for the applicable remedies, damages, penalties, and other relief available in a proceeding brought pursuant to the civil action provisions currently available for the nonpayment of wages. Such provisions currently available provide that an employee may bring an action in a court of competent jurisdiction to recover payment of the wages, and the court is required to award the wages owed, an additional equal amount as liquidated damages, plus prejudgment interest thereon, and reasonable attorney fees and costs. Under current law, if the court finds that the employer knowingly failed to pay wages to an employee, the court is required to award the employee an amount equal to triple the amount of wages due and reasonable attorney fees and costs. The bill provides that criminal and civil penalties currently applicable to the nonpayment of wages shall apply to an employer that violates the Virginia Minimum Wage Act.
Workers' compensation; disability of law-enforcement officer; spousal wage replacement; report. Requires the employer of a law-enforcement officer who sustains a line of duty injury, as defined in the bill, to pay or cause to be paid to the spouse of such law-enforcement officer 66 percent of such spouse's average weekly wage during the previous three years, up to 80 percent of the average weekly wage of the Commonwealth, provided that certain requirements are met. The bill directs the Workers' Compensation Commission to establish an application review process for claims for spousal wage replacement pursuant to the bill's provisions by January 1, 2027. Certain provisions of the bill have a delayed effective date of January 1, 2027.
