Virginia Equal Pay Act; civil penalties. Prohibits public and private employers from discriminating between employees on the basis of membership in a protected class in the payment of wages or other compensation, including benefits, by paying wages or other compensation to employees who are members of a protected class at a rate less than the rate at which it pays wages or other compensation to employees who are not members of the protected class for substantially similar work. The measure also prohibits an employer from discriminating between employees by providing less favorable employment opportunities on the basis of membership in a protected class, limiting an employee's right to discuss wages, relying on the wage history of a prospective employee in considering the prospective employee for employment or determining the wages that the prospective employee is to be paid by the employer upon hire, or taking certain retaliatory actions against an employee. The measure also establishes criteria for when wage differentials between employees are permitted, but requires an employer to (i) provide a prospective employee with the wage range for the position for which the prospective employee is applying upon request or prior to inquiring about the prospective employee's wage expectations or providing an offer of compensation and (ii) maintain records of the wages and wage rates, job classifications, and other terms and conditions of employment for a period of three years. The measure gives an employee who is the subject of a violation a right of action to recover, for certain violations, the greater of compensatory damages or $10,000, liquidated damages, punitive damages, and attorney fees. Violations are also subject to civil penalties.
Sponsored bills
Celebrating the life of the Honorable BernardS. Cohen.
Celebrating the life of the Honorable AugustusBenton Chafin, Jr.
Paid family and medical leave program. Requiresthe Virginia Employment Commission to establish and administer apaid family and medical leave program with benefits beginning January1, 2024. Under the program, benefits are paid to eligible employeesfor family and medical leave. Funding for the program is providedthrough premiums assessed to employers and employees beginning in2023. The amount of a benefit is 80 percent of the employee's averageweekly wage, not to exceed 80 percent of the state weekly wage, which amount is required to be adjusted annually to reflect changesin the statewide average weekly wage. The measure caps the durationof paid leave at 12 weeks in any application year. The bill provides self-employed individuals the option of participating in the program.
Commending the Honorable Bruce D. White.
Commending the Honorable Kimberly J. Daniel.
Commending the Honorable Janine M. Saxe.
Juvenile community correctional centers andfacilities; establishment; placement of juveniles. Changes theterm "juvenile correctional centers and facilities" to "juvenile community correctional centers and facilities." The bill furtherprovides that any juvenile community correctional center establishedafter July 1, 2020, shall (i) be located within a locality in whichat least five percent of all juvenile commitments occur statewide,using an average of the rate of commitments of the three most recentconsecutive years, and (ii) be designed to confine 30 juveniles orfewer. The bill also states that the Department of Juvenile Justiceshall place children at the juvenile community correctional centerlocated closest to their primary residence and within one hour ofsuch residence via motor vehicle and within one and one-half hoursof such residence via public transportation. If such placement isnot available, the Department shall use an alternative placementthat is closest to the juvenile's primary residence, such as a localjuvenile detention center. Under current law, the Department may place such children at such facilities as are available.
Death penalty executions; moratorium. Imposesa moratorium on executions. The bill does not affect any other matterof law related to the death penalty, including bringing and tryingcapital charges, sentencing proceedings, imposition of the deathpenalty, appeals of the death penalty, and habeas review. The moratorium will remain in effect until adjournment of the first regular sessionof the General Assembly after a joint subcommittee established pursuantto a joint resolution passed by the 2020 General Assembly conductsa study of the death penalty in the Commonwealth and issues a reportof its conclusions and recommendations.
Virginia Equal Pay Act; civil penalties. Prohibitspublic and private employers from discriminating between employees on the basisof membership in a protected class in the payment of wages or other compensation,including benefits, by paying wages or other compensation to employees who aremembers of a protected class at a rate less than the rate at which it payswages or other compensation to employees who are not members of the protectedclass for substantially similar work. The measure also prohibits an employerfrom (i) discriminating between employees by providing less favorableemployment opportunities on the basis of membership in a protected class, (ii)limiting an employee's right to discuss wages, (iii) relying on the wagehistory of a prospective employee in considering the prospective employee foremployment or determining the wages that the prospective employee is to be paidby the employer upon hire, or (iv) taking certain retaliatory actions againstan employee. The measure also establishes criteria for when wage differentialsbetween employees are permitted. The measure requires employers to (a) providea prospective employee with the wage range for the position for which theprospective employee is applying upon request or prior to inquiring about theprospective employee's wage expectations or providing an offer of compensationand (b) maintain records of the wages and wage rates, job classifications, andother terms and conditions of employment for a period of three years. Themeasure gives an employee who is the subject of a violation a right of actionto recover, for certain violations, the greater of compensatory damages or$10,000, liquidated damages, punitive damages, and attorney fees. Violationsare also subject to civil penalties.