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.
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Superintendent of Public Instruction; UrbanTeacher Fund and Program; established. Establishes the Urban Teacher Fund and Program, to be administered by the Superintendentof Public Instruction, for the purpose of providing grants to personsemployed in urban school divisions with teacher shortages who remain employed by the urban school division for a period of at least fiveyears.
Virginia Minimum Wage Act; exclusions. Eliminates the exclusion in the Virginia Minimum Wage Act for persons whose employment is covered by the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and for persons whose earning capacity is impaired by physical deficiency, mental illness, or intellectual disability. The measure also exempts, until July 1, 2024, from the Virginia Minimum Wage Act any person who is paid pursuant to a special certificate that provides for the employment of individuals whose earning or productive capacity is impaired by age, physical or mental deficiency, or injury at wages lower than the minimum wage otherwise required by the FLSA.
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.
Virginia Minimum Wage Act; exclusions. Eliminatesthe exclusion in the Virginia Minimum Wage Act for persons whoseemployment is covered by the federal Fair Labor Standards Act of1938 (FLSA) and for persons whose earning capacity is impaired byphysical deficiency, mental illness, or intellectual disability.The measure also exempts, until July 1, 2024, from the Virginia MinimumWage Act any person who is paid pursuant to a special certificatethat provides for the employment of individuals whose earning orproductive capacity is impaired by age, physical or mental deficiency,or injury at wages lower than the minimum wage otherwise requiredby the FLSA.
Bail; data collection and reporting standards;report. Requires the Department of Criminal Justice Services to (i) collect data relating to bail determinations for any person whois held in custody pending trial or hearing for an offense, civilor criminal contempt or otherwise, in every locality; (ii) createa uniform reporting mechanism for criminal justice agencies to submitsuch data; and (iii) submit an annual report on the data collectedto the Governor and the General Assembly, as well as publish theannual report on the Department's website. The bill also providesthat the law addressing bail is to be construed so as to give effect to a general presumption in favor of pretrial release. The bill alsorequires the Department to report to the House Committee for Courtsof Justice by January 1, 2021, on the development and application of the uniform reporting mechanisms. The bill has a delayed effectivedate of July 1, 2021, for provisions related to the creation ofuniform reporting mechanisms and data collection by the Department.
Orders of restitution; enforcement. Provides that an order of restitution shall be docketed in the name of the Commonwealth on behalf of a victim and that the clerk of such court, prior to satisfaction of the judgment and upon written request of the victim, shall enter a judgment in the victim's favor for the amount of unpaid restitution, remove from its automated financial system the amount of unpaid restitution, and record a release of any judgment for restitution previously entered in favor of the Commonwealth on behalf of the victim.
State plan for medical assistance; doulas. Directs the Board of Medical Assistance Services to amend the state plan for medical assistance services to include a provision for the payment of medical assistance for antepartum, intrapartum, and postpartum services provided to a pregnant person by a doula, including services for labor and delivery support and at least four visits during the antenatal period and seven visits during the postpartum period. The bill also directs the Department of Medical Assistance Services to conduct a rate study to determine appropriate reimbursement rates for doula services provided to Medicaid recipients and to report its findings to the Governor and the General Assembly by December 1, 2020.
Application of parole statutes. Repealsthe abolition of parole. The bill also provides that the Virginia Parole Board shall establish procedures for consideration of parolefor persons who were previously ineligible for parole, because parolewas abolished, to allow for an extension of time for reasonable cause.
Virginia Fair Housing Law; unlawful discriminatory housing practices. Provides that it is an unlawful discriminatory housing practice for any political jurisdiction or its employees or appointed commissions to discriminate in the application of local land use ordinances or guidelines, or in the permitting of housing developments, on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, elderliness, familial status, or handicap. The bill also provides that it is an unlawful discriminatory housing practice for any political jurisdiction or its employees or appointed commissions to discriminate in the application of local land use ordinances or guidelines, or in the permitting of housing developments, because a housing development contains or is expected to contain affordable housing units occupied or intended for occupancy by families or individuals with incomes at or below 80 percent of the median income of the area where the housing development is located or is proposed to be located, unless the location of a development or proposed development is, at the time of municipal decision, within a census tract wherein more than 50 percent of the residential units house families or individuals at or below 80 percent of the area median income. The provisions of the bill are contingent on funding in a general appropriation act.