ROLLOUT of VA Wage Protection Efforts

Rollout of Virginia’s Wage Protection Efforts

Recent announcements from Secretary of Labor and the Attorney General provide an indication of future statewide enforcement efforts as enhanced worker protection laws go into effect in Virginia.

Virginia’s 2026 worker protection legislation significantly increased employer exposure for wage violations, including worker misclassification, and we are starting to see the Commonwealth moving toward building the implementation and enforcement infrastructure to match. On September 15, 2026, the office of the Virginia Secretary of Labor submitted the Wage Protection Division Implementation Plan to the General Assembly. The plan describes how the Virginia Department of Labor and Industry (DOLI) will implement and staff the enforcement efforts.

The Secretary of Labor’s report follows Attorney General Jay Jones’ press release in August announcing the creation of the Worker Protection Unit within the Attorney General’s office, which will investigate matters referred by DOLI and other partners, and will undertake independent investigations as authorized by law.

As part of Virginia’s implementation efforts, DOLI is in the process of hiring and training an additional 20 investigators, who will join its four current investigators and support a more proactive approach to enforcement. The following excerpt is from a current job listing on jobs.virginia.gov for a Wage Protection Investigator.

Responsibilities include:

• Conducting investigations to determine employer compliance with Virginia’s worker protection laws including properly paying workers and affording them their rights as required by the law.
• Helping ensure that law-abiding employers are not undercut by employers who violate the law.
• Promoting compliance through outreach and public education initiatives.
• Supporting efforts to combat worker retaliation and worker misclassification as independent contractors.
• Protecting young workers.
• Conducting comprehensive investigations, issuing findings, reaching compliance agreements, and resolving cases at the administrative level, and sometimes through court proceedings.

Now is the time for employers and companies to review worker classifications and employment practices, and ensure documentation is complete and current. For actions to recover wage errors commenced on or after July 1, 2026, Virginia provides a limited “good faith” defense to additional damages and penalties. This defense is not automatic. The employer must show that the act or omission occurred in good faith, that the employer had reasonable grounds for believing the practice complied with Virginia law, and that the employer paid all unlawfully withheld wages within 14 days after receiving notice of the violation. The cure does not eliminate the underlying wage obligation. For a misclassification claim, this good faith defense may limit certain additional wage-law damages or penalties, but it does not validate the classification or necessarily resolve separate tax, unemployment, workers’ compensation, or federal wage law consequences.

Va Code Ann. § 40.1-29(P). Time and medium of payment; withholding wages; written statement of earnings; agreement for forfeiture of wages; proceedings to enforce compliance; penalties.

P. In any action to recover unpaid wages commenced on or after July 1, 2026, if the employer shows to the satisfaction of the court or the Commissioner that the act or omission giving rise to such action was in good faith and that the employer had reasonable grounds for believing that his act or omission was not in violation of this article, the court or the Commissioner shall not award any additional damages or impose any additional penalties. An employer shall not claim the good faith defense unless such employer cures the violation within 14 days of being notified of the violation by paying all wages unlawfully withheld.