Virginia: Pay transparency law goes into effect July 1, 2026

At a glance

• Virginia’s new pay transparency law (SB 215) takes effect on July 1, 2026, requiring employers to include a good-faith salary or wage range in all public and internal job postings.
• The requirement applies to external hires, promotions, and internal transfers, increasing transparency around compensation opportunities.
• Employers are prohibited from seeking, relying on, or using an applicant’s salary history when making hiring or compensation decisions, subject to limited exceptions for voluntary disclosures.
• The law creates a private right of action for applicants and employees and permits civil penalties for non-compliance, although employers may avoid liability for posting violations if they correct them within 15 business days of written notice.
• The legislation forms part of a broader package of employee-friendly reforms in Virginia, including new paid sick leave requirements and expanded restrictions on non-compete agreements.

SB 215 takes effect July 1, 2026. Beginning on that date, Virginia employers must include in every public or internal job posting a good faith wage or salary range (defined as the minimum and maximum wage or salary for the position). This requirement applies to new hires, promotions, and internal transfers. Additionally, SB 215 prohibits employers from (1) seeking a prospective employee’s wage or salary history, (2) relying on this history in considering the prospective employee for employment, and (3) relying on this history in determining the wages or salary to be paid upon hire (subject to limited exceptions for voluntary disclosure, addressed below). This ban applies to both external candidates and current employees seeking new roles. In addition to civil penalties, SB 215 creates a private right of action for applicants and employees to sue for violations; however, for posting violations, an employer that corrects the noncompliant posting within 15 business days of receiving written notice is shielded from private suit on that posting.

The salary history ban does not prevent a prospective employee from voluntarily disclosing their wage or salary history, including for the purpose of negotiating compensation. If a prospective employee voluntarily provides salary history employer prompting, the employer may rely on it only to support a wage or salary higher than its initial offer, and only to the extent consistent with applicable law. The law also prohibits employers from refusing to interview, hire, employ, or promote, or otherwise retaliating against, any prospective or current employee who declines to provide salary history or who requests a particular wage or salary range.

Virginia’s pay transparency law is part of a broader wave of employee-friendly legislation in the Commonwealth, which also includes new restrictions on non-competition agreements (including a ban on such agreements for most health care workers) and a paid sick leave mandate.