Labor & Employment

signed · Virginia · Senate Apr 13, 2026

SB 771: Workers' compensation; burial expenses, annual adjustment.

Workers' compensation; burial expenses; annual adjustment. Increases from $10,000 to $15,000 the amount required to be paid by an employer under workers' compensation provisions for burial expenses. The bill directs the Commissioner of the Virginia Workers' Compensation Commission to adjust the amount of burial expenses and reasonable transportation expenses required to be paid by an employer by a percentage equivalent to the percentage increase of the United States Average Consumer Price Index published by the U.S. Department of Labor beginning January 1, 2028, and annually thereafter.

Topics ✓ Labor & EmploymentSupports Labor & EmploymentIncreases workers' compensation burial benefits from $10k to $15k, strengthening financial protection for workers' families under labor benefits.95% confidence | Rep's Stance ✓ Voted Yes ✓ Supports Labor & Employment

signed · Virginia · House of Delegates Apr 13, 2026

HB 426: Workers' compensation; employer's offset in event of recovery.

Workers' compensation; employer's offset in event of recovery. Amends provisions related to an employer's offset for recovery in certain actions brought under the Virginia Workers' Compensation Act. The bill requires that lifetime medical award benefits and ongoing indemnity award benefits shall remain in full force and effect if the claimant is under such an award at the time that recovery is effected, subject to the employer offset provisions. Under the bill, an employer's credit shall be applied as a continuing, pro rata reduction to benefits otherwise payable under an existing award until the employer's required credit is exhausted. The bill also removes language limiting an employee's entitlement to compensation and expenses for medical, surgical, and hospital attention and funeral expenses.

Topics ✓ HealthcareSupports HealthcareBill ensures ongoing medical benefits for workers' comp claimants remain intact during third-party recovery, protecting healthcare access and preventing benefit reduction.90% confidence ✓ Labor & EmploymentSupports Labor & EmploymentEnsures workers' compensation benefits remain fully effective despite employer recovery offsets, protecting claimant entitlements under Virginia Workers' Compensation Act.95% confidence | Rep's Stance ✓ Voted Yes ✓ Supports Labor & Employment

signed · Virginia · House of Delegates Apr 13, 2026

HB 647: Teaching Experience; regulations Governing Allowable Credit.

Board of Education; Regulations Governing Allowable Credit for Teaching Experience; certain credit substitution allowance permitted. Requires the Board of Education to amend its regulations to provide that teachers in the field of career and technical education, where the licensure requirement calls for occupational work experience beyond the apprenticeship level, may be allowed salary placement credit for one year of teaching experience for each one or two years of work experience. The bill satisfies the reenactment requirement of Chapter 677 of the Acts of Assembly of 2025.

Topics ✓ EducationSupports EducationAllows CTE teachers credit for occupational experience in salary placement, supporting educator compensation and retention within teacher regulations.90% confidence ✓ Labor & EmploymentSupports Labor & EmploymentBill allows credit for occupational work experience in career/technical education for salary placement, directly increasing compensation for teachers. This supports wage standards under Labor & Employment.85% confidence | Rep's Stance ✓ Voted Yes ✓ Supports Labor & Employment

vetoed · Virginia · Senate Apr 11, 2026

SB 128: Covenants not to compete; includes health care professionals, civil penalty.

Covenants not to compete; health care professionals; civil penalty. Adds health care professionals as a category of employee with or upon whom no employer shall enter into, enforce, or threaten to enforce a covenant not to compete. The bill defines "health care professional" as any person licensed, registered, or certified by the Board of Medicine, Nursing, Counseling, Optometry, Psychology, or Social Work. The bill provides that any employer that violates the prohibition against covenants not to compete with a health care professional is subject to the civil penalty in current law of $10,000 for each violation. This bill is identical to HB 627.

Topics ✓ HealthcareSupports HealthcareProhibits non-compete agreements for healthcare professionals, enhancing workforce mobility and access to care without restrictive employment terms.95% confidence ✓ Labor & EmploymentSupports Labor & EmploymentProhibits non-compete clauses for health care professionals, protecting their right to change employers without legal barriers, advancing worker rights.95% confidence | Rep's Stance ✓ Voted Yes ✓ Supports Labor & Employment

Track

vetoed · Virginia · House of Delegates Apr 11, 2026

HB 627: Covenants not to compete; includes health care professionals, civil penalty.

Covenants not to compete; health care professionals; civil penalty. Adds health care professionals as a category of employee with or upon whom no employer shall enter into, enforce, or threaten to enforce a covenant not to compete. The bill defines "health care professional" as any person licensed, registered, or certified by the Board of Medicine, Nursing, Counseling, Optometry, Psychology, or Social Work. The bill provides that any employer that violates the prohibition against covenants not to compete with a health care professional is subject to the civil penalty in current law of $10,000 for each violation. This bill is identical to SB 128.

Topics ✓ HealthcareSupports HealthcareProhibits non-competes for healthcare professionals, protecting their employment mobility and enhancing workforce access to patients, aligning with patient access and professional rights indicators.92% confidence ✓ Labor & EmploymentSupports Labor & EmploymentProhibits non-compete clauses for health care professionals, protecting their right to seek employment without legal restriction, directly advancing workers' rights in employment.95% confidence | Rep's Stance ✓ Voted Yes ✓ Supports Labor & Employment

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signed · Virginia · House of Delegates Apr 8, 2026

HB 1313: Workers' compensation; law-enforcement officers and firefighters, post-traumatic stress disorder.

Workers' compensation. Provides that, for the purposes of workers' compensation for post-traumatic stress disorder incurred by a law-enforcement officer or firefighter, an incident or exposure without any accompanying physical injury occurring in the line of duty on or after January 1, 2027, is a qualifying event, as defined in the bill. The bill has a delayed effective date of January 1, 2027.

Topics ✓ HealthcareSupports HealthcareExpands workers' compensation coverage for mental health conditions (PTSD, anxiety, depression) in first responders, strengthening access to healthcare for job-related mental health exacerbations.95% confidence ✓ Labor & EmploymentSupports Labor & EmploymentExpands workers' compensation benefits for law-enforcement/firefighters with work-exacerbated mental health conditions, strengthening protections under Labor & Employment.95% confidence | Rep's Stance ✓ Voted Yes ✓ Supports Labor & Employment

signed · Virginia · House of Delegates Apr 8, 2026

HB 488: Wage garnishment; state tax debt.

Wage garnishment; state tax debt. Provides that the maximum part of the aggregate disposable earnings of an individual for any workweek that is subject to garnishment to collect delinquent taxes and charges owed to the state government shall not exceed the lesser of (i) 25 percent of such individual's disposable earnings for that week or (ii) the amount by which such individual's disposable earnings exceed 40 times the federal or Virginia minimum wage, whichever is greater. The bill also directs the Department of Taxation to recognize Currently Not Collectible status granted by the Internal Revenue Service and to offer taxpayers with such status a similar Virginia status with comparable protections from collection activities. The bill contains technical amendments and has a delayed effective date of July 1, 2027.

Topics ✓ Labor & EmploymentSupports Labor & EmploymentBill caps wage garnishment at 25% or 40x min wage, protecting workers' disposable earnings from excessive deductions per labor rights focus.95% confidence | Rep's Stance ✓ Voted Yes ✓ Supports Labor & Employment

signed · Virginia · House of Delegates Apr 6, 2026

HB 209: Peer recovery specialists; VDH & DOC to develop guidelines for hiring.

Department of Health; Department of Corrections; peer recovery specialists. Directs the Virginia Department of Health and the Virginia Department of Corrections to develop agency guidelines for hiring peer recovery specialists with previous criminal convictions for compensated employment. As introduced, this bill was a recommendation of the Joint Commission on Health Care. This bill is identical to SB 608.

Topics ✓ Criminal JusticeSupports Criminal JusticeDirects VDH/DOC to develop hiring guidelines for peer recovery specialists with criminal convictions, promoting rehabilitation and reintegration in corrections, aligning with criminal justice reform indicators.90% confidence ✓ HealthcareSupports HealthcareDirects VDH/DOC to develop hiring guidelines for peer recovery specialists, expanding access to mental health support services through workforce inclusion.95% confidence ✓ Labor & EmploymentSupports Labor & EmploymentDirects guidelines for hiring individuals with criminal convictions as peer recovery specialists, expanding employment opportunities for a marginalized group within state agencies.85% confidence | Rep's Stance ✓ Voted Yes ✓ Supports Labor & Employment

signed · Virginia · House of Delegates Apr 6, 2026

HB 849: Public school employees; suspension, notice and opportunity for a hearing.

Public school employees; suspension; notice and opportunity for a hearing. Provides that no school board employee shall be suspended without notice and, if applicable, an opportunity to be heard and amends current law to require any individual who has been so suspended, regardless of the length of the suspension, to continue to receive his then applicable salary unless and until the school board, after a hearing, determines otherwise. Under current law, such requirement only applies to any individual who has been suspended for a period in excess of five days.

Topics ✓ EducationSupports EducationBill mandates due process for school employee suspensions, ensuring continued salary and hearing rights, directly protecting educator job security and fair treatment in K-12 education.95% confidence ✓ Labor & EmploymentSupports Labor & EmploymentRequires school boards to provide notice, hearing, and continued pay during suspension, protecting due process rights for public school employees.90% confidence | Rep's Stance ✓ Voted Yes ✓ Supports Labor & Employment

signed · Virginia · House of Delegates Apr 6, 2026

HB 1333: Paid firefighters; hours of work.

Hours of work for paid firefighters. Provides that the Department of Fire Programs shall encourage employers to implement work schedules that do not require any paid firefighter's normally scheduled shifts to exceed 42 hours per workweek.

Topics ✓ Labor & EmploymentSupports Labor & EmploymentBill caps firefighter workweeks at 42 hours to prevent excessive hours, directly advancing workplace safety protections under Labor & Employment policies.95% confidence | Rep's Stance ✓ Voted Yes ✓ Supports Labor & Employment