Prevailing wage rate for public works contracts; localities. Requires each state agency or locality, when procuring services or letting contracts for public works paid for in whole or in part by state or local funds, or when overseeing or administering such contracts for public works, to ensure that its bid specifications or other public contracts applicable to the public works require bidders, offerors, contractors, and subcontractors to pay wages, salaries, benefits, and other remuneration to any mechanic, laborer, or worker employed, retained, or otherwise hired to perform services in connection with the public contract for public works at a rate no less than the prevailing wage rate. The bill also amends the definition of "public works" to include work performed at certain institutions of higher education and to exclude work performed at a non-governmental property or facility used to provide broadband or other telecommunications services. Under the bill, a contractor or subcontractor may be liable to the Commissioner of Labor and Industry for liquidated damages for violating the prevailing wage requirements in the bill. Under the bill, any interested party shall have standing to challenge bid specifications, project agreements, or other public contracts for public works that violate the provisions of the bill. The bill requires institutions of higher education to expressly agree to comply with the public works contract requirements. Under the bill, the Commissioner shall determine the prevailing wage based on a survey of wages and benefits paid in each area, as defined in the bill, conducted every two years. The bill includes factors for the Commissioner to consider in determining a prevailing wage rate. The bill directs the Commissioner to adopt emergency regulations to implement the provisions of the bill. This bill incorporates SB 370 and is identical to HB 569.
Protection of employees; covenants not to compete; discharged employees. Provides that no covenant not to compete, as such term is defined in existing law, between an employer and an employee is enforceable if such employer discharges such employee from employment without providing severance benefits or other monetary payment to such employee that is disclosed upon execution of the covenant not to compete, unless the employee is discharged for cause. This bill incorporates SB 569.
Protection of employees; standards for heat illness prevention; Safety and Health Codes Board. Requires the Safety and Health Codes Board (the Board) to adopt regulations designed to protect workers from heat illness, as defined in the bill, during indoor and outdoor work. The bill provides that such regulations shall be enforced by the Board's existing authority. The bill directs the Board, in consultation with the Department of Labor and Industry, to develop and adopt regulations that require employers to implement heat illness prevention plans and to convene an advisory panel to assist in developing such regulations. This bill is identical to HB 1092.
Private companies providing public transportation services; employee protections; report. Requires the governing body of any county or city that contracts with a private company to provide transportation services to (i) require such company to provide any employee of such company providing such services compensation and benefits that are, at a minimum, equivalent to the compensation and benefits provided to a public employee, as defined in the bill, with a position requiring equivalent qualifications and years of service; (ii) provide transportation services through such company's own employees; and (iii) if such county or city subsequently elects to provide its own system of public transportation, adopt an ordinance or resolution providing for collective bargaining and ensure all employees of such private company are offered employment with such subsequent public transportation system without loss of compensation or benefits. The bill clarifies that the bill only applies to actions occurring on or after the effective date and excludes any action taken, contract signed, liability incurred, or right accrued prior to July 1, 2026, from the requirements. Finally, the bill directs the Director of the Department of Rail and Public Transportation to convene a work group to develop recommendations on how to implement the provisions of the bill and requires the work group to report its findings and recommendations to the Chairs of the House Committee on Labor and Commerce and Senate Committee on Local Government by November 1, 2026. This bill is identical to HB 547.
Unemployment benefits; increase weekly benefit amount. Provides that, for unemployment compensation claims effective on or after July 1, 2026, an eligible individual's weekly benefit amount shall be $48 higher than the current weekly benefit amount, as denoted in the table in the printed bill. This bill is identical to HB 1320.
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.
Employment; paid sick leave; civil penalties; civil actions. Requires one hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours worked for all employees of private employers and state and local governments, with certain exceptions. The bill requires that employees who are employed and compensated on a fee-for-service basis accrue paid sick leave in accordance with regulations adopted by the Commissioner of Labor and Industry. The bill provides that employees transferred to a separate division or location remain entitled to previously accrued paid sick leave and that employees retain their accrued paid sick leave under any successor employer. The bill allows employers to provide a more generous paid sick leave policy than prescribed by its provisions and specifies that employees, in addition to using paid sick leave for their physical or mental illness or to care for a family member, may use paid sick leave to seek or obtain certain services or to relocate or secure an existing home due to domestic abuse, sexual assault, or stalking. The bill requires the Commissioner to promulgate regulations for the implementation and enforcement of the bill's provisions by July 1, 2027. The bill authorizes the Commissioner, in the case of a knowing violation, to subject an employer to a civil penalty not to exceed $150 for the first violation, $300 for the second violation, and $500 for each successive violation. The Commissioner or Attorney General may commence administrative proceedings or bring a civil action to enforce the bill's provisions. Additionally, the bill authorizes an aggrieved employee to bring a civil action against the employer in which he may recover double the amount of any unpaid sick leave and the amount of any actual damages suffered as the result of the employer's violation. Certain provisions of the bill have a delayed effective date of July 1, 2027. This bill incorporates SB 372 and is identical to HB 5.
Unemployment insurance; benefit eligibility conditions; lockout exception to labor dispute disqualification. Amends the Virginia Unemployment Compensation Act's labor dispute disqualification provision to provide that a lockout by an employer shall not constitute a labor dispute and that locked-out employees who are otherwise eligible for benefits shall receive such benefits unless (i) the recognized or certified collective bargaining representative of the locked-out employees refuses to meet under reasonable conditions with the employer to discuss the issues giving rise to the lockout, (ii) there is a final adjudication under the federal National Labor Relations Act that such representative has refused to bargain in good faith with the employer, or (iii) the lockout is the direct result of such representative's violation of an existing collective bargaining agreement.
Railroad safety; minimum train crew; movement of freight. Requires a crew of at least two qualified individuals on all trains, locomotives, or light engines used in connection with moving freight except in use for hostler or utility service. The bill requires the State Corporation Commission to include in an existing report the number of probable violations of federal regulations related to railroad safety investigated by the Commission's Division of Utility and Railroad Safety and reported to the Federal Railroad Administration for enforcement. This bill is identical to HB 25.
Virginia Human Rights Act; procedures for a charge of unlawful discrimination. Provides that, for the purposes of nondiscrimination in places of public accommodation, "place of public accommodation" includes educational institutions. The bill reduces from 15 to five the number of employees in the definition of "employer" for purposes of nondiscrimination in employment. The bill also amends from 300 days to two years the timeframe for filing a complaint alleging unlawful discrimination with the Office of the Attorney General.
