By: Jayna Genti Companies misclassifying their employees as independent continues to be a hot-button issue throughout the country, and Virginia is no exception. In the last year alone, legislation related to independent contractor misclassification was introduced at the federal level and in at least 20 states. New Jersey and California recently enacted employee misclassification laws, […]
By: Jonathan R. Mook and Colete Fontenot The Virginia General Assembly for the first time in ten years has increased the state’s minimum wage and has established a mechanism to raise the minimum wage in the coming years. Minimum wage workers in Virginia will now see a substantial raise next year, and in the years […]
By: Billy Ruhling Virginia has always allowed you to impose reasonable restrictions on your employees’ ability to compete after the termination of the employment relationship. While this right was not unfettered, you could take steps to protect your business by preventing a former employee from taking customers or clients with them upon their departure. Such […]
Virginia Protects Whistleblowers; Let Us Be Proud…for Just a Minute; In Virginia, You Can Do Your Hair Do; Two Years of DGRead!; DG/30 Milestone
By: Jayna Genti During the 2020 legislative session, Virginia became the first southern state not only to ban LGBTQ discrimination, but also bar hair discrimination across the Commonwealth. This makes Virginia the fourth state behind California, New York, and New Jersey to do so. As reported in the March issue of the Mid-Atlantic Employment Law […]
By Stacey Rose Harris On July 1, 2020, never-before-seen protections for whistleblowers will take (took) effect in Virginia. Prior to the enactment of Virginia’s new “Whistleblower Law,” workers had little recourse if their employer terminated them for reporting illegal or improper activity in their workplace. Previously, their protection had been limited to a few narrow […]
Michael Lieberman’s Thoughts and Suggestions on Working in the Rocket Docket; Rocket Docket Update; Virginia is First in the South; DG/30 Milestone
By: Jayna Genti While the Supreme Court is still considering whether Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act applies to lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender employees across the nation, the Virginia legislature has moved forward to provide legal protections under state law for this group of Virginians. By doing so, Virginia will become the […]
What HR Can Do if an Employee Is Afraid to Return to Work Post COVID-19; Rocket Docket Update; Virginia Enacts Standards to Protect Workers from COVID-19 Exposure; DG/30 Milestone
By: Jayna Genti Virginia is now the first state in the nation to enact mandatory workplace safety rules to prevent the spread of COVID-19. The Emergency Temporary Standard (“ETS”) for Infectious Disease Prevention took effect July 27, 2020. The new standard covers most private employers in Virginia, as well as all state and local employees, […]
