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Virginia Enacts Wage Transparency Law

Among Virginia’s many recent changes to the employment landscape is the enactment of HB 636, a wage transparency law. In passing this law, the Commonwealth has joined a growing number of states in enacting similar legislation requiring pay disclosures in job postings and prohibiting the use of a candidate’s salary history.

Requesting and Using Wage and Salary Information

Beginning July 1, 2026, prospective employers are prohibited from seeking the wage or salary history of a prospective employee or relying on such wage or salary history in considering the prospective employee for employment or in determining the wages or salary the prospective employee is to be paid upon hire. Employers are also prohibited from refusing to interview, hire, employ, or promote or otherwise retaliating against a prospective or current employee for not providing wage or salary history or requesting a wage or salary range.

If a prospective employee voluntarily provides their wage or salary history to an employer without the employer’s prompting, then the employer may rely on that information to support a wage or salary higher than the employer’s initial offer of compensation, only to the extent that the higher wage or salary does not violate Virginia’s equal pay law or any applicable federal law.  In this case, employers are permitted to confirm the wage or salary history of the prospective employee to support the higher wage or salary.

Disclosing Wage and Salary Range

Employers must also disclose in each public and internal posting for each job, promotion, transfer, or other employment opportunity the actual wage, salary, or the wage or salary range for the position. Employers must set the wage or salary range in good faith.

A “wage or salary range” means the minimum and maximum wage or salary for the position, set in good faith by reference to any applicable pay scale, any previously determined wage or salary range for the position, the actual range of wages or salaries for persons currently holding equivalent positions, or the budgeted amount available for the position, as applicable. The law does not provide what “good faith” means.

Faced with automatic statutory remedies and potential private actions for noncompliance, employers should review their hiring practices and policies to ensure wage and salary history is not sought or used in any hiring decisions.  Employers should also update their job postings to include the required wage and salary disclosures. Please do not hesitate to reach out with any questions.