Virginia pay transparency law awaits signature

Virginia employers may soon be required to include pay information in job postings. The state legislature recently passed a pay transparency and salary history law, which now awaits Gov. Abigail Spanberger’s signature.

Spanberger, a Democrat, is likely to sign the bill. The legislature passed similar measures in the 2024 and 2025 legislative sessions, but then-Gov. Glenn Youngkin, a Republican, vetoed them.

S.B. 215, which would take effect July 1, 2026, would require all employers to include the wage, salary, or a range thereof in any public or internal posting for a job, promotion, transfer or other employment opportunity.

Employers would be required to set pay ranges in good faith, and among the relevant considerations for analyzing this requirement would be the breadth of the disclosed range. In other words, while the law does not mandate a specific method for setting a pay range, a listed range that is overly broad could raise red flags.

If S.B. 215 is signed, Virginia would join 15 other states and the District of Columbia in mandating pay transparency.

In addition to the pay transparency requirements, the law would restrict salary history inquiries. Employers would be prohibited from:

• Seeking a prospective employee’s salary history;
• Relying on a prospective employee’s salary history in considering them for employment or determining their starting pay (with certain exceptions for voluntary disclosures); and
• Refusing to interview, hire, promote or employ or otherwise retaliating against an applicant or employee for not providing their salary history or for requesting pay range information.

However, the law is not intended to prevent job applicants from voluntarily disclosing their salary history or engaging in salary negotiations. If an applicant voluntarily shares their salary history with an employer, the employer may rely on it to raise an initial salary offer, as long as an unlawful pay disparity does not result.

The law would contain a private right of action, but employers would have 15 business days after receiving notice of a deficient job posting to correct the posting before legal action could be taken.

Violations could result in statutory damages up to $10,000 or actual damages paid to affected applicants or employees, whichever is greater, plus attorney fees and costs.