Category Archives: New Virginia Employment Laws

Virginia Passes Legislation to Allow Employees to Sue for Unpaid Wages and Triple Damages

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By John V. Berry, www.berrylegal.com

New legislation has been passed in Virginia to protect employees from employers that do not pay wages that are owed.  If Virginia House Bill 123 is either signed by Governor Ralph Northam or not acted upon by April 11, 2020, employees will have new rights to pursue unpaid wages. Virginia House Bill 123 has been passed by both the Virginia House and Senate. The new law would create a new right to sue in the collection of unpaid wages in Virginia. Virginia House Bill 123 also allow employees the right to seek triple damages and other remedies.

New Employer Damages and Penalties

Virginia House Bill 123 enables Virginia employees to bring suit against employers that fail to pay wages and also allows them to recover their wages owed, plus 8% interest from the date that the wages were due. In addition, Employees may awarded triple damages (three times the amount of their unpaid wages), attorney’s fees and/or other costs if a court finds that the employer knowingly failed to pay the wages that were due. There is also a $1,000 civil penalty against the employe for a violation.

Hypothetical: Under the new law, for example, if an employer fails to pay an employee $2,000 that is earned, they could be liable for that amount, plus 8%, potentially 3 times the wages that were not paid and attorney’s fees incurred by the employee. The $2,000 that was unpaid could easily become a judgment against the employer for $5,000 to $10,000 by the time damages, attorney’s fees and civil penalties are included. 

Potential Employer Criminal Penalties

In addition to civil penalties, there are also criminal law penalties in the new legislation. Employers can be found guilty of a misdemeanor, punishable by up to 12 months in jail, if the wages owed are less than $10,000. Employers are to be considered guilty of a felony, punishable by a prison term of up to five years, if the value of unpaid wages is at least $10,000 or if the employer previously has a prior conviction involving a similar wage issue.  Criminal liability now only applies if the non-payment of wages was willful with the intent to defraud. If Virginia House Bill 123 is signed or otherwise allowed to become law, it would be effective on July 1, 2020.

Conclusion

If you are in need of employment law representation or advice, please contact our office at 703-668-0070 or through our contact page to schedule a consultation. Please also visit and like us on Facebook or Twitter.

States Start to Change Marijuana Employment Testing Laws – Is Virginia Next?

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By John V. Berry, Esq., www.berrylegal.com

Some states are moving to not only legalize marijuana but to also bar drug screening in employment for its use. For example, Nevada is one of these states. Beginning next year, most employers in the State of Nevada will not be able to turn down a job applicant solely for failing a marijuana drug test. This is the result of new state law, Nevada Assembly Bill 132, which will become effective on January 1, 2020. There is some discussion that a similar law will also be coming to Colorado and a number of other jurisdictions soon. Other jurisdictions such as New York City, Maine and the District of Columbia have also enacted similar laws.

Drug Testing

Nevada’s New Marijuana Drug Testing Law

The new marijuana-related employment law will not bar employers from testing job applicants for marijuana usage, and it will not stop them from refusing to hire applicants that test positive for other drugs. There are some exceptions to the new law.
It does not apply to physicians, emergency medical technicians, firefighters or those that have job requirements involving driving and in positions which could adversely affect the safety of others. A copy of the new law can be found here. It is likely to be the first of many similar laws that are enacted in states that have legalized marijuana usage.

Virginia Still Criminalizes Marijuana Use – Change is Slow

While Nevada and other states have moved forward with decriminalizing marijuana usage and beginning to bar employment-related drug screening, Virginia still criminalizes marijuana usage. Furthermore, there is not yet a medical marijuana usage law in place.

Virginia employers remain able to terminate employees for testing positive for or using marijuana. Attorney General Mark Herring recently suggested changing these laws, which could be the start of a long process in Virginia. The first step in Virginia will be to decriminalize marijuana and then changes to employment law will ultimately follow.

Federal Marijuana Law – Change is Even Slower

Individuals should keep in mind that even as these states legalize certain drugs, these state laws have no effect on federal criminal drug laws barring usage. Furthermore, federal employees and security clearance applicants/holders are still barred and can be fired for marijuana usage.

I strongly believe that the federal government will likely change these laws in the next 5-10 years. For federal security clearance holders, marijuana usage will likely be reduced to an abuse standard, like with alcohol, but at present federal employees and security clearance holders can lose their security clearances with even one-time use in a state or jurisdiction that has legalized marijuana.

Conclusion

If you are in need of employment law representation in Virginia, please contact our office at 703-668-0070 or through our contact page to schedule a consultation. Please also visit and like us on Facebook or Twitter.

Potential New Virginia Employment Laws

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By John V. Berry, Esq., www.berrylegal.com

There are a number of states which serve as laboratories for new types of employment laws that eventually may make it to the Commonwealth of Virginia and other jurisdictions. As we go through 2018, there are a number of new employment laws and bills that have been proposed or enacted by different states to improve employment conditions for employees. It should be interesting to see which ones eventually get enacted by Virginia or other counties and municipalities. Many of these laws take a few years to develop and get introduced in some form in Virginia. This article discusses them.

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