Category Archives: Virginia Employment Law

Severance Agreements in Virginia

Posted on by

By Kimberly H. Berry, Esq., www.berrylegal.com

In Virginia, most employees are considered “at will,” which generally means they can be terminated or resign at any time. Even if they are “at will,” when an employee’s employment ends, an employer may offer severance to an employee in exchange for the employee’s waiver of his / her rights, including the right to file suit for any work-related issues. In Virginia, in the absence of an employment contract, an employer usually has no obligation to provide an employee severance pay. If severance pay is offered, an employer will almost always provide the employee with a severance agreement. It is important to obtain legal advice before signing such an agreement.

This article discusses severance agreements in the Commonwealth of Virginia and some issues associated with them for employees.

Continue reading →

Virginia to Allow Unions

Posted on by

By John V. Berry, www.berrylegal.com

Virginia finally has passed new legislation that allows for public sector unions that can bargain for employee rights, their conditions of employment and enter into collective bargaining agreements. On May 1, 2021, Virginia’s new law, Virginia Code § 40.1-57.2, will take effect. This law completely changes the union movement in Virginia for public sector employees. Prior to the new law, counties, cities or towns were not allowed to recognize or negotiate with labor unions or associations representing their public sector employees. This new legislation will affect all types of public sector employees. Under the new law, the county or city has to authorize labor unions in their jurisdiction for them to exist.   

The New Union Labor Law in Virginia

The new Virginia law reads as follows:

VA Code § 40.1-57.2. (Effective May 1, 2021) Collective bargaining.

A. No state, county, city, town, or like governmental officer, agent, or governing body is vested with or possesses any authority to recognize any labor union or other employee association as a bargaining agent of any public officers or employees, or to collectively bargain or enter into any collective bargaining contract with any such union or association or its agents with respect to any matter relating to them or their employment or service unless, in the case of a county, city, or town, such authority is provided for or permitted by a local ordinance or by a resolution. Any such ordinance or resolution shall provide for procedures for the certification and decertification of exclusive bargaining representatives, including reasonable public notice and opportunity for labor organizations to intervene in the process for designating an exclusive representative of a bargaining unit. As used in this section, “county, city, or town” includes any local school board, and “public officers or employees” includes employees of a local school board.

What the New Law Means

Collective bargaining for public sector employees had previously existed in a number of Virginia jurisdictions until a 1977 Virginia Supreme Court ruling in Commonwealth v. Arlington County, 217 Va. 558 (1977) which prohibited local governments from collective bargaining with unions. It appears that Fairfax, Arlington and Loudoun Counties are already studying the effects that the unionization will have. Additionally, in preparation for the new legislation Alexandria has proposed a public employees collective bargaining ordinance, including police, fire, labor and trades and general government employees. In general, unions will not be available for senior or managerial-level employees

The new Virginia law will allow counties, cities and towns the ability to adopt ordinances recognizing labor unions and enter into collective bargaining agreements with them. The new law is not mandatory, but allows localities the ability to permit employees to have unions. If such union interest arises, counties, cities, or towns must vote to adopt or not adopt an ordinance authorizing them within 120 days of receiving certification from a majority of public employees in an appropriate bargaining unit. The legislation will ultimately enable police officers, teachers, fire personnel and other types of government employees in Virginia to unionize.

The legislation shows that the days of Virginia is the first step in what will be evolving legislation over the coming years further broadening the scope of labor unions in this state. 

Contact Us

If you are in need of employment law legal 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?

Posted on by

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.

Reasonable Accommodation Process for Virginia Employees

Posted on by

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

Several Virginia employees have come to us to discuss the reasonable accommodation process when they develop a medical condition or disability that requires a change in their duties or other workplace adjustments in order for them to continue their employment. Our law firm represents private, federal, state, and county sector employees throughout the Commonwealth of Virginia in reasonable accommodation cases.

Continue reading →

Social Media Tips for Virginia Employees

Posted on by

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

Over the last several years in our employment law practice in Virginia, we have been advising employees on the proper use of social media in connection with their duties as an employee. Social media is one of the most unique and changing areas of employment law today. This article provides some basic tips for employees and a summary of their current rights in Virginia.

Continue reading →

Potential New Virginia Employment Laws

Posted on by

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.

Continue reading →

Employee Leave for Virginia Employees

Posted on by

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

The following is an article on leave laws and rules that cover Virginia employees. Leave issues generally tend to come up either during the course of an employee’s employment or immediately following the end of an individual’s employment. Leave laws and regulations also vary by the type of employer and jurisdiction of the employer. For instance, federal, state, county and private sector employers have different laws and rules governing leave.

Continue reading →

Employee Monitoring in Virginia

Posted on by

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

camera

An interesting topic in Virginia employment law involves an employee’s right to privacy within the workplace. While there have not yet been many specific laws enacted by the Commonwealth of Virginia governing employee rights in the workplace, this area of law is developing and changing almost as fast as technology is. In light of the advancements in monitoring technology available to employers, it is only a matter of time before we see more employee privacy issues addressed by the Virginia Legislature and our court system.

Continue reading →

Tips for Virginia Employees in Wrongful Termination and Discrimination Cases

Posted on by

By Kimberly H. Berry, Esq., www.berrylegal.com

The following are 6 employment tips that can be helpful when an employee in Virginia is facing significant employment issues like termination, discrimination or retaliation.

Six Employment Tips to Consider 

Continue reading →

White House Proposes Changes to Non-Compete Agreements to States (including Virginia)

Posted on by

By Kimberly Berry, Esq., www.berrylegal.com

The White House recently asked states to enact legislation banning non-compete agreements for low-wage workers in an effort to increase competition and improve the economy. In a White House report issued on October 25, 2016, it explained that these types of agreements often prevent out-of-work employees from finding new jobs in their career fields. The White House also stated that these non-compete agreements interfere with worker mobility.

A non-compete agreement typically bars an employee from working for a competitor or starting his or her own business once the employee leaves the employer. The White House report cited the fact that 20 percent of U.S. workers have signed non-compete agreements preventing them from working for competitors. The figure included an approximate 17 percent of employees who do not hold a college degree. Virginia is in the majority of states that current permits non-compete agreements to exist.  A minority of states have banned them as anti-competitive.

Proposed Changes to Non-Compete Agreements

The White House is requesting that states pass bans on non-compete agreements for workers who do not possess trade secrets. Additionally, the White House is asking that states require companies to be more transparent about contracts. The three principal recommendations in the White House report on state changes to non-compete agreements include:

1. Enact State Bans on Non-Compete Clauses for Certain Categories of Workers: (1) workers under a certain wage threshold; (2) workers in certain occupations involving public health and safety; (3) workers who are unlikely to possess trade secrets; or (4) those who may suffer undue adverse impacts from non-competes, such as workers laid off or terminated without cause.

2. Improvement in Transparency and Fairness: of non-compete agreements by, for example, disallowing non-competes unless they are proposed before a job offer or significant promotion has been accepted (because an applicant who has accepted an offer and declined other positions may have less bargaining power); providing consideration over and above continued employment for workers who sign non-compete agreements; or encouraging employers to better inform workers about the law in their state and the existence of non-competes in contracts and how they work.

3. Provide Incentives to Employers: to write enforceable contracts, and encourage the elimination of unenforceable provisions by, for example, promoting the use of the “red pencil doctrine,” which renders contracts with unenforceable provisions void in their entirety. Virginia currently follows this approach.

These proposed changes are hopefully raising more awareness regarding the issue of arbitrary and meaningless overuse of certain non-compete agreements. Unfortunately, it is not uncommon to see lower wage-earning employees being forced to sign unnecessary and overly restrictive non-compete agreements. However, there have been some positive developments, and three states have already enacted changes to non-compete agreements, including California, Oklahoma, Illinois and North Dakota.

Virginia Non-Compete Agreements

In Virginia, it is likely that there will be discussions about further limiting the scope of non-compete agreements in the future given the overuse of such agreements.  The general history for non-compete agreements in Virginia has been that they were disfavored at law, but permitted under certain circumstances.  The problem that the legislature will have to eventually take on eventually is whether they should bar non-compete agreements for workers earning lower wages and those who do not truly have access to proprietary information.

Conclusion

Our firm represents Virginia employees regarding employment matters and non-compete agreements. We can be contacted at www.berrylegal.com or by telephone at (703) 668-0070. Our Facebook page can be found at Berry & Berry Facebook Page.