Virginia’s New Wage Transparency Law Takes Effect July 1, 2026: What Employers, Hiring Managers, and Recruiters Should Do Now

06.30.2026

Virginia employers should prepare now for a significant change in hiring compliance. Effective July 1, 2026, Virginia’s new wage transparency law will prohibit employers from requesting an applicant’s salary history and requires compensation ranges to be included in all job postings. The law applies broadly to Virginia employers, regardless of size or industry.

Key Requirements

The new law makes three immediate changes to the recruiting process. First, employers may not seek a prospective employee’s wage or salary history in applications or during interviews Second, employers may not rely on that history when considering a candidate for employment or when setting starting pay, subject to a narrow exception for information volunteered by the candidate. Third, employers must include the wage, salary, or wage or salary range in internal and public postings for jobs, promotions, transfers, and other employment opportunities.

Keep Pay History Out of Interviews and Applications

Employers, hiring managers, and recruiters should stop asking applicants what they currently earn or what they earned in prior roles. That restriction should be reflected in application forms, screening scripts, interview guides, recruiter intake forms, and any informal communications with candidates.

The law also prohibits employers from refusing to interview, hire, employ, or promote an individual, or otherwise retaliating against a prospective or current employee, because the individual asks for a wage or salary range of a position or declines to provide their salary history. This restriction reaches beyond formal hiring decisions. A negative response to a candidate who asks about pay can create avoidable risk.

There is a limited exception. If a prospective employee voluntarily discloses wage or salary history without prompting, the employer may confirm and use that information only to support a higher wage or salary than the employer initially offered for the position, and only if doing so does not otherwise violate applicable pay laws. Employers should document that the disclosure was voluntary and avoid turning the conversation into a salary history inquiry.

Job Postings Must Include Pay Information

Each public and internal posting for a job, promotion, transfer, or other employment opportunity must disclose the wage, salary, or wage or salary range for the position. This obligation applies to both external recruiting materials and internal opportunity postings. Employers should not assume that a posting is exempt because it is circulated only within the organization.

The range included in the posting must be set in good faith. Employers may look to an applicable pay scale, a previously determined range for the position, the actual range currently paid to employees in equivalent roles, or the budgeted amount available for the position. A range that is so broad that it does not meaningfully describe expected compensation may draw scrutiny. Employers should keep records of how the wage and salary ranges are being determined, including any data used to support the minimum and maximum amounts of compensation for each position. 

Third-Party Recruiters Need Clear Instructions

Employers remain responsible for compliance with the law even when recruiters, staffing firms, or other third parties post positions or communicate with candidates on the employer’s behalf.  Employers should communicate to all third-party recruiting partners that questions about a candidate’s wage or salary history are now prohibited and all job postings should include the applicable wage or salary range for the position.

Employers Should Prepare for Enforcement

The Virginia Attorney General may bring a civil action to enforce the law. A first violation may carry a civil penalty of up to $1,000, and subsequent violations may carry penalties of up to $5,000. In addition, an aggrieved prospective or current employee may bring a private action within one year of the alleged violation and seek actual damages and other appropriate legal or equitable relief.

The law includes a limited opportunity to cure certain job-posting violations. Before filing suit based on a noncompliant posting, an aggrieved person must provide notice, and the employer has 15 business days to correct the posting. Employers should not treat that cure period as a compliance strategy. A correction window is useful only if the organization can identify the posting, coordinate with any third-party recruiter or platform, and fix the issue quickly.

Action Items to Ensure Compliance:

• Remove salary and wage history questions from employment applications, background screening materials, interview guides, and recruiter scripts.
• Train hiring managers, recruiters, and interview teams on prohibited questions and appropriate responses when candidates ask about pay.
• Create or confirm good-faith wage and salary ranges for positions that may be posted internally or externally.
• Update job posting templates so pay information is included before a posting is released.
• Provide written compliance instructions to outside recruiters, staffing agencies, and job-posting vendors.
• Establish a process to respond promptly to notices of noncompliant postings and to correct postings across all original posting locations.

Bottom Line

Virginia’s wage transparency law requires more than a quick edit to job postings. It changes how employers discuss compensation throughout the hiring process. Employers should update their materials, train the people who interact with candidates, and align internal compensation practices to ensure compliance with the new law.

Jaime B. Wisegarver assists clients with complex business and employment matters (e.g., wage and hour law, restrictive covenants, and employment policies and agreements). She has experience in both state and federal courts, as well as in alternative dispute resolution.  Her work in multiple practice areas enables Jaime to formulate comprehensive legal and business strategies that not only achieve great results in the courtroom, but also allow her to assist clients in mitigating potential disputes.

Caroline E. Jaques advises business owners and individuals on a broad range of corporate and business matters, including entity formation, contract negotiations, employment law matters, strategic partnerships and mergers and acquisitions.