Effective May 1, the minimum wage in Virginia is now $9.50 an hour, an increase over the previous prevailing wage, which for more than a decade had been the federal minimum of $7.25. The increase was passed during the 2020 General Assembly session as part of a phased-in increase, with the wage ultimately set to rise to $15 an hour statewide on Jan. 1, 2026.
Initially, the wage had been set to rise to $9.50 an hour on Jan. 1, but Gov. Ralph Northam and the Democratic-led Assembly agreed to delay implementation by four months due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The wage increase contains many of the same exceptions as the prior minimum wage level, and those exceptions can be viewed at this link.
Certain home care providers, domestic service workers in private homes, and some babysitters, who were previously exempt from the minimum wage, are now covered. In addition, the wage increase law allows employers to pay a “training wage” to new hires who are doing specific on-the-job training work within their first 90 days of employment. In order to pay the training wage, an employer’s on-the-job training program must meet specific standards outlined by the commonwealth, which can be viewed at this link.
Virginia also does not require businesses to display a minimum wage poster at workplaces, but the Department of Labor and Industry has produced one that employers may post voluntarily. To view that poster, please click here. You may also contact the Virginia Department of Labor and Industry’s labor law division at 804-786-2706, or by emailing laborlaw@doli.virginia.gov, if you have any questions.
Download Bulletin PDF