Virginia is poised to impose new limitations on the circumstances in which employers may restrict employees from working for a competitor or engaging in other competing business activities.
As we reported in 2020, the Commonwealth first prohibited noncompete agreements for “low-wage” workers. Then as we reported in 2025, Virginia expanded those restrictions to prohibit noncompetes with employees who are entitled to overtime pay under the FLSA for any hours worked in excess of 40 hours in any one workweek (“non-exempt employees”).
On March 10, 2026, lawmakers in the Commonwealth took another step to restrict the use of noncompetes when they passed Senate Bill 170 (SB170), which, if signed by the Governor, would prohibit enforcement of a noncompete if the employer discharges the employer from employment without cause and does not provide the employee with severance benefits. The bill now awaits Governor Abigail Spanberger’s signature or veto.
Virginia’s current law prohibits employers from entering into or enforcing noncompete agreements against “low-wage employees.” When Virginia’s noncompete law was first enacted in 2020, the term low-wage employee generally referred to (i) employees whose average weekly earnings falls below the Commonwealth’s average weekly wage, or (ii) certain employees, such as interns, whose hourly rate is less than Virginia’s median hourly wage for all occupations for the preceding year, as...
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