The Court of Appeals of Virginia just issued a surprising ruling that expands the state’s statute banning non-competes for low-wage employees to also include some non-solicitation agreements. The January 27 decision in Sentry Force Security, LLC v. Barrera should cause employers in Virginia to revisit their restrictive covenant strategy. Here is what employers need to know and a list of action items you should consider.
Enforceability of Non-Solicitation Agreements Against Low-Wage Employees
In 2020, the Virginia legislature enacted a law prohibiting employers from entering into or enforcing a post-employment “covenant not to compete” against “low-wage” employees, defined as any employee earning less than the average weekly wage in the Commonwealth ($1507.01 per week in 2026), with limited exceptions. Lawmakers amended the statute in 2025 to expand the prohibition to cover any employee who is non-exempt under the Fair Labor Standards Act. You can read more about that change here.
The statute defines “covenant not to compete” as “a covenant or agreement, including a provision of a contract of employment, between an employer and employee that restrains, prohibits, or otherwise restricts an individual’s ability, following the termination of the individual’s employment, to compete with his former employer.” The next line in the statute says, “[a] ‘covenant not to compete’ shall not restrict an employee from providing a service to a customer or client of the employer if the...
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