On January 27, 2026, the Court of Appeals of Virginia ruled in Sentry Force Security, LLC v. Barrera that employers in the state: (i) can enforce customer nonsolicitation clauses that restrain low-wage workers from directly soliciting a customer, (ii) cannot enforce customer nonsolicitation clauses that purport to restrain low-wage workers from accepting unsolicited business from a customer, and (iii) cannot enforce employee nonsolicitation provisions against low-wage workers.

Quick Hits

• In Sentry Force Security, LLC v. Barrera, a private security firm sued a former employee for breaching a restrictive covenant that contained customer and employee nonsolicitation provisions after he started his own private security company.
• The Court of Appeals of Virginia concluded that employers can lawfully prohibit low-wage employees from directly soliciting customers (i.e., initiating contact with a customer). However, employers cannot prohibit low-wage employees from accepting unsolicited business from a customer (i.e., when a customer initiates contact with a former employee).
• The court held that employers cannot enter into or enforce employee nonsolicitation provisions with low-wage employees.

Virginia law prohibits “covenants not to compete” against “low-wage employees,” meaning those who earn less than the average weekly wage in Virginia or are entitled to overtime under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). After Virginia passed that law in 2020, employers have questioned...

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