• Virginia’s General Assembly has passed legislation that would prohibit noncompete agreements for healthcare professionals.
• HB1 and SB1 would establish a multiyear schedule to increase Virginia’s minimum wage to $15 per hour by January 1, 2028, with further adjustments based on the Consumer Price Index starting in 2029.
• SB258 and SB790 would introduce workplace protections and health insurance coverage for menopause and perimenopause.

Prohibiting Healthcare Noncompete Agreements (Senate Bill (SB) 128)

Following the trend of expanding employee protections, SB128 seeks to broaden the existing ban on “low-wage” covenants not to compete to include all “health care professionals.” Current Virginia law restricts noncompete agreements only for “low-wage employees” or those classified as nonexempt under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). SB128, however, would prohibit employers from entering into, enforcing, or threatening to enforce such agreements with any person licensed, registered, or certified by the Boards of Medicine, Nursing, Counseling, Optometry, Psychology, or Social Work.

However, SB128 contains the following exemptions:

• Nondisclosure agreements that prohibit the misappropriation of “certain information to which an employee has access,” such as trade secrets and proprietary confidential information.
• Noncompetition or other restrictive covenants entered into in connection with the sale of a healthcare business, provided the restriction is reasonable in scope,...

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