Virginia, historically reliant on the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) to govern overtime obligations, passed its first stand-alone overtime law in March 2021. The Virginia Overtime Wage Act (VOWA),1 went into effect on July 1, 2021, amidst wide-spread confusion among Commonwealth employers over the law’s requirements. While Virginia’s Department of Labor and Industry (DOLI) rolled out informal guidance to clarify employer obligations under the new law, that guidance did little to assuage employer concerns over the VOWA’s many ambiguities. A year later, Virginia employers are being given a reprieve from the many compliance concerns and increased exposure to liability created by the 2021 law.
On April 11, 2022, Governor Glenn Youngkin signed into law HB 1173 (SB 631), sent to him by a Democrat-controlled Senate and Republican-led House of Delegates, rolling back the provisions of the VOWA and realigning Virginia’s overtime obligations and exemptions with those of the federal FLSA. These revisions will go into effect on July 1, 2022.
Virginia’s Return to Federal Overtime Standards
The 2022 amendments remove the 2021 VOWA provisions and clarify that employers must comply with FLSA overtime obligations. The amendments further emphasize that this realignment means employers may once again rely on the over 80 years of FLSA regulations, guidance, rules, and governing case law in determining their overtime obligations to employees.
Where Does Virginia Overtime Law Diverge...
The HYDRA Commissioner has clarified that HYDRA will not interfere with houses built in old layouts on ULC (Urban Land Ceiling) lands , nor with unregularised vacant plots in such layouts. He urge...