As we previously reported on April 23, 2020, in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic that is dominating the news, Virginia Governor Ralph Northam signed into law a slew of bills passed by the General Assembly that transform Virginia’s employment laws. This is the second part of a series of alerts discussing Virginia’s groundbreaking new laws governing workplace discrimination and retaliation, worker misclassification, wages, restrictive covenants, background checks and whistleblower claims [Part 1 is here].

Employers will be subject to substantial liability for misclassification of employees

On March 10 and March 18, 2020, respectively, Governor Northam signed into law H.B. 984 and S.B. 894, which create a private right of action against employers for misclassifying employees as independent contractors. The new law, set to take effect July 1, 2020, will expose employers who misclassify employees as independent contractors to substantial liability, as employees bringing such actions may recover damages for lost wages/salary (including overtime worked, but not paid), employment benefits, or other lost compensation, as well as reasonable attorney’s fees and costs. Most notably, employers will face an uphill battle in defending these claims because the law creates a general presumption that an individual is an employee unless the employer can establish independent contractor status based on Internal Revenue Service guidelines.
Continue Reading Virginia adopts a wave of new employment laws. Part 2 – Worker classification and clampdown on restrictive covenants