The Details
Salary History Inquiries Prohibited
Virginia has enacted legislation (Senate Bill 215), which prohibits a covered employer from taking the following actions:
- Seeking a prospective employee’s wage or salary history;
- Relying on a prospective employee’s wage or salary history when considering them for employment and determining their wage or salary; or
- Retaliating against a prospective employee for not providing wage or salary history or for requesting a wage or salary range.
Exceptions
When a prospective employee voluntarily provides their wage or salary history to an employer without the employer's prompting, an employer may:
- Rely on the information to support a wage or salary higher than the employer's initial offer of compensation; and
- Confirm the prospective employee’s wage or salary history to support a wage or salary that is higher than the wage or salary an employer offers.
Additionally, a prospective employee may voluntarily disclose their wage or salary history, including for the purpose of negotiating wages or salary after they receive an initial offer of employment with an offer of compensation.
Pay Transparency Required
Under the law, a covered employer must:
- Set a wage or salary range in good faith; and
- Disclose in each public and internal posting for each job, promotion, transfer or other employment opportunity the position’s wage, salary or wage or salary range.
The law defines wage or salary range as the minimum and maximum wage or salary for the position, set in good faith by reference to:
- Any applicable pay scale;
- Any previously determined wage or salary range for the position;
- The actual range of wages or salaries for individuals currently holding equivalent positions; or
- The budgeted amount available for the position.
Note: The law clarifies that the breadth of a wage or salary range will be used as a factor when determining whether a wage or salary range has been set in good faith.
Penalties
An employer that is found to have violated the law may face penalties of up to $1,000 for the first violation and up to $5,000 for any subsequent violation.
Note: An employer has 15 business days to correct a posting after written notice without being penalized. See the text of the law for further details.
Next Steps
Update compensation and recruiting policies and procedures, and train supervisors to help comply with the law by July 1, 2026.