Minimum Wage in Virginia

Virginia is raising the hourly minimum wage beginning May 1, 2021. VA’s current minimum wage is only $7.25, significantly lower than Maryland’s $11.00.

SB 7 Minimum Wage Summary

• Current minimum wage: $7.25 per hour
• May 1, 2021: $9.50 per hour
• January 1, 2022: $11.00 per hour
• January 1, 2023: $12.00 per hour
• January 1, 2025: $13.50 per hour
• January 1, 2026: $15.00 per hour

The minimum wage law was scheduled to go into effect on January 1, 2021, but the increase was delayed to give VA employers an additional time to recover from the financial impacts of the COVID-19.

Here is a complete summary of the “SB 7 Minimum wage; increases to $9.50 per hour effective May 1, 2021”

Minimum wage. Increases the minimum wage from its current federally mandated level of $7.25 per hour to $9.50 per hour effective May 1, 2021; to $11.00 per hour effective January 1, 2022; to $12.00 per hour effective January 1, 2023; to $13.50 per hour effective January 1, 2025; and to $15.00 per hour effective January 1, 2026. For January 1, 2027, and thereafter, the annual minimum wage shall be adjusted to reflect increases in the consumer price index. The measure provides that the increases scheduled for 2025 and 2026 will not become effective unless reenacted by the General Assembly prior to July 1, 2024. If such provisions are not reenacted prior to July 1, 2024, then the annual minimum wage will be adjusted to reflect increases in the consumer price index beginning January 1, 2025. The measure creates a training wage at 75 percent of the minimum wage for employees in on-the-job training programs lasting less than 90 days. The measure also provides that the Virginia minimum wage applies to persons whose employment is covered by the Fair Labor Standards Act; persons employed in domestic service or in or about a private home; persons who normally work and are paid on the amount of work done; persons with intellectual or physical disabilities except those whose employment is covered by a special certificate issued by the U.S. Secretary of Labor; persons employed by an employer who does not employ four or more persons at any one time; and persons who are less than 18 years of age and who are under the jurisdiction of a juvenile and domestic relations district court. The measure provides that the Virginia minimum wage does not apply to persons participating in the U.S. Department of State’s au pair program, persons employed as temporary foreign workers, and persons employed by certain amusement or recreational establishments, organized camps, or religious or nonprofit educational conference centers. This bill is identical to HB 395.