Several states raised their minimum wages in the new year, including Virginia. Virginia’s minimum wage increase is part of a law passed in 2020 that raised the minimum wage gradually until it reaches $15 an hour in 2026.

View SB7 Minimum Wage Bill
SB 7 Minimum wage; increases to $9.50 per hour effective May 1, 2021

Summary of the Minimum Wage Bill

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

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.

The 2020 law is projected to raise the minimum wage to $15/hour by 2026, but the General Assembly must reenact the law by 2024.