Virginia Enacts Salary History Ban and Pay Transparency Law

On April 22, 2026, Virginia enacted Senate Bill 215 (SB 215), establishing new requirements for salary history restrictions and pay transparency in hiring.

The law prohibits employers from seeking or relying on a candidate’s prior compensation and requires disclosure of wage or salary ranges in job postings.

The requirements apply to employers with roles performed in Virginia or reporting to a Virginia location. This update applies to Virginia employers, and the law takes effect on July 1, 2026.

What Employers Need to Do

• Remove salary history questions and practices from applications, interviews, recruiter workflows, and other hiring processes to avoid direct or indirect reliance on prior compensation.

• Develop and document good-faith pay ranges for all roles, including internal opportunities, using objective compensation factors and internal pay practices.

• Update all job postings, both external and internal, to include the required wage or salary ranges and ensure posting templates are consistent across the organization.

• Train HR, recruiters, and hiring managers on permissible compensation discussions, salary history restrictions, and the law’s anti-retaliation protections.

• Implement review and audit processes to ensure consistency across postings and hiring decisions and to support the employer’s ability to defend pay-range determinations.

Overview

Virginia enacted a new pay transparency and salary history restriction law. The law shifts compensation practices toward defined, role-based pay ranges and away from individual salary history.

Salary History Restrictions

• Employers may not ask for or seek salary history from applicants.
• Employers may not rely on salary history when making hiring or compensation decisions.
• A limited exception applies if a candidate voluntarily discloses salary history, which may only be used to support a higher offer.

Pay Transparency Requirements

• Employers must include a wage or salary range in all public and internal job postings.
• The requirement applies to hiring, promotions, transfers, and other employment opportunities.
• Ranges must be set in good faith, using objective factors such as pay scales, comparable roles, or budget.

“Good Faith” Pay Range Standard

• Pay ranges must reflect a realistic minimum and maximum compensation range.
• Employers may rely on factors such as existing pay scales, prior ranges, or current employee pay.
• Overly broad or artificial ranges may be challenged as not meeting the good-faith requirement.

Anti-Retaliation Protections

• Employers may not retaliate against individuals for refusing to provide salary history.
• Employers may not retaliate for requesting compensation information.
• Prohibited actions include refusal to hire, promote, or interview, or other adverse treatment.

Enforcement and Liability

• The law creates a private right of action, allowing individuals to bring claims within one year.
• Employers may face statutory damages ($1,000–$10,000), attorney’s fees, and other relief.
• A limited 15-business-day cure period applies to certain job-posting violations, but not to salary history or retaliation violations.

Why This Matters

This law significantly changes how employers approach compensation by shifting from candidate-driven pay (based on prior salary) to role-based pay (based on defined ranges).

For employers, the main impact is operational: hiring processes, compensation structures, and job postings need to be aligned and consistently documented to support good-faith pay ranges and defensible compensation decisions.

Key Risks for Employers

• Liability for asking about or informally relying on salary history during hiring, even where those practices occur through recruiter conversations or inconsistent workflows.

• Increased litigation exposure due to the private right of action and the availability of statutory damages and other remedies.

• Difficulty defining and defending good-faith pay ranges, especially where posted ranges are too broad or not supported by objective compensation factors.

• Systemic compliance failures caused by inconsistent job posting practices, outdated templates, or uneven internal hiring procedures.

• Retaliation claims tied to compensation discussions or candidate inquiries, particularly where applicants or employees request pay range information or refuse to provide salary history.

Additional Information

While the law allows limited reliance on voluntarily disclosed salary history, that use is restricted to supporting a higher offer and must still comply with equal pay laws.

This is more than a “don’t ask” rule—it also requires proactive pay transparency and more structured compensation practices.

Source References

• Virginia HB 636 – Prospective employer; prohibited from seeking wage or salary history of prospective employees
• Virginia SB 215 – Companion Bill

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