# Virginia HB949: Covenants not to compete; exceptions, civil penalty.

Virginia HB949, Covenants not to compete; exceptions, civil penalty., is a 2027 Regular Session House bill sponsored by Alfonso H. Lopez (Democratic); status in committee, last action 2026-07-21 (Continued from last session) (as of 2026-10-11).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB949-2027
- As of: 2026-10-11
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: Virginia HB949
- State: Virginia
- Session: 2027 Regular Session
- Title: Covenants not to compete; exceptions, civil penalty.
- Status: in committee
- Chamber: House
- Introduced: 2026-01-13
- Last action: 2026-07-21, Continued from last session
- Sponsor: Alfonso H. Lopez (Democratic)
- Cosponsors: 0
- Subjects: Subcommittee #2
- Touches household money: no
- Economic provisions PRIA read: 0

## Summary

Covenants not to compete; exceptions; civil penalty. Prohibits an employer from entering into, enforcing, or threatening to enforce a covenant not to compete with employees who perform key duties of the employer's enterprise or customarily and regularly solicit customers or make sales or contracts for the employer. Under the bill, certain employees are permitted to enter agreements to refrain from soliciting business from the employer for a stated period of time following termination. The penalty provisions in current law for covenants not to compete for low-wage employees shall apply to a violation of the provisions of the bill. The provisions of the bill apply to contracts entered into, amended, or renewed on or after July 1, 2026.

## Bill overview

No economic impacts identified for this bill.

## Sponsors and cosponsors

- Sponsor: Alfonso H. Lopez (Democratic), House

## Actions (6)

- 2026-07-21: Continued from last session (House)
- 2026-02-03: Continued to 2027 in Labor and Commerce (Voice Vote) (House)
- 2026-01-29: Subcommittee recommends continuing to 2028 (Voice Vote) (House)
- 2026-01-22: Assigned HCL sub: Subcommittee #2 (House)
- 2026-01-13: Referred to Committee on Labor and Commerce (House)
- 2026-01-13: Prefiled and ordered printed; Offered 01-14-2026 26102467D (House)

## Bill text

- Introduced, 2026-01-13: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1229268.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1229267.PDF)

## Related bills

- SB844: Licensed clinical psychologists; prescriptive authority; report. (in committee)
- HB1535: Individuals with developmental or intellectual disabilities; admissibility of statements. (introduced)
- HB1534: School service providers; deletion of student and family personal information. (introduced)
- SB843: Data centers; state permitting, local approval, moratorium, sunset. (in committee)
- SB842: High school student athletes; eligibility, enrollment. (in committee)
- SB840: Corrections, Director of the Department of; placement of inmates, Red Onion State Prison. (in committee)

## Sources
- [Introduced (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1229268.HTML)
- [Introduced (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1229267.PDF)

## Related
- [SB844: Licensed clinical psychologists; prescriptive authority; report.](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-SB844-2027)
- [HB1535: Individuals with developmental or intellectual disabilities; admissibility of s…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB1535-2027)
- [HB1534: School service providers; deletion of student and family personal information.](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB1534-2027)
- [SB843: Data centers; state permitting, local approval, moratorium, sunset.](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-SB843-2027)
- [SB842: High school student athletes; eligibility, enrollment.](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-SB842-2027)
- [SB840: Corrections, Director of the Department of; placement of inmates, Red Onion Sta…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-SB840-2027)
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- [Virginia state hub](https://policyrisk.com/states/virginia)
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Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB949-2027 (as of 2026-10-11).