# Virginia SB170: Protection of employees; covenants not to compete, discharged employees.

Virginia SB170, Protection of employees; covenants not to compete, discharged employees., is a 2026 Regular Session Senate bill sponsored by Jeremy S. McPike (Democratic); status signed, last action 2026-04-13 (Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0883)); PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-10-12).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-SB170-2026
- As of: 2026-10-12
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: Virginia SB170
- State: Virginia
- Session: 2026 Regular Session
- Title: Protection of employees; covenants not to compete, discharged employees.
- Status: signed
- Chamber: Senate
- Introduced: 2026-01-08
- Last action: 2026-04-13, Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0883)
- Sponsor: Jeremy S. McPike (Democratic)
- Cosponsors: 0
- Touches household money: yes
- Roll calls: 10 (227 yes, 16 no in all)
- Economic provisions PRIA read: 2

## Summary

Protection of employees; covenants not to compete; discharged employees. Provides that no covenant not to compete, as such term is defined in existing law, between an employer and an employee is enforceable if such employer discharges such employee from employment without providing severance benefits or other monetary payment to such employee that is disclosed upon execution of the covenant not to compete, unless the employee is discharged for cause. This bill incorporates SB 569.

## Bill overview: provisions PRIA read

- Noncompete limits protect qualifying Virginia workers: benefit, medium. Virginia employers cannot make, enforce, or threaten to enforce noncompete agreements against qualifying workers. These agreements limit work for competitors after a job ends. Covered workers include employees earning below Virginia’s average weekly wage and employees entitled to federal overtime a…
- Fewer noncompete enforcement tools for workers: cost, medium. The final act removes the severance-related provisions rather than creating a separate noncompete protection for workers discharged without severance. It also removes provisions for private lawsuits and civil penalties tied to prohibited noncompetes. Employers still must post the law or an approved…

## Sponsors and cosponsors

- Sponsor: Jeremy S. McPike (Democratic), Senate

## Roll call votes

| Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2026-03-04 | House | Passed House | pass | 87 | 12 |   |
| 2026-02-27 | House | Reported from Appropriations | pass | 18 | 4 |   |
| 2026-02-24 | House | Reported from Labor and Commerce and referred to Appropriations | pass | 22 | 0 |   |
| 2026-02-19 | House | Subcommittee recommends reporting | pass | 7 | 0 |   |
| 2026-02-06 | Senate | Read third time and passed Senate Block Vote | pass | 40 | 0 |   |
| 2026-02-05 | Senate | Engrossed by Senate Block Vote (Voice Vote) | pass | 0 | 0 |   |
| 2026-02-05 | Senate | Commerce and Labor Substitute agreed to | pass | 0 | 0 |   |
| 2026-02-04 | Senate | Passed by for the day Block Vote (Voice Vote) | pass | 0 | 0 |   |
| 2026-02-04 | Senate | Constitutional reading dispensed Block Vote (on 1st reading) | pass | 40 | 0 |   |
| 2026-02-02 | Senate | Reported from Commerce and Labor with substitute | pass | 13 | 0 |   |

## Actions (37)

- 2026-04-13: Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0883) (Governor)
- 2026-04-13: Approved by Governor-Chapter 883 (effective 7/1/2026) (Governor)
- 2026-03-14: Governor's Action Deadline 11:59 p.m., April 13, 2026 (Governor)
- 2026-03-14: Enrolled Bill communicated to Governor on March 14, 2026 (Senate)
- 2026-03-11: Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (SB170) (Senate)
- 2026-03-10: Bill text as passed Senate and House (SB170ER) (Senate)
- 2026-03-10: Enrolled (Senate)
- 2026-03-10: Signed by President (Senate)
- 2026-03-10: Signed by Speaker (House)
- 2026-03-04: Passed House (87-Y 12-N 0-A) (House)
- 2026-03-04: Read third time (House)
- 2026-03-03: Read second time (House)
- 2026-02-27: Reported from Appropriations (18-Y 4-N) (House)
- 2026-02-25: Assigned HAPP sub: Commerce Agriculture & Natural Resources (House)
- 2026-02-24: Reported from Labor and Commerce and referred to Appropriations (22-Y 0-N) (House)
- 2026-02-19: Subcommittee recommends reporting (7-Y 0-N) (House)
- 2026-02-17: Assigned HCL sub: Subcommittee #2 (House)
- 2026-02-12: Referred to Committee on Labor and Commerce (House)
- 2026-02-12: Read first time (House)
- 2026-02-12: Placed on Calendar (House)
- 2026-02-10: Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (SB170) (Senate)
- 2026-02-06: Read third time and passed Senate Block Vote (40-Y 0-N 0-A) (Senate)
- 2026-02-05: Engrossed by Senate Block Vote (Voice Vote) (Senate)
- 2026-02-05: Commerce and Labor Substitute agreed to (Senate)
- 2026-02-05: Engrossed by Senate - committee substitute Block Vote (Voice Vote) (Senate)
- 2026-02-05: Read second time (Senate)
- 2026-02-04: Passed by for the day Block Vote (Voice Vote) (Senate)
- 2026-02-04: Constitutional reading dispensed Block Vote (on 1st reading) (40-Y 0-N 0-A) (Senate)
- 2026-02-04: Rules suspended (Senate)
- 2026-02-03: Substitute bill reprinted 26107018D (Senate)
- 2026-02-03: Committee substitute printed 26107018D-S1 (Senate)
- 2026-02-02: Senate committee offered (Senate)
- 2026-02-02: Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (SB170) (Senate)
- 2026-02-02: Reported from Commerce and Labor with substitute (13-Y 0-N) (Senate)
- 2026-02-02: Incorporates SB569 (Sturtevant) (Senate)
- 2026-01-08: Referred to Committee on Commerce and Labor (Senate)
- 2026-01-08: Prefiled and ordered printed; Offered 01-14-2026 26100309D (Senate)

## Bill text

- Chaptered, 2026-04-13: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1223060.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1223059.PDF)
- Enrolled, 2026-03-10: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1198796.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1198795.PDF)
- Substitute, 2026-02-03: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1115107.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1115106.PDF)
- Amendment, 2026-02-02: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1107920.HTML)
- Introduced, 2026-01-08: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1083631.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1083630.PDF)

## Related bills

- HB5: Employment; paid sick leave, civil penalties. (signed)
- SB199: Employment; paid sick leave, civil penalties. (signed)
- HB95: Va. Residential Landlord and Tenant Act; landlord remedies, noncompliance with rental agreement. (signed)
- HB1393: Electric utilities; pilot program for energy assistance and weatherization for certain individuals. (signed)
- HB834: Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act; fire or casualty damage, termination by landlord. (signed)
- HB675: Protection of employees; coercion or threat based on immigration status, civil penalty. (signed)

## Sources
- [Chaptered (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1223060.HTML)
- [Chaptered (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1223059.PDF)
- [Enrolled (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1198796.HTML)
- [Enrolled (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1198795.PDF)
- [Substitute (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1115107.HTML)
- [Substitute (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1115106.PDF)
- [Amendment (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1107920.HTML)
- [Introduced (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1083631.HTML)
- [Introduced (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1083630.PDF)

## Related
- [HB5: Employment; paid sick leave, civil penalties.](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB5-2026)
- [SB199: Employment; paid sick leave, civil penalties.](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-SB199-2026)
- [HB95: Va. Residential Landlord and Tenant Act; landlord remedies, noncompliance with…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB95-2026)
- [HB1393: Electric utilities; pilot program for energy assistance and weatherization for…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB1393-2026)
- [HB834: Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act; fire or casualty damage, terminat…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB834-2026)
- [HB675: Protection of employees; coercion or threat based on immigration status, civil…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB675-2026)
- [Virginia bills](https://policyrisk.com/states/virginia/bills)
- [Virginia state hub](https://policyrisk.com/states/virginia)
- [All state legislation](https://policyrisk.com/state-bills)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-SB170-2026 (as of 2026-10-12).