# Virginia SB215: Prospective employer; prohibited from seeking wage or salary history of prospective employees.

Virginia SB215, Prospective employer; prohibited from seeking wage or salary history of prospective employees., is a 2026 Regular Session Senate bill sponsored by Jennifer B. Boysko (Democratic); status signed, last action 2026-04-22 (House concurred in Governor's recommendation (66-Y 32-N 0-A)); PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-10-12).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-SB215-2026
- As of: 2026-10-12
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: Virginia SB215
- State: Virginia
- Session: 2026 Regular Session
- Title: Prospective employer; prohibited from seeking wage or salary history of prospective employees.
- Status: signed
- Chamber: Senate
- Introduced: 2026-01-09
- Last action: 2026-04-22, House concurred in Governor's recommendation (66-Y 32-N 0-A)
- Sponsor: Jennifer B. Boysko (Democratic)
- Cosponsors: 0
- Touches household money: yes
- Roll calls: 10 (258 yes, 128 no in all)
- Economic provisions PRIA read: 3

## Summary

Prohibiting employer seeking wage or salary history of prospective employees; wage or salary range transparency; cause of action. Prohibits a prospective employer from (i) seeking the wage or salary history of a prospective employee; (ii) relying on the wage or salary history of a prospective employee in considering the prospective employee for employment; (iii) relying on the wage or salary history of a prospective employee in determining the wages or salary the prospective employee is to be paid upon hire; (iv) refusing to interview, hire, employ, or promote or otherwise retaliating against a prospective or current employee for not providing wage or salary history or requesting a wage or salary range; (v) failing or refusing to disclose in each public and internal posting for each job, promotion, transfer, or other employment opportunity the wage, salary, or wage or salary range; and (vi) failing to set a wage or salary range in good faith. The bill establishes a cause of action for an aggrieved prospective employee or employee and provides that an employer that violates such prohibitions is liable to the aggrieved prospective employee or employee for statutory damages between $1,000 and $10,000 or actual damages, whichever is greater, reasonable attorney fees and costs, and any other legal and equitable relief as may be appropriate. This bill is identical to HB 636.

## Bill overview: provisions PRIA read

- Penalties and lawsuits to enforce pay rules: benefit, low. The Virginia Attorney General can sue employers that break these rules. Fines are up to $1,000 for a first violation and up to $5,000 for later ones. You can sue within one year for actual damages and other relief. For job posts missing pay or using a bad‑faith range, anyone may send written notice…
- Virginia jobs: no pay history, posted ranges: benefit, low. Virginia employers cannot ask for or rely on your past pay when hiring. They cannot retaliate if you refuse to share it or if you ask for the pay range. Every public and internal job posting must show the wage, salary, or a pay range. Pay ranges must be set in good faith.
- You can share past pay to negotiate: benefit, low. You may choose to share your past pay, including after an initial offer, to negotiate. If you volunteer this, an employer may use or confirm it only to support a higher offer. Any higher pay must still follow equal pay and other wage laws.

## Sponsors and cosponsors

- Sponsor: Jennifer B. Boysko (Democratic), Senate

## Roll call votes

| Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2026-04-22 | Senate | Senate concurred in Governor's recommendation | pass | 21 | 18 |   |
| 2026-04-22 | House | House concurred in Governor's recommendation | pass | 66 | 32 |   |
| 2026-02-26 | Senate | House amendment agreed to by Senate | pass | 21 | 19 |   |
| 2026-02-24 | House | Passed House with amendment | pass | 68 | 29 |   |
| 2026-02-19 | House | Reported from Labor and Commerce | pass | 14 | 5 |   |
| 2026-02-06 | Senate | Read third time and passed Senate | pass | 21 | 19 |   |
| 2026-02-05 | Senate | Commerce and Labor Amendment 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 amendment | pass | 7 | 6 |   |

## Actions (42)

- 2026-04-22: House concurred in Governor's recommendation (66-Y 32-N 0-A) (House)
- 2026-04-22: Senate concurred in Governor's recommendation (21-Y 18-N 0-A) (Senate)
- 2026-04-22: Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0996) (Governor)
- 2026-04-22: Reenrolled bill text (SB215ER2) (Senate)
- 2026-04-22: Reenrolled (Senate)
- 2026-04-22: Approved by Governor-Chapter 996 (effective 7/1/2026) (Governor)
- 2026-04-22: Signed by President (Senate)
- 2026-04-22: Signed by Speaker (House)
- 2026-04-22: Governor's recommendation adopted (Governor)
- 2026-04-13: Governor's recommendation received by Senate (Governor)
- 2026-03-10: Governor's Action Deadline 11:59 p.m., April 13, 2026 (Governor)
- 2026-03-10: Enrolled Bill communicated to Governor on March 10, 2026 (Senate)
- 2026-03-02: Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (SB215) (Senate)
- 2026-03-02: Bill text as passed Senate and House (SB215ER) (Senate)
- 2026-03-02: Enrolled (Senate)
- 2026-03-02: Signed by President (Senate)
- 2026-03-02: Signed by Speaker (House)
- 2026-02-26: House amendment agreed to by Senate (21-Y 19-N 0-A) (Senate)
- 2026-02-24: Passed House with amendment (68-Y 29-N 0-A) (House)
- 2026-02-24: Engrossed by House as amended (House)
- 2026-02-24: Delegate Maldonado Floor amendment agreed to (House)
- 2026-02-24: Passed by temporarily (House)
- 2026-02-24: Floor Offered (House)
- 2026-02-24: Read third time (House)
- 2026-02-23: Read second time (House)
- 2026-02-19: Reported from Labor and Commerce (14-Y 5-N) (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)
- 2026-02-11: Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (SB215) (Senate)
- 2026-02-06: Read third time and passed Senate (21-Y 19-N 0-A) (Senate)
- 2026-02-05: Commerce and Labor Amendment agreed to (Senate)
- 2026-02-05: Engrossed by Senate as amended (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)
- 2026-02-02: Senate committee offered (Senate)
- 2026-02-02: Reported from Commerce and Labor with amendment (7-Y 6-N) (Senate)
- 2026-01-30: Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (SB215) (Senate)
- 2026-01-09: Referred to Committee on Commerce and Labor (Senate)
- 2026-01-09: Prefiled and ordered printed; Offered 01-14-2026 26100773D (Senate)

## Bill text

- Chaptered, 2026-04-22: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1225023.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1225022.PDF)
- Reenrolled, 2026-04-22: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1220488.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1220487.PDF)
- Substitute, 2026-04-14: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1219563.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1219562.PDF)
- Gov Recommendation, 2026-04-13: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1219559.HTML)
- Enrolled, 2026-03-02: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1186676.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1186675.PDF)
- Amendment, 2026-02-24: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1177855.HTML), [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1178713.HTML)
- Engrossed, 2026-02-05: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1128609.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1128608.PDF)
- Amendment, 2026-02-03: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1113417.HTML)
- Amendment, 2026-02-02: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1107944.HTML)
- Introduced, 2026-01-09: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1084105.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1084104.PDF)

## Related bills

- HB5: Employment; paid sick leave, civil penalties. (signed)
- SB199: Employment; paid sick leave, civil penalties. (signed)
- HB834: Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act; fire or casualty damage, termination by landlord. (signed)
- HB1393: Electric utilities; pilot program for energy assistance and weatherization for certain individuals. (signed)
- HB95: Va. Residential Landlord and Tenant Act; landlord remedies, noncompliance with rental agreement. (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/1225023.HTML)
- [Chaptered (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1225022.PDF)
- [Reenrolled (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1220488.HTML)
- [Reenrolled (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1220487.PDF)
- [Substitute (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1219563.HTML)
- [Substitute (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1219562.PDF)
- [Gov Recommendation (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1219559.HTML)
- [Enrolled (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1186676.HTML)
- [Enrolled (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1186675.PDF)
- [Amendment (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1177855.HTML)
- [Amendment (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1178713.HTML)
- [Engrossed (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1128609.HTML)
- [Engrossed (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1128608.PDF)
- [Amendment (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1113417.HTML)
- [Amendment (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1107944.HTML)
- [Introduced (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1084105.HTML)
- [Introduced (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1084104.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)
- [HB834: Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act; fire or casualty damage, terminat…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB834-2026)
- [HB1393: Electric utilities; pilot program for energy assistance and weatherization for…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB1393-2026)
- [HB95: Va. Residential Landlord and Tenant Act; landlord remedies, noncompliance with…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB95-2026)
- [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)
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Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-SB215-2026 (as of 2026-10-12).