# Virginia SB637: Virginia Human Rights Act; nondiscrimination, procedures for charge of unlawful discrimination. Virginia SB637, Virginia Human Rights Act; nondiscrimination, procedures for charge of unlawful discrimination., is a 2026 Regular Session Senate bill sponsored by Adam P. Ebbin (Democratic); status signed, last action 2026-04-13 (Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0950)); PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-10-12). - Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-SB637-2026 - As of: 2026-10-12 - Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts. ## Facts - Bill: Virginia SB637 - State: Virginia - Session: 2026 Regular Session - Title: Virginia Human Rights Act; nondiscrimination, procedures for charge of unlawful discrimination. - Status: signed - Chamber: Senate - Introduced: 2026-01-14 - Last action: 2026-04-13, Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0950) - Sponsor: Adam P. Ebbin (Democratic) - Cosponsors: 0 - Touches household money: yes - Roll calls: 11 (182 yes, 93 no in all) - Economic provisions PRIA read: 1 ## Summary Virginia Human Rights Act; procedures for a charge of unlawful discrimination. Provides that, for the purposes of nondiscrimination in places of public accommodation, "place of public accommodation" includes educational institutions. The bill reduces from 15 to five the number of employees in the definition of "employer" for purposes of nondiscrimination in employment. The bill also amends from 300 days to two years the timeframe for filing a complaint alleging unlawful discrimination with the Office of the Attorney General. ## Bill overview: provisions PRIA read - Stronger discrimination protections for Virginia workers: benefit, high. Virginia lowers its general employer coverage threshold from 15 workers to five. Employers must have at least five employees each workday during 20 or more calendar weeks this year or last year. Employers with one or more domestic workers are also covered. Covered employers cannot sort or separate… ## Sponsors and cosponsors - Sponsor: Adam P. Ebbin (Democratic), Senate ## Roll call votes | Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 2026-03-10 | Senate | House substitute agreed to by Senate | pass | 21 | 19 | | | 2026-03-06 | House | Passed House with substitute | pass | 62 | 35 | | | 2026-03-03 | House | Reported from Labor and Commerce with substitute | pass | 15 | 7 | | | 2026-02-26 | House | Subcommittee recommends reporting | pass | 4 | 2 | | | 2026-02-11 | Senate | Read third time and passed Senate | pass | 21 | 19 | | | 2026-02-10 | Senate | Finance and Appropriations Substitute agreed to | pass | 0 | 0 | | | 2026-02-10 | Senate | General Laws and Technology Amendment rejected | pass | 0 | 0 | | | 2026-02-09 | Senate | Passed by for the day Block Vote (Voice Vote) | pass | 0 | 0 | | | 2026-02-09 | Senate | Constitutional reading dispensed Block Vote (on 1st reading) | pass | 40 | 0 | | | 2026-02-05 | Senate | Reported from Finance and Appropriations with substitute | pass | 10 | 5 | | | 2026-01-28 | Senate | Reported from General Laws and Technology with amendment and rereferred to Finance and Appropriations | pass | 9 | 6 | | ## Actions (37) - 2026-04-13: Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0950) (Governor) - 2026-04-13: Approved by Governor-Chapter 950 (effective 7/1/2026) (Governor) - 2026-03-31: Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (SB637) (Senate) - 2026-03-31: Governor's Action Deadline 11:59 p.m., April 13, 2026 (Governor) - 2026-03-31: Enrolled Bill communicated to Governor on March 31, 2026 (Senate) - 2026-03-31: Signed by Speaker (House) - 2026-03-30: Bill text as passed Senate and House (SB637ER) (Senate) - 2026-03-30: Enrolled (Senate) - 2026-03-30: Signed by President (Senate) - 2026-03-10: Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (SB637) (Senate) - 2026-03-10: House substitute agreed to by Senate (21-Y 19-N 0-A) (Senate) - 2026-03-06: Passed House with substitute (62-Y 35-N 0-A) (House) - 2026-03-06: Engrossed by House - committee substitute (House) - 2026-03-06: committee substitute agreed to (House) - 2026-03-06: Read third time (House) - 2026-03-05: Read second time (House) - 2026-03-03: Committee substitute printed 26108737D-H1 (House) - 2026-03-03: Reported from Labor and Commerce with substitute (15-Y 7-N) (House) - 2026-02-26: Subcommittee recommends reporting (4-Y 2-N) (House) - 2026-02-17: Read first time (House) - 2026-02-17: Assigned HCL sub: Subcommittee #2 (House) - 2026-02-17: Referred to Committee on Labor and Commerce (House) - 2026-02-17: Placed on Calendar (House) - 2026-02-11: Read third time and passed Senate (21-Y 19-N 0-A) (Senate) - 2026-02-10: Finance and Appropriations Substitute agreed to (Senate) - 2026-02-10: General Laws and Technology Amendment rejected (Senate) - 2026-02-10: Engrossed by Senate - committee substitute (Voice Vote) (Senate) - 2026-02-10: Read second time (Senate) - 2026-02-09: Passed by for the day Block Vote (Voice Vote) (Senate) - 2026-02-09: Constitutional reading dispensed Block Vote (on 1st reading) (40-Y 0-N 0-A) (Senate) - 2026-02-09: Committee substitute printed 26107345D-S1 (Senate) - 2026-02-09: Passed by for the day (Senate) - 2026-02-09: Rules suspended (Senate) - 2026-02-05: Reported from Finance and Appropriations with substitute (10-Y 5-N) (Senate) - 2026-01-28: Reported from General Laws and Technology with amendment and rereferred to Finance and Appropriations (9-Y 6-N) (Senate) - 2026-01-14: Referred to Committee on General Laws and Technology (Senate) - 2026-01-14: Prefiled and ordered printed; Offered 01-14-2026 26105279D (Senate) ## Bill text - Chaptered, 2026-04-13: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1224689.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1224688.PDF) - Enrolled, 2026-03-30: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1209933.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1209932.PDF) - Substitute, 2026-03-03: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1191671.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1191670.PDF) - Substitute, 2026-02-09: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1133925.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1133924.PDF) - Amendment, 2026-01-29: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1102032.HTML) - Introduced, 2026-01-14: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1091590.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1091589.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/1224689.HTML) - [Chaptered (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1224688.PDF) - [Enrolled (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1209933.HTML) - [Enrolled (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1209932.PDF) - [Substitute (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1191671.HTML) - [Substitute (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1191670.PDF) - [Substitute (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1133925.HTML) - [Substitute (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1133924.PDF) - [Amendment (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1102032.HTML) - [Introduced (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1091590.HTML) - [Introduced (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1091589.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-SB637-2026 (as of 2026-10-12).