Virginia Pay Transparency Law (HB 636): What Employers Need to Know Before They Post a Job

By Janet L. Duncan, Human Resources Director, Warren Whitney

If you’re interested in “do I have to post a salary range in Virginia” or “what does HB 636 require,” here’s the direct answer: yes. As of July 1, 2026, Virginia employers must include a good-faith wage or salary range in every public and internal posting for a job, promotion, transfer, or other employment opportunity. The law also bars employers from asking candidates about their salary history. There is no employer-size threshold; the law applies regardless of how many people you employ.

That’s the short version. The rest of this post covers what the law actually requires, what happens if you don’t comply, and, because a compliant posting is only the first step, what to think about before that range goes live.

What is HB 636?

HB 636, alongside its companion bill SB 215, was signed into law by Governor Abigail Spanberger and enacted on April 22, 2026. It took effect on July 1, 2026, and is now codified as Virginia Code § 40.1-28.7:12. HB 636 was sponsored by Del. Michelle Maldonado; SB 215 was sponsored by Sen. Jennifer Boysko.

What does the law require?

At a high level, covered employers must:

• Disclose a wage or salary range in every public and internal posting for a job, promotion, transfer, or other employment opportunity.
• Set that range in good faith, referencing a pay scale, a previously determined range, the actual range paid to people in equivalent roles, or the budgeted amount for the position.
• Stop asking about salary history. Employers may not seek a candidate’s or current employee’s wage or salary history, or use it to set pay, unless the person volunteers it without being asked.
• Avoid retaliation against applicants or employees who decline to share salary history or who ask what a posted range is.

The breadth of the range itself is one factor regulators will look at when deciding whether it was set in good faith; a $30,000 to $150,000 range for the same role invites scrutiny.

What happens if you don’t comply?

This is where Virginia’s law has more teeth than some other states’:

• The Virginia Attorney General can bring a civil action, with penalties up to $1,000 for a first violation and up to $5,000 for a subsequent one.
• Virginia also allows a private right of action: an employee or applicant can sue directly, within one year, for actual damages and equitable relief.
• There’s a narrow safe harbor: if a posting is missing pay information or the range was set in bad faith, an employer that corrects it everywhere it was originally posted within 15 business days of written notice isn’t subject to a private lawsuit for that specific defect.

The posting is the easy part

Getting the range onto a job posting is a compliance task. What happens after employees, managers, and candidates actually see that range is a different problem entirely, and it’s the one most employers aren’t ready for. A current employee who sees a range for their own role and realizes they’re near the bottom of it doesn’t file a compliance complaint. They start job hunting, or they stop trusting their manager’s answers about pay. That’s a retention and engagement issue, not a legal one, and it deserves its own conversation, which is exactly what we cover in Pay Transparency Is Not Just About the Range.

Where Warren Whitney fits in

I’ve spent more than 25 years in HR and compensation management, including work as an interim HR director for organizations across manufacturing, distribution, healthcare, energy, and nonprofit sectors. At Warren Whitney, our HR consulting practice helps Virginia employers build compensation programs, review pay ranges against current market data, and prepare internal talking points that hold up once a range is public, not just the posting language required to comply.

Next steps

Before your next posting goes live, ask: Is this range based on current market data? How does it compare to what current employees in similar roles are making? Could it create pay compression? Can a manager explain it in one clear sentence if asked?

If you haven’t reviewed your ranges, your current pay data, or your manager talking points since HB 636 took effect, that review is worth doing now, before a posting forces the conversation. Contact Warren Whitney to learn how you can prepare.

About the Author

Janet L. Duncan is a Director at Warren Whitney with more than 25 years of HR and compensation management experience, focused on long-term, competitive strategies to attract, retain, and engage talent, including compensation program design and internal equity reviews for organizations across manufacturing, distribution, healthcare, and energy. Read Janet’s full bio.