Legal Business

Legal Busine ss

By Tom Ashton

Executive Summary: Is your business ready for the changes now in effect as of last month?

Tom Ashton is a Roanoke attorney. Reach him at tom@ashtonlawoffice.com

Know the new laws

On July 1, 2020, hundreds of changes to Virginia laws went into effect. A summary of all changes can be found online, including at http://dls.virginia.gov/ pubs/idc/idc20.pdf. These changes cover everything from alcoholic beverage control to voting, and will, to varying degrees, affect the lives of every private citizen in Virginia. However, there are a number of notable legislative changes that will also affect area businesses, and I wanted to highlight some of those here.

Perhaps most immediately relevant to many businesses are the nearly annual increases made to state minimum wage requirements. The law requires a state minimum wage in excess of the federal minimum wage (currently $7.25 per hour) as follows: $9.50 per hour effective May 1, 2021; $11.00 per hour effective January 1, 2022; $12.00 per hour effective January 1, 2023; $13.50 per hour effective January 1, 2025; and $15.00 per hour effective January 1, 2026. For January 1, 2027, and thereafter, the annual minimum wage will be adjusted to reflect increases in the consumer price index.

There are a bevy of changes to the laws regarding discrimination in both housing and employment contexts, as well as in the health care and health insurance arenas. Generally, these changes either expand the definition of what constitutes discrimination or expand the protected classes to include new groups (i.e. sexual orientation/ gender identity). This is of particular interest to businesses of all kinds in their human resource functions, and in particular to property management companies, health insurance companies and health care providers doing business in Virginia.

Also, there is a new payment reporting requirement for “gig economy” market facilitators to ease the imposition and collection of taxes on independent contractor income. There is already a federal reporting requirement, and this amendment adds a state reporting requirement

at a substantially lower dollar threshold per payee.

Further, the changes in the law include important changes to Virginia’s unemployment compensation and worker’s compensation programs. These changes are not sweeping in scope but may portend additional changes in the future. The new changes also include things such as alterations to state holidays, new regulations regarding the emerging field of “tele-dentistry,” new general protections for certain tenants in eviction situations, and requirements for public works contractors and subcontractors.

For all businesses who may be subject to these regulations, it would be wise to consult with an experienced attorney soon, to better formulate a plan for compliance. As I think most could guess, there are very few of these legislative changes, if any, that are generally helpful to businesses – or add another burden at the very least. However, there are a lot of new legal requirements and a commensurate number of new civil and even criminal consequences for failing to meet those requirements. Being proactive may be the best way for owners and managers to protect themselves and their businesses.

“ ” Perhaps most immediately relevant to many businesses are the nearly annual increases made to state minimum wage requirements.