2023
Employee ID Can’t Include Social Security Number
Effective July 1, 2023, employers can no longer use an employee’s Social Security number, or any version of it, as the employee’s’ identification (ID) number or on their ID card, or badge, access card or badge, or the like.
NDAs Can’t Conceal Sexual Assault or Harassment Claims
Effective July 1, 2023, employers may not require that employees, current or prospective, agree to or renew any part of a nondisclosure or confidentiality agreement, including a nondisparagement provision, that conceals details about sexual harassment or an assault claim as an employment condition. This law mirrors the federal Speak Out Act, effective December 7, 2022, which likewise makes such clauses unenforceable.
Human Trafficking Training for Hotel Employees
Effective January 1, 2023, hotel employers of any size must train employees how to recognize and report suspected human trafficking. Employees must be trained if they:
- Have regular interactions with guests (for example, front desk staff and bartenders),
- Can access guest rooms, or
- Manage other employees.
Employees must be trained within six months of starting work or June 30, 2023, whichever is later. Employees must be re-trained every two years. The Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services provides a free training course for employers to use.
Medical Donor Leave Law
Effective July 1, 2023, employers with 50 or more employees are required to provide unpaid leave to donate an organ or bone marrow. To be eligible for leave, employees must have worked for the employer for at least 12 months and worked 1,250 hours in the 12 months prior to leave.
Eligible employees can take up to 60 business days of leave to donate an organ and up to 30 business days to donate bone marrow in a 12-month period. Health benefit coverage must be maintained as usual during the leave. Organ donation leave can’t be counted as a break in service for purposes of an employee’s right to pay increases, sick leave, paid time off, seniority, or other benefits. When they return from leave, employees are generally entitled to the same or an equivalent position.
Employers can require that an employee provide a written verification from a doctor that they’re an organ or bone marrow donor and that there’s a medical necessity for the donation.
This leave doesn’t run concurrently with leave under the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), so any leave an employee takes under this law will be in addition to their FMLA leave entitlement. Employees can use paid sick leave or other paid time off during organ donation leave.
