Hunton Employment & Labor Perspectives

Virginia’s 2020 legislative session is not scheduled to wrap-up until March. But Virginia employers need to pay attention now to several game-changing bills moving through the legislative process and expected to be signed into law this spring.  The Hunton government relations team, working with several lobbying clients, has already helped defeat  several of these measures including a proposed repeal of Virginia’s right to work statute.  But others are expected to become law, and could dramatically increase the volume of employment litigation in Virginia.  Employers are therefore well advised to begin planning for these changes now.

On February 12, 2016, the West Virginia legislature overrode Governor Earl Ray Tomblin’s veto of the Establishing West Virginia Workplace Freedom Act and in doing so became the 26th state to enact “right-to-work” legislation.

Michigan GOP leaders announced plans on December 6, 2012, to fast track “right to work” legislation during the lame duck session.  Just hours after the legislation was introduced and amid protests at the state Capitol, both the state Senate and House of Representatives approved bills prohibiting private-sector unions from requiring non-union employees to pay union dues as a condition of employment.  The Senate also quickly voted to approve a bill banning public-sector unions, except those representing police officers and firefighters, from requiring non-union members to pay union dues.