On March 7, 2025, Virginia’s General Assembly passed House Bill (HB) 1919, requiring by January 1, 2027, any Virginia employer of one hundred or more employees to develop, implement, and maintain a workplace violence policy. The bill is currently awaiting Governor Glenn Youngkin’s signature.
Quick Hits
- Virginia’s General Assembly passed a workplace violence bill that would require any workplace violence policy to include a “mechanism for employees to report workplace violence” and measures to protect workplace safety.
- The bill, if signed, would require employers to make these plans “tailored and specific to conditions and hazards” at the employer’s workplace and would make it unlawful for employers to discriminate or retaliate against employees who report workplace violence, threats, incidents, or concerns to the employer or the authorities.
- The bill is now on the governor’s desk.
If passed, HB 1919 would require any such workplace violence policy to include a “mechanism for employees to report workplace violence” in addition to measures to protect workplace safety. If signed by the governor, the new law would require covered employers to make their workplace violence plans “tailored and specific to conditions and hazards” at the employer’s workplace.
If enacted, the law would require employers in Virginia to explicitly include several layers of implementation controls in their workplace violence policies. Specifically, any policy needs to outline the “procedures and methods for identifying” the individuals responsible for the policy’s implementation. Any policy must also detail how employers will respond to incidents immediately and post-incident investigation procedures.
The largest consideration for employers is the requirement to assess risks of workplace violence and hazards to employees. The bill does not define what this assessment looks like but does require that it be completed to support the specifics of each employer’s jobsite.
Retaliation
If signed, the bill would make it unlawful for employers to discriminate against employees who report workplace violence, threats, incidents, or concerns to the employer or the authorities. Beyond traditional prohibitions on retaliation, HB1919 would explicitly prevent employers from taking any disciplinary actions against employees who report workplace violence incidents “under a policy developed pursuant to § 40.1-51.4:6 or otherwise.”
Documentation and Reporting
If enacted, employers would be required to document all reports of workplace violence incidents, including the responses, investigations, and any corrective measures taken. Under the bill, any documentation would be required to detail the violent incident, including the date, time, and location, as well as the names and job titles of the employees involved. Additionally, it would be required to describe the nature and extent of any injuries and, if applicable, how the incident was resolved. As far as retention, the law would require employers to keep these documents for a minimum of five years and make them available upon request to employees (with personal identifying information omitted) and law enforcement.
Enforcement: Civil Penalties
In the event that employers are found to be noncompliant after the July 1, 2027, deadline, they could potentially be subject to a civil penalty of up to $1,000 per violation.
Beyond the workplace violence requirements in HB1919, employers may also want to be aware of House Bill (HB) 1620, whichwould direct the Virginia Department of Labor and Industry to “convene a work group for the purpose of evaluating the prevalence of workplace violence” in the state. The work group would develop recommendations related to (a) maintaining healthy, safe, and secure work environments; (b) educating employers and employees and communicating to them techniques to effectively handle conflicts in the workplace; and (c) employee support services designed to address workplace violence. Unlike HB1919, this bill is currently tabled in committee but can change the scene about how enforcement might look going forward.
Employers in Virginia will have roughly two years to come into compliance if the bill is signed into law. It may be prudent for employers to start considering abusive conduct and bullying as factors in their workplace evaluations.
Key Takeaways
In 2025, many employers are starting to consider workplace violence incidents in their efforts to maintain workplace safety. Currently, there are no federal requirements related to workplace violence, and several states (including California and Virginia) are leading the charge in creating state-specific requirements. With Virginia’s newly proposed requirements, employers with one hundred or more employees may want to consider planning for a workplace violence plan, including what the program will entail and what workplace-specific hazards they need to consider.