Virginia Overtime Laws for Hourly Employees (2026)

The rule

	Virginia
Weekly threshold	Over 40 hours worked in a workweek: at least 1.5 times the regular rate, the same as the FLSA
Daily threshold	None. A long day is not overtime unless the week passes 40 hours
Exemptions and math	Va. Code 40.1-29.2 applies the FLSA's definitions, exemptions, and overtime calculation methods, so an employee exempt under federal law is exempt in Virginia
Home care and air carriers	Va. Code 40.1-29.3 separately requires overtime over 40 hours a week for direct support workers employed by home care agencies or other third-party providers, and for employees of derivative air carriers
Remedies	The unpaid overtime, an equal amount as liquidated damages, prejudgment interest, and attorney fees and costs under Va. Code 40.1-29(K); that subsection triples the wages due when a court finds the employer knowingly failed to pay
State enforcement	DOLI may investigate and enforce overtime beginning July 1, 2026. For overtime earned before that date, DOLI points workers to the U.S. Department of Labor or a private lawsuit
Deadline to sue	Three years after the claim accrues

What the federal rule requires

The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) requires covered, nonexempt employees to be paid at least time and a half their regular rate for every hour worked over 40 in a workweek. The workweek is a fixed, regularly recurring period of seven consecutive 24-hour days; it can start on any day, but it cannot move around to avoid overtime.

There is no daily overtime under federal law. Work on a weekend, holiday, or night shift is paid at the regular rate unless the week's hours go past 40. The FLSA also sets no limit on how many hours an employee 16 or older may work in a week.

The regular rate is not always the hourly wage. Nondiscretionary bonuses, shift differentials, and commissions are folded in before the 1.5 multiplier is applied, which is why a bonus paid in a week with overtime raises the overtime rate for that week.

What Virginia's statute adds

Virginia's overtime statute has been rewritten twice since it was created in 2021. The original Virginia Overtime Wage Act had its own math, including a regular rate for salaried nonexempt staff of one-fortieth of the week's pay, and a narrower list of exemptions. In 2022 the General Assembly replaced it. Va. Code 40.1-29.2 now says an employer that violates the FLSA's overtime requirements is liable under Virginia law, and that the FLSA's definitions, exemptions, and overtime calculation methods apply.

A 2026 amendment (Chapter 1040, approved April 22, 2026) kept the federal rule but raised the stakes. Overtime claims now carry the remedies in Va. Code 40.1-29(K): the unpaid wages, an equal amount as liquidated damages, prejudgment interest, and reasonable attorney fees and costs, and that subsection triples the wages due when a court finds the employer knowingly failed to pay. The Department of Labor and Industry says it may investigate and enforce overtime beginning July 1, 2026. Claims must be filed within three years.

For wage suits filed on or after July 1, 2026, Va. Code 40.1-29(P) adds a good faith defense: no additional damages or penalties if the employer shows it acted in good faith with reasonable grounds, but only if it paid all the wages owed within 14 days of being notified of the violation. The practical lesson for a manager is simple: when you find an overtime error, pay it right away.

Home care and direct support workers

Va. Code 40.1-29.3 is a separate overtime rule for two groups: employees of derivative air carriers, and people employed by a home care agency or other third-party provider to give direct support services. The statute defines those as in-home personal care such as grooming, toileting, bathing, eating, dressing, monitoring health, and help with housekeeping for an older adult or a person with a disability. The 2026 amendment added the home care group.

These workers get at least 1.5 times their regular rate for hours over 40 in a workweek. The regular rate is the hourly rate plus other non-overtime wages for the week, less anything the FLSA excludes, divided by the hours worked that week. Unpaid overtime under this section carries the same 40.1-29(K) remedies.

Worked example: a 20-person home care agency

An aide paid $17 an hour spends 43 hours with clients and 3 hours driving between their homes during the workday: 46 hours in the workweek.

Driving from one client to the next during the workday is hours worked under federal rules, so the 3 hours count toward the 46.
40 hours at $17: $680. 6 hours at $25.50 (1.5 times $17): $153. Gross: $833.
If payroll counts only the 43 client hours, it pays 3 overtime hours instead of 6, and the aide is short $76.50 for the week.
Repeated for 20 weeks, that is $1,530 in unpaid overtime. Under Va. Code 40.1-29(K) a court awards that plus an equal $1,530 in liquidated damages, interest, and attorney fees. If it finds the agency knowingly failed to pay, the award is triple the wages due: $4,590.

How to track it

Virginia's rule is the federal weekly rule, so the number that matters is each employee's running total inside your workweek. What changed in 2026 is the cost of getting it wrong: the state can now investigate, and a state-court claim adds liquidated damages and fees to the back pay. The records that protect you are timestamped punches for every paid hour, including travel between job sites.

ClockOut stores every punch with a timestamp, totals hours by the company's workweek, and warns managers when someone is projected to pass 40 hours before the week ends. Timesheets and payroll exports (CSV, Gusto, ADP, QuickBooks) show daily and weekly hours, and GPS geofences and early clock-in limits keep punches tied to the job. ClockOut does not decide who is exempt: that call stays with you and your payroll provider. Once you decide, mark the person exempt from overtime (on any plan), and their hours are still tracked with no overtime calculated.

Virginia overtime FAQ

Does Virginia have daily overtime?

No. Virginia's statute adopts the FLSA, which counts overtime by the workweek only. A 12-hour shift is paid at the regular rate unless the employee's total for the week goes past 40 hours.

What changed in Virginia overtime law in 2026?

The rule itself did not change: it is still the federal 40-hour rule. A 2026 amendment gave overtime claims the state wage-claim remedies in Va. Code 40.1-29(K), including liquidated damages, interest, attorney fees, and triple the wages due if a court finds the employer knowingly failed to pay. The Department of Labor and Industry began enforcing overtime on July 1, 2026, and home care direct support workers were added to the separate overtime section, 40.1-29.3.

Who is exempt from overtime in Virginia?

Anyone exempt under the FLSA, because Va. Code 40.1-29.2 applies the federal exemptions, including the executive, administrative, professional, and outside sales tests. The separate rule in 40.1-29.3 still requires overtime for direct support workers employed by home care agencies and for derivative air carrier employees.

How long does an employee have to bring an overtime claim in Virginia?

Three years after the claim accrues, under Va. Code 40.1-29.2. Keep timesheets and payroll records at least that long so you can show what was worked and what was paid.

Sources, checked September 23, 2026

This is general information, not legal advice. Rules change; check the linked source.