Labor & Employment Law

Labor Law FAQs

Child Labor Law FAQs

Garnishment/Support FAQs

Payment of Wage FAQs

Representatives

Forms

Links

TEXT VERSION

Frequently Asked Questions: Payment of Wage

1. If an employee has not been paid all of his earned wages how can he obtain assistance?
   The Labor and Employment Law Division investigates wage claims, collects unpaid wages, and enforces the Payment of Wage Law. Employees may obtain wage claim forms from any of DOLI's Regional Offices or online.
2. How does an employer have to pay employees?
   Employers must establish regular paydays and rates of pay for each employee, and it is a violation of law not to pay all wages due on the established payday. Hourly employees must be paid at least once every two weeks or twice a month; and salaried employees must be paid at least once each month. These requirements do not apply to executive personnel. Virginia Code § 40.1-29(A)(1).
3. When an employee terminates, when are his final wages due?
   Final wages must be paid on or before the next regular payday on which the employee would have been paid had he remained employed. Virginia Code § 40.1-29(A)(1).
4. Can an employer reduce an employee's rate of pay?
   Yes; an employer can reduce an employee's rate of pay provided the reduction does not bring an employee's wage below the applicable federal or state minimum wage. Also, an employer must notify the affected employee prior to his being allowed or required to perform work at the reduced rate; the employee has the right to accept the lower rate or quit.
5. What is the minimum wage rate?
   The minimum wage rate under both the federal Fair Labor Standards Act ("F.L.S.A.") and state minimum wage law is $6.55 per hour. There are exceptions for certain categories of employees; the exceptions are not the same under federal and state law. Most employers are covered by the F.L.S.A.; very small employers who do not meet the annual revenue or interstate commerce requirements are covered by the state law. Virginia Code § 40.1-28-10.
6. Can tips, meals and lodging be credited toward the state's minimum wage? If meals and lodging are customarily furnished by the employer, and the employee elects to accept them, the reasonable value of these two items can be credited toward the minimum wage under both federal and state laws. Under federal law, which applies to most employers, tips may also be credited toward the minimum wage, except that the employee must be paid $2.13 an hour regardless of any tips received. Under state law, which applies only to a few very small employers, tips may be credited toward 100 percent of the minimum wage rate; the employer is not required to pay $2.13 an hour.

>> more(7-12)