Virginia Governor Vetoes Major AI and Other Workplace Bills

Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin (R) vetoed four bills that would have created significant new obligations for employers in the state:

AI bias bill: The High-Risk Artificial Intelligence Developer and Deployer Act required AI developers and deployers to implement certain safeguards against algorithmic discrimination.

• The bill would have made Virginia the second state – after Colorado – to pass comprehensive AI legislation with broad application to employers.

• Gov. Youngkin vetoed the bill on the grounds that it was overly burdensome and would inhibit AI innovation.

Workplace violence prevention: The bill would have required larger companies operating in Virginia to develop, implement, and maintain workplace violence prevention plans with specific procedural safeguards, and included a broad definition of “workplace violence.”

• In vetoing the bill, Gov. Youngkin asserted that it wrongfully misclassified workplace violence as a regulatory issue instead of criminal one.

Minimum wage increase, paid sick leave requirements: The minimum wage bill would have increased the hourly minimum wage from $12.41 to $15. A separate bill would have required employers to provide one hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours worked.

• In vetoing these measures, Gov. Youngkin called the minimum wage increase “arbitrary” and expressed concern that the paid leave proposal restricted flexibility and would have negative economic consequences.

Zoom out: The vetoes prevented Virginia from becoming the latest state to significantly add to the growing patchwork of state laws on workplace issues - the focus of our State Law Guide. Nevertheless, the avalanche of proposals with major workplace implications passed by the VA legislature highlights the growing state presence in workplace policy. With a gubernatorial election on deck in 2025, Virginia may forfeit the current Republican governor’s firewall against these types of proposals.