Do remote jobs in Virginia now need to show pay and benefits information

Do remote jobs in Virginia now need to show pay and benefits information

Yes. As of July 1, 2026, Virginia requires job postings and hiring advertisements to include a wage or salary range for the position, and that rule reaches remote roles when the posting is for a Virginia job opportunity. The same law does not create a general requirement to list benefits in the posting.

The part people get wrong is simple: they treat a remote job as outside the state rule just because the work happens at home. Virginia’s wage-range law is written for job postings and internal postings, not for office-based jobs only. A remote role posted for Virginia hiring still needs the range.

The inconvenient part is that “remote” does not solve the compliance problem. If your posting is aimed at Virginia hiring, the ad needs the wage or salary range in the posting itself. That means the employer has to make the compensation decision before the posting goes live, not after interviews start.

Virginia’s definition of the required range is the minimum and maximum wage or salary for the position, set in good faith by reference to a pay scale, an existing range, current equivalent roles, or the budgeted amount for the role. The law is about the compensation range, not a vague promise that pay will be “competitive.”

Benefits are different. Virginia’s pay-transparency rule requires the wage or salary range, but it does not say every posting must list health insurance, PTO, retirement, or other benefits. An employer can still include benefits, and many do, but benefits are not the mandatory item this law added.

That distinction matters for remote hiring because employers often put one national template everywhere and assume the same disclosure rule applies in every state. In Virginia, the safer move is to review the exact text of the posting, the job location, and whether the role is part of Virginia hiring before it is published. The state labor department’s update says the rule applies to both newly posted external ads and internal postings.

If a role is remote but tied to another state, the employer may still need a different posting treatment depending on where the job is being advertised and where the hire is classified. The Virginia rule is triggered by Virginia postings and advertisements, so the location label alone is not the whole test. Employers should read the posting itself and the jurisdiction it targets. That is a practical inference from the statute and the state guidance.

The rule also bans asking for wage or salary history during the application or interview process. So the posting is not the only place where compensation compliance matters. A recruiter who tries to fill gaps by asking what the applicant made before can still create a problem even if the posting included a range.

For employers, the easiest way to avoid a bad posting is to build the range first, then write the ad. If the role is remote and the company wants Virginia applicants, the range needs to be visible where the job is posted. If the employer wants to include benefits, that is fine, but the wage or salary range is the required disclosure.

If you are checking a specific listing, look for two things: whether it names a wage or salary range, and whether the posting is actually meant to recruit for Virginia work. A vague “salary commensurate with experience” line is not the same thing as a range. A benefits paragraph does not replace the required pay disclosure.

If you want the underlying text, Virginia’s code section and the state labor department update are the best starting points, and you can also compare the state rule with your own posting template on DevConnect at https://devconnectplatform.com. That is useful because many teams reuse one job-ad format across states and miss the Virginia-specific line.

The practical answer is yes for pay, no for mandatory benefits disclosure. Remote does not exempt the job if it is a Virginia posting, and the law now expects the range to be visible before applicants apply. Employers who wait until later are the ones most likely to miss the rule.

What changed in Virginia

Virginia’s Department of Labor and Industry says the new pay-transparency requirement begins July 1, 2026. The state code section says employers must disclose the wage, salary, or wage or salary range in each public and internal posting for each job, promotion, transfer, or other employment opportunity. That is the core rule to check first.

The state also defines “wage or salary range” as the minimum and maximum for the position. That definition matters because it prevents employers from treating a single number, a vague label, or a benefits description as enough. The rule is about range disclosure, not general compensation language.

What remote employers should do

Review every Virginia-facing template before it is reused for a remote role. Put the pay range into the posting, not only into the offer letter. Keep the range aligned with the actual budget for the position, because Virginia’s code ties the range to a good-faith basis.

If your posting system uses separate fields for salary, location, and benefits, do not assume the benefits field satisfies the law. It does not. The required item is the wage or salary range, and the state update says that requirement applies to postings on any platform, internal and external.

What people usually miss

People often assume “remote” means “not subject to state posting rules.” That is wrong when the employer is posting for Virginia hiring. The other mistake is assuming benefits are the main disclosure item. Under Virginia’s new rule, pay range is the mandatory disclosure, while benefits remain optional unless some other rule requires them.

If you are a job seeker

Check the posting before you apply. If the role is for Virginia and there is no pay range, the posting may be noncompliant. If the ad lists a range but hides the location, ask whether the employer is hiring for a Virginia role or a multi-state role, because that affects how the posting should be read.

If you are an employer

Use a Virginia-specific review step before publishing any remote role. Confirm that the posting includes a wage or salary range, that the range is in good faith, and that no recruiter script asks for salary history. That is the cleanest way to comply with the new rule and avoid a bad posting that has to be corrected later.

FAQ

Does Virginia require benefits to be listed in every remote job posting

No. Virginia’s new rule requires a wage or salary range. It does not add a blanket requirement to list benefits in every posting.

Does the rule apply to internal postings too

Yes. The state update says both public and internal postings must disclose the wage or salary range.

Can an employer ask what I made at my last job

Not under this law. Virginia prohibits seeking wage or salary history from an applicant during the application or interview process.

Is “competitive pay” enough for a Virginia posting

No. Virginia defines the required disclosure as a wage or salary range with a minimum and maximum.

What if the remote job is for workers in several states

Then the employer has to check each applicable state rule before posting. Virginia’s rule still applies to Virginia postings, so a multi-state template needs a Virginia-compliant version if it will be used there. That is a compliance inference from the posted rule and the state guidance.