HB 1451 — Warehouse employers; required disclosures and recordkeeping, civil penalties.

+OFFERED 2027FOR SESSIONCONSIDERATION 2/05/2026 + INTRODUCED+ + + + 26104872D+ I+ + HOUSE BILL NO.

1451 Offered+ January+ 22,AMENDMENT 2026IN NTHE NATURE OF A SUBSTITUTE + (Proposed by the House Committee on Labor and Commerce + + + on ________________) + + (Patron Prior to Substitute—Delegate Anthony) + A BILL to amend and reenact § 40.1-49.4 of the Code of Virginia and to amend the Code of Virginia by adding in Chapter 3 of Title 40.1 an article numbered 3.1, consisting of sections numbered 40.1-38.1 T through 40.1-38.6, relating to labor and employment;

warehousecertain employers;

required disclosures and R recordkeeping;

O ————— D Patron—Anthony ————— U Referred to Committee on Labor and Commerce ————— C Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:

E 1.

That § 40.1-49.4 of the Code of Virginia is amended and reenacted and that the Code of Virginia is amended by adding in Chapter 3 of Title 40.1 an article numbered 3.1, consisting of sections numbered D 40.1-38.1 through 40.1-38.6, as follows:

"Automated or algorithmic management system" means any software, digital monitoring tool, or system H that uses data analytics or automated decision making to track employee productivity or evaluate B 24 performance in relation to a quota for purposes of discipline or adverse employment action.

5 "Defined time period" means any unit of time measurement equal to or less than the duration of an 1 employee's work shift, including hours, minutes, seconds, or any fraction thereof.

"Employer" means any person that, directly or indirectly, or through an agent or third party, employs, retains, or exercises control over the wages, hours, or working conditions of 500 or more employees DRAFT OFFERED FOR CONSIDERATION 2/05/2026 statewide at one or more warehouse distribution centers in the Commonwealth.

35 "Personal work-speed data" means information that an employer collects or maintains in the ordinary 36 course of business relating to an individual employee's performance of a quota, including quantities of tasks 37 performed, quantities of items or materials handled or produced, rates or speeds of tasks performed, 38 measurements or metrics of performance, and time categorized as performing tasks or not performing tasks.

39 "Quota" means a performance standard under which an employee is assigned or required, within a defined time period, to perform a quantified number of tasks, to handle or produce a quantified amount of material, or to perform work at a specified productivity speed, and where failure to meet such standard may result in discipline or adverse employment action.

"Warehouse distribution system"center" means an establishment classified under one or more of the following North American Industry Classification System Codes:

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A written disclosure under this section shall be provided (i) in plain English and, upon request, in any other language primarily spoken by 10 percent or more of the employer's warehouse employees in the Commonwealth.Commonwealth and (ii) in a manner reasonably accessible to the employee and that does not require the use of the employee's personal electronic device.

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Nothing in this article shall be construed to require an employer to adopt, modify, or eliminate any quota, automated or algorithmic management system, or productivity standard.standard or to regulate production rates or operational processes.

A current employee, former employee, or a designated employee representative may request at any time:time, to the extent such records are collected or maintained in the ordinary course of business, records of:

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Requested records shall be provided at no cost and nowithin latera thanreasonable time as prescribed by the Commissioner by regulation, not to exceed (i) two business days after a request for quota descriptions and (ii) seven business days after a request for personal and aggregated work-speed data.

of 4 3.

(a) The Commissioner shall have the authority to propose civil penalties for cited violations in I accordance with subsections G, H, I, and J.

In determining the amount of any proposed penalty, he shall Nivegive DRAFT OFFERED FOR CONSIDERATION 2/05/2026 due consideration to the appropriateness of the penalty with respect to the size of the business of the employer being charged, the gravity of the violation, the good faith of the employer, and the history ofTof previous violations.

In addition, the Commissioner shall have authority to assess interest on all past-dRepast-due penalties and administrative costs incurred in the collection of penalties for such violations consistenOconsistent with § 2.2-4805.

(b) After, or concurrent with, the issuance of a citation and order of abatement, and within a reasoDablereasonable time after the termination of an inspection or investigation, the Commissioner shall notify the employerUbyemployer by certified mail, by commercial delivery service with signed and dated acknowledgment of delivery, or by personal service of the proposed penalty or that no penalty is being proposed.

The proposed penalty shalCshall be deemed to be the final order of the Commissioner and not subject to review by any court or agency unlessEunless, within 15 working days from the date of receipt of such notice, the employer notifies the Commissioner in writing that he intends to contest the citation, order of abatement or the proposed penalty or the emploDeeemployee or representative of employees has filed a notice in accordance with subsection B of this section and any such notice of proposed penalty, citation or order of abatement shall so state.

If the Commissioner has reasonable cause to believe that an employer has failed to abate a violation for which a citation has been issued within the time period permitted for its abatement, which time shall not begin to run until the entry of a final order in the case of any contest as provided in subsection E of Hhisthis section initiated by the employer in good faith and not solely for delay or avoidance of penalties, a ciBationcitation for failure to abate will be issued to the employer in the same manner as prescribed by subsection A.

In4In addition, the Commissioner shall notify the employer by certified mail, by commercial delivery service w1thwith signed and dated acknowledgment of delivery, or by personal service of such failure and of the penalty proposed to be assessed by reason of such failure.

The Commissioner shall prescribe procedures for the payment DRAFT OFFERED FOR CONSIDERATION 2/05/2026 of proposed assessments of penalties which are not contested by employers.

Such procedures shall include provisions for an employer to consent to abatement of the alleged violation and pay a proposed penalty or a negotiated sum in lieu of such penalty without admission of any civil liability arising from such alleged violation.

sum in lieu of such penalty without admission of any civil liability arising from such alleged Final orders of the Commissioner or the circuit courts may be recorded, enforced, and satisfied as orders or decrees of a circuit court upon certification of such orders by the Commissioner or the court as appropriate.

HB1451 4 of 4 Whenever and as soon as the Commissioner concludes that conditions or practices described in this subsection exist in any place of employment and that judicial relief shall be sought, he shall immediately inform the affected employer and employees of such proposed course of action.

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2.

That the Department of Labor and Industry (the Department) shall convene a work group to assess the use of employee performance standards, including quota-based or automated management systems, in high-volume distribution and logistics settings in the Commonwealth.

The work group shall review any available Virginia data regarding workplace injuries, employee complaints, enforcement activity, and existing employer transparency practices related to such systems and shall develop recommendations to promote employee access to information and workplace safety while preserving operational feasibility for employers.

The work group shall include representatives of employers, employees, organized labor, and other stakeholders as determined by the Commissioner of Labor and Industry.

The Department shall convene the work group within existing resources and shall submit a report of its findings and recommendations to the Governor and the Chairs of the House Committee on Labor and Commerce and the Senate Committee on Commerce and Labor by November 1, 2026.