State Sen. Jennifer D. Carroll Foy put forward a bill that would continue exemption of certain groups—including farm workers and temporary foreign laborers—from Virginia’s minimum wage laws, as stated by the Virginia State Senate.
The legislation, designated as SB121 and introduced on Jan. 14, 2026, during the 2026 regular session, is titled: “Minimum wage; farm laborers or farm employees, temporary foreign workers.”
Below is our analysis, offering additional clarification to help explain the measure based on the proposal’s actual language.
Essentially, the bill would update Virginia’s minimum wage statute to keep farm laborers, farm employees and temporary foreign workers outside the definition of “employee”—so they would remain exempt from state minimum wage rules. It revises exemption language in both the current law and the version set for July 1, 2030, explicitly mentioning temporary foreign workers covered by federal guidelines. The proposal maintains definitions for employer, wages, tipped employees, domestic service and home care providers, and leaves existing provisions for calculating tipped wages unchanged.
This legislation is sponsored by Sens. Jennifer D. Carroll Foy (Democrat-33rd District) and Saddam Azlan Salim (Democrat-37th District).
At the start of the session, Carroll Foy filed 11 additional pieces of legislation.
Carroll Foy received a BA from Virginia Military Institute in 2003 and earned her JD from Thomas Jefferson School of Law in 2010.
Carroll Foy, a Democrat, won election to the Virginia Senate in 2024 for the 33rd District, succeeding former senator Jennifer Boysko.
In Virginia, the legislative process starts with a bill’s introduction in either the House of Delegates or Senate, followed by committee assignment, discussion and possible revisions. If the committee approves, the bill advances to debate and a vote in each chamber. Passage in both chambers sends it to the governor, who may sign, veto or let it become law without signing. The General Assembly meets in regular session beginning the second Monday in January each year. Legislators submit hundreds of bills every session, but only some are enacted.
| Legislative Session | Patron(s) | Bill Number | Date Introduced | Short Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Jennifer D. Carroll Foy and Saddam Azlan Salim | SB121 | 01/14/2026 | Minimum wage; farm laborers or farm employees, temporary foreign workers. |
| 2026 | Jennifer D. Carroll Foy | SB24 | 01/14/2026 | Discovery; methods of delivery, accused may request of any materials or evidence, etc., report. |
| 2026 | Jennifer D. Carroll Foy and Jessica L. Anderson | SB25 | 01/14/2026 | Offshore wind industry; workforce development. |
| 2026 | Jennifer D. Carroll Foy | SB26 | 01/14/2026 | Land development; definitions, solar canopies in surface parking areas, delayed effective date. |
| 2026 | Jennifer D. Carroll Foy, Russet Perry, Kannan Srinivasan, Saddam Azlan Salim, and Scott A. Surovell | SB27 | 01/14/2026 | Firearm industry members; definitions, standards of responsible conduct, civil liability. |
| 2026 | Jennifer D. Carroll Foy | SB28 | 01/14/2026 | Overtime for certain employees; pay for domestic workers, delayed effective date. |
| 2026 | Jennifer D. Carroll Foy, Jeremy S. McPike, and Scott A. Surovell | SB361 | 01/14/2026 | Health insurance; coverage for contraceptive drugs & devices, including over-the-counter. |
| 2026 | Jennifer D. Carroll Foy and Saddam Azlan Salim | SB364 | 01/14/2026 | Virginia Gun Violence Prevention Center; work group to develop policy, etc., to establish. |
| 2026 | Jennifer D. Carroll Foy | SB369 | 01/14/2026 | Civil actions; assignment as business litigation action, requirements, delayed effective date. |
| 2026 | Jennifer D. Carroll Foy, Barbara A. Favola, Jeremy S. McPike, and Scott A. Surovell | SB596 | 01/14/2026 | Contraception; definitions, establishes right to obtain, applicability, enforcement. |
| 2026 | Jennifer D. Carroll Foy | SB630 | 01/14/2026 | Health insurance; tobacco surcharge. |
| 2026 | Jennifer D. Carroll Foy | SB721 | 01/14/2026 | Maternal Health Monitoring Pilot Program; established, report. |
| 2025 | Jennifer D. Carroll Foy, Ghazala F. Hashmi, Angelia Williams Graves, and Kannan Srinivasan | SB780 | 01/08/2025 | Health insurance; coverage for contraceptive drugs and devices. |
| 2025 | Jennifer D. Carroll Foy | SB781 | 01/08/2025 | Retired or former law-enforcement officers; publication of personal information. |
| 2025 | Jennifer D. Carroll Foy | SB847 | 01/08/2025 | Reckless driving; improper driving as a lesser included offense. |
| 2025 | Jennifer D. Carroll Foy | SB897 | 01/08/2025 | Overtime for certain employees; domestic service workers and live-in domestic workers. |
| 2025 | Jennifer D. Carroll Foy | SB962 | 01/08/2025 | Va. Public Procurement Act; additional public works contract requirements. |
| 2025 | Jennifer D. Carroll Foy, Barbara A. Favola, Christie New Craig, and Kannan Srinivasan | SB963 | 01/08/2025 | Discovery materials or evidence; allows accused to request the Commonwealth to copy or photograph. |
| 2025 | Jennifer D. Carroll Foy | SB965 | 01/08/2025 | District courts; recording of proceedings. |
| 2025 | Jennifer D. Carroll Foy | SB966 | 01/08/2025 | Virginia Criminal Sentencing Commission; increase membership. |
| 2025 | Jennifer D. Carroll Foy | SB968 | 01/08/2025 | School boards; support services personnel, annual collection of certain staffing data required. |
Information in this article was obtained from the Virginia State Senate. The source data is available here.
