State Sen. Jeremy S. McPike has put forward a new bill aiming to further limit the enforceability of noncompete clauses in employment agreements, as reported by the Virginia State Senate.
The measure, known as SB170, was filed on Jan. 14, 2026, during the 2026 regular session. It is officially described as: “Protection of employees; covenants not to compete, discharged employees.”
Below is a summary based on the bill’s language, with clarification when necessary to describe its scope.
The proposal expands Virginia’s noncompete restrictions by maintaining the ban for low-wage earners and adding that noncompetes are invalid if an employer terminates an employee without severance; when severance is paid, the restrictions can only be enforced during the payment period. The legislation preserves the right for employers to issue nondisclosure agreements, enables employees to file lawsuits to void illegal noncompete terms and seek compensation and legal fees, keeps current civil penalties and posting requirements in place, and clarifies that contracts entered into or amended before July 1, 2026, are exempt from the changes.
Sen. Jeremy S. McPike (Democrat-29th District) is the sole sponsor.
At the start of the session, McPike has also filed 20 other bills.
McPike earned a BA from George Mason University in 1997.
A member of the Democratic Party, McPike was elected to the Virginia State Senate in 2016, succeeding Charles Colgan as the representative of the 29th Senate district.
In Virginia, the legislative process begins once a bill is introduced in either the House of Delegates or the Senate and referred to committees for evaluation and potential amendments. If it passes committee review, the bill moves to both chambers for debate and a vote. Approval by both sends the bill to the governor, who may sign, veto, or let it become law without action. The General Assembly meets annually in regular session each January, during which lawmakers introduce several hundred bills, with only a fraction enacted.
| Patron(s) | Bill Number | Date Introduced | Short Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jeremy S. McPike | SB170 | 01/14/2026 | Protection of employees; covenants not to compete, discharged employees. |
| Jeremy S. McPike, Barbara A. Favola, Jennifer B. Boysko, Kannan Srinivasan, Russet Perry, and Saddam Azlan Salim | SB74 | 01/14/2026 | Affordable housing; local zoning ordinance authority. |
| Jeremy S. McPike and Christie New Craig | SB122 | 01/14/2026 | School boards; student diabetes care & management in schools, division wide plan required. |
| Jeremy S. McPike and Russet Perry | SB138 | 01/14/2026 | PFAS monitoring; DEQ to require for industrial wastewater source, publicly owned treatment works. |
| Jeremy S. McPike | SB139 | 01/14/2026 | Income tax, state; subtraction for long-term capital gains from sale of principal residence. |
| Jeremy S. McPike | SB140 | 01/14/2026 | Fire Programs, Department of; development of mental health awareness training. |
| Jeremy S. McPike | SB148 | 01/14/2026 | Income tax, state; subtraction for tax, military retirement benefits, uniformed services. |
| Jeremy S. McPike | SB149 | 01/14/2026 | State-facilitated IRA savings program; various changes to the program. |
| Jeremy S. McPike and Bill DeSteph | SB164 | 01/14/2026 | Health insurance; ethics and fairness in carrier business practices, downcoded claims. |
| Jeremy S. McPike | SB165 | 01/14/2026 | Contracts; retainage bonds permitted in construction contracts, effective clause. |
| Jeremy S. McPike | SB166 | 01/14/2026 | Insurance; contingent deferred annuities, nonforfeiture benefits. |
| Jeremy S. McPike | SB256 | 01/14/2026 | Appliance minimum energy and water conservation standards; requirement of manufacturers. |
| Jeremy S. McPike | SB321 | 01/14/2026 | Abandonment of highway; section of the secondary state highway system, local authority. |
| Jeremy S. McPike and Jennifer D. Carroll Foy | SB324 | 01/14/2026 | Virginia Public Procurement Act; additional public works contract requirements. |
| Jeremy S. McPike | SB326 | 01/14/2026 | Virginia Public Procurement Act; cooperative procurement. |
| Jeremy S. McPike and Kannan Srinivasan | SB371 | 01/14/2026 | Electric utilities; electric demand flexibility programs, high energy demand customers, report. |
| Jeremy S. McPike, Angelia Williams Graves, Jennifer D. Carroll Foy, Kannan Srinivasan, and Saddam Azlan Salim | SB388 | 01/14/2026 | Affordable housing; religious organizations and other nonprofit tax-exempt properties. |
| Jeremy S. McPike and Angelia Williams Graves | SB443 | 01/14/2026 | Siting of battery energy storage projects; commercial solar photovoltaic generation facilities. |
| Jeremy S. McPike, Adam P. Ebbin, Jennifer B. Boysko, Kannan Srinivasan, Saddam Azlan Salim, and Scott A. Surovell | SB446 | 01/14/2026 | Limited-duration licenses, driver privilege cards, and permits; validity periods for documents. |
| Jeremy S. McPike | SB487 | 01/14/2026 | Electric cooperatives; authorized to establish and implement a virtual power plant program. |
| Jeremy S. McPike | SB591 | 01/14/2026 | Income tax, state; free tax filing program for individuals |
Information in this article was obtained from the Virginia State Senate. The source data can be found here.
