Virginia: Pay Frequency and Wage-Payment Lag Requirements
The short answer
Virginia requires salaried employees to be paid at least monthly and hourly employees at least every two weeks or twice monthly. Work-study students and employees earning more than 150% of the Commonwealth average weekly wage may be paid monthly under the statute's conditions. Employers must establish regular pay periods, but the law states no separate post-period lag in days.
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This is the general rule in Virginia. Ezel applies current Virginia law to your specific facts and answers with citations to the statutes.
| Governing law | Virginia Code § 40.1-29, current through 2026 c.1040 |
|---|---|
| Who the recurring-pay rule covers | All employers operating a business or engaging domestic service; 'employer' uses the FLSA definition. Executive personnel are excepted from the regular-period/rate establishment clause (§ 40.1-29(A)-(B)) |
| Minimum pay frequency | Salaried: monthly; hourly: at least biweekly or twice monthly. Two hourly-worker exceptions may be monthly (§ 40.1-29(B)) |
| Maximum pay-period length or structure | Monthly for salaried workers and qualifying monthly exceptions; otherwise two weeks or half-month for hourly workers (§ 40.1-29(B)) |
| Latest payday after work is performed | No separate post-period day count; compliance turns on established regular periods and the monthly/biweekly/twice-monthly frequency (§ 40.1-29(B)) |
| Regular payday designation and changes | Employer must establish regular pay periods and rates of pay (except for executive personnel); no general advance payday-change notice period stated (§ 40.1-29(B)) |
| Classification and industry exceptions | Monthly option for work-study students and, with each affected employee's agreement, workers earning >150% of Virginia average weekly wage; executive-personnel establishment exception (§ 40.1-29(B)) |
| Enforcement and remedies | Wages + equal liquidated damages + 8% interest; knowing nonpayment yields triple wages; fees/costs and 3-year period. Good-faith 14-day cure can bar extras for actions begun on/after July 1, 2026 (§ 40.1-29(H), (K), (M), (P)) |
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Requirements one by one
Frequency turns on salary versus hourly pay
Va. Code § 40.1-29(B) requires salaried employees to be paid at least once each month.
Employees paid on an hourly rate must be paid at least once every two weeks or
twice in each month. Biweekly and twice-monthly are separate lawful choices:
one follows a 14-day rhythm, while the other supplies two paydays per calendar
month.
The employer must establish regular pay periods and rates of pay, except for
executive personnel. Section 40.1-29(B) does not add a fixed number of days
between the period close and payday, so Virginia's general rule is frequency-
based rather than a separate lag formula.
Two hourly groups may be paid monthly
A student currently enrolled in a work-study program or equivalent administered
by a secondary school, higher-education institution, or trade school may be
paid monthly if the institution chooses.
An employee whose weekly wages exceed 150% of the Commonwealth's average
weekly wage may also be paid monthly, but each affected employee must agree.
The threshold changes with the average-weekly-wage measure in § 65.2-500, so it
should not be replaced with a permanent dollar figure.
Current remedies include a new good-faith cure
Under § 40.1-29(H), ordinary nonpayment liability includes the wages due, an equal amount as
liquidated damages, and 8% annual interest from the due date. A private action
also carries reasonable attorneys' fees and costs. Knowing nonpayment requires
an award equal to triple the wages due. Va. Code § 40.1-29(M) supplies a
three-year limitations period, subject to the administrative-filing tolling
rule. For an action begun on or
after July 1, 2026, current subsection P prevents
additional damages or penalties when the employer proves good faith and
reasonable grounds and cures within 14 days after notice by paying all wages
unlawfully withheld. That new defense does not erase the underlying wages.
What trips people up
Virginia does not impose the same frequency on all employees. Monthly is the
general salary schedule; ordinary hourly employees require biweekly or twice-
monthly pay.
The high-wage monthly option is not automatic. The weekly wages must exceed
150% of the statutory average-weekly-wage measure, and each affected employee
must agree.
The employee-handbook shorthand "weekly/biweekly/semimonthly" is incomplete if
it suggests monthly payroll is never allowed. Monthly is the express statutory
rule for salaried employees.
Common questions
Can a Virginia salaried employee be paid monthly?
Yes. Section 40.1-29(B) requires salaried employees to be paid at least once
each month.
Can an ordinary hourly employee be paid monthly?
Generally no. Hourly employees must be paid at least every two weeks or twice
monthly unless one of the two express monthly exceptions applies.
Does Virginia impose a fixed payroll lag?
Section 40.1-29(B) requires established regular periods and the specified
frequencies but states no separate maximum number of days after period close.
Statutes and sources
- Va. Code § 40.1-29(A)-(B). Definitions, regular periods, salary/hourly
frequencies, and monthly exceptions. Official text
(accessed July 12, 2026). - Va. Code § 40.1-29(G)-(P). Administrative and private enforcement,
damages, penalties, limitations, and the July 2026 good-faith cure.
Official text
(accessed July 12, 2026).
Source links
Every statute quoted above, linked, with the date we checked it.
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