republic-os/legislation/us/states/va/2020/hb-1199.md

---
type: "Bill"
title: "Employee misclassification; retaliatory actions prohibited, civil penalty."
description: "Employee misclassification; retaliatory actions prohibited; civil penalty. Prohibits an employer from discharging, disciplining, threatening, discriminating against, or penalizing an employee or independent contractor because the employee or independent contractor reported or plans to report that an employer or any officer or agent has failed to properly classify an individual as an employee and failed to pay required benefits or other contributions. The measure also prohibits such actions against an employee or independent contractor who is requested or subpoenaed by an appropriate authority to participate in an investigation, hearing, or inquiry by an appropriate authority or in a court action. These prohibitions apply only if an employee or independent contractor acts in good faith and upon a reasonable belief that the information is accurate. The measure authorizes the Commissioner of Labor and Industry to institute proceedings against an employer who has taken such prohibited retaliatory action. Available remedies include reinstatement of the employee and recovery of lost wages. An employer that violates these provisions is subject to a civil penalty equal to the employee's lost wages. This bill is identical to SB 662."
jurisdiction: "us/states/va"
legislature: "Virginia General Assembly"
session: "2020"
identifier: "HB 1199"
citation: "Virginia HB 1199 (2020)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: []
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["Kathy K.L. Tran"]
version_count: 3
action_count: 23
vote_count: 6
first_action: "2020-01-07"
last_action: "2020-03-10"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/805dde58-426f-4e14-b1b4-e94f4fbedbcf"
source_url: "https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?201+sum+HB1199"
source_hash: "e6e0c9ad2fe4a04be62ca9bd9e15b8d84170b4401b8f8f1bbeecc3f9a0dbebba"
vintage: "2026-07-01"
source_snapshot: "https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump"
retrieved_at: "2026-07-06"
confidence: "reported"
tags: ["legislation", "bill", "us-va"]
---

# Virginia HB 1199 (2020) — Employee misclassification; retaliatory actions prohibited, civil penalty.

Employee misclassification; retaliatory actions prohibited; civil penalty. Prohibits an employer from discharging, disciplining, threatening, discriminating against, or penalizing an employee or independent contractor because the employee or independent contractor reported or plans to report that an employer or any officer or agent has failed to properly classify an individual as an employee and failed to pay required benefits or other contributions. The measure also prohibits such actions against an employee or independent contractor who is requested or subpoenaed by an appropriate authority to participate in an investigation, hearing, or inquiry by an appropriate authority or in a court action. These prohibitions apply only if an employee or independent contractor acts in good faith and upon a reasonable belief that the information is accurate. The measure authorizes the Commissioner of Labor and Industry to institute proceedings against an employer who has taken such prohibited retaliatory action. Available remedies include reinstatement of the employee and recovery of lost wages. An employer that violates these provisions is subject to a civil penalty equal to the employee's lost wages. This bill is identical to SB 662.

## Version chain

The bill's text revisions, in order — the diff chain from filing to enrollment.

1. **Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0204)** (committee substitute) — [source](https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?201+ful+CHAP0204)
2. **Bill text as passed House and Senate (HB1199ER)** (committee substitute) — [source](https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?201+ful+HB1199ER)
3. **Impact statement from DPB (HB1199)** (committee substitute) — [source](https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?201+ful+HB1199)

## Votes

- Reported from Labor and Commerce (10-Y 9-N) — **10–9** (pass) · lower
- Reported from Commerce and Labor (12-Y 2-N) — **12–2** (pass) · upper
- VOTE: Passage (52-Y 44-N) — **51–44** (pass) · lower
- Passed Senate (21-Y 19-N) — **21–19** (pass) · upper
- Constitutional reading dispensed (39-Y 0-N) — **39–0** (pass) · upper
- Subcommittee recommends reporting (5-Y 2-N) — **5–2** (pass) · lower

## Sponsors

- Kathy K.L. Tran — primary (person)
- Alfonso H. Lopez — cosponsor (person)
- Elizabeth R. Guzman — cosponsor (person)
- Marcia S. "Cia" Price — cosponsor (person)

## Timeline

The legislative action history — every referral, reading, and vote.

- **2020-01-07** Prefiled and ordered printed; offered 01/08/20 20103498D `introduction`
- **2020-01-07** Referred to Committee on Labor and Commerce `referral-committee`
- **2020-01-16** Assigned L & C sub: Subcommittee #1 `referral-committee`
- **2020-01-28** Subcommittee recommends reporting (5-Y 2-N)
- **2020-01-30** Reported from Labor and Commerce (10-Y 9-N) `committee-passage`
- **2020-02-03** Read first time `reading-1`
- **2020-02-04** Read second time and engrossed `reading-2`
- **2020-02-05** Read third time and passed House (52-Y 44-N) `passage, reading-3`
- **2020-02-05** VOTE: Passage (52-Y 44-N)
- **2020-02-06** Impact statement from DPB (HB1199)
- **2020-02-06** Constitutional reading dispensed
- **2020-02-06** Referred to Committee on Commerce and Labor `referral-committee`
- **2020-02-17** Reported from Commerce and Labor (12-Y 2-N) `committee-passage`
- **2020-02-19** Constitutional reading dispensed (39-Y 0-N)
- **2020-02-20** Read third time `reading-3`
- **2020-02-20** Passed Senate (21-Y 19-N) `passage`
- **2020-02-25** Enrolled
- **2020-02-25** Impact statement from DPB (HB1199ER)
- **2020-02-25** Signed by Speaker
- **2020-02-26** Signed by President
- **2020-03-03** Enrolled Bill communicated to Governor on March 3, 2020
- **2020-03-03** Governor's Action Deadline 11:59 p.m., March 10, 2020
- **2020-03-10** Approved by Governor-Chapter 204 (effective 7/1/20) `executive-signature`

## Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/805dde58-426f-4e14-b1b4-e94f4fbedbcf`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Virginia legislature records).