Virginia's farmworker minimum-wage exemption ends in 2027

Virginia’s minimum wage law currently excludes “any person employed as a farm laborer or farm employee.” Starting Jan. 1, 2027, that exclusion is gone. Farmworkers covered by the state law will have to be paid at least the state minimum wage, which rises to $13.75 an hour that day and to $15 an hour on Jan. 1, 2028. Workers don’t need to sign up for anything; the protection comes with the job.

Temporary foreign workers governed by federal guest-worker rules are still excluded from the state law. Other existing exemptions can also apply—for example, the law excludes workers under 16—so this change covers farmworkers who are otherwise covered by the law.

Del. Adele McClure carried the change in 2024 and 2025, when her bills would also have covered temporary foreign workers, but Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) vetoed both. In 2026 she and Sen. Jennifer Carroll Foy carried the bills again. Gov. Abigail Spanberger approved them on April 8, 2026, alongside legislation raising the statewide minimum wage. Her office said it worked with the Virginia Farm Bureau to strike a balance between protecting farmworkers and supporting farming.