HCAOA members in Virginia are celebrating a legislative win. A bill signed by the governor eliminates the requirement that home care agencies conduct triennial audits. The chapter formed a work group to review proposed updates to the home care regulations, submitted comments to the Department of Health, and led the efforts to shepherd legislation to address concerns, including the audit.

​“This relief from an unnecessary and costly regulatory burden on small businesses is a real victory for Virginia home care agencies. We’re grateful to our legislators for seeing the common sense of this issue,” said Mitch Opalski, SYNERGY HomeCare in – Arlington and Alexandria, who led this advocacy effort.

To view the SB 580, click here. 

Virginia, historically reliant on the federal Fair Labor Standards Act to govern overtime obligations, passed its first standalone overtime law in March 2021. The Virginia Overtime Wage Act (VOWA) went into effect on July 1, 2021, amidst wide-spread confusion among Commonwealth employers over the law’s requirements.

While Virginia’s Department of Labor and Industry rolled out informal guidance to clarify employer obligations under the new law, that guidance did little to assuage employer concerns over the VOWA’s many ambiguities.
 
A year later, Virginia employers are being given a reprieve from the many compliance concerns and increased exposure to liability created by the 2021 law. On April 11, 2022, Governor Glenn Youngkin signed into law HB 1173 (SB 631), rolling back the provisions of the VOWA and realigning Virginia’s overtime obligations and exemptions with those of the federal FLSA. 

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​All members are invited to join the HCAOA Virginia Chapter for an important virtual meeting next Friday, February 18 from 11:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. for an important update on the status of revisions to the Regulations for the Licensure of Home Care Organizations.