PRESS RELEASE: Advocates Call on General Assembly to Advance Heat Safety Standards and Close Minimum Wage Loopholes
RICHMOND, VA — Worker justice advocates, legislators, and impacted workers gathered at the General Assembly today to urge Virginia lawmakers to advance legislation addressing two longstanding gaps in labor protections: the absence of enforceable workplace heat-safety standards and outdated minimum wage exemptions that exclude farmworkers and H-2 visa workers from full wage protections.
As extreme heat becomes more frequent across the Commonwealth, Virginia workers continue to face dangerous conditions on the job without clear, enforceable heat illness prevention standards. At the same time, Virginia’s minimum wage law permits certain employers to legally pay farmworkers and temporary foreign workers below the state minimum wage—an exclusion rooted in decades-old policy choices that no longer reflect today’s workforce or economy.
Legislation filed at the 2026 Virginia General Assembly, HB 1092 (Del. Hernandez) and SB 288 (Sen. Aird), directs the Virginia Safety and Health Codes Board, in consultation with the Department of Labor and Industry, to develop and adopt workplace heat illness prevention regulations and authorize enforcement of those standards. These bills would provide employers with clear guidance while helping prevent avoidable heat-related illnesses and injury.
In a statement, Sen. Lashrecse Aird said, “No one should have to risk their health just to earn a paycheck. As temperatures rise, too many Virginia workers are suffering preventable heat-related illnesses, and this bill sets clear, common-sense standards — like access to water, rest and shade — that help keep people safe on the job. Protecting workers from heat stress is about dignity, safety and valuing the humanity of the people who keep our commonwealth running.”
Del. Hernandez said, “Virginia has consistently been rated one of the best states for business. We can also be the best place for workers. Access to water, rest, and shade helps prevent dangerous and deadly consequences during extreme heat. Everyone deserves the dignity of a safe and healthy workplace where they can earn a decent wage in an affordable economy. Because when our workers and families thrive, Virginia thrives. I am happy to fight for these policies and for the working people who make our Commonwealth great.”
Recent data underscores the urgency of heat protection. From May through September 2024, Virginia recorded 3,248 heat-related emergency departments and urgent care visits—a 22 percent increase compared to 2023. In 2024, multiple cities, including Richmond, Charlottesville, Roanoke, Danville, and Norfolk, broke all-time temperature records. During a four-day heat wave in June 2025, more than 800 Virginians sought emergency medical care for heat-related illness.
Dr. Susan Miller, a Family Physician and member of Virginia Clinicians for Climate Action stated, “Despite our record cold week, heat is the deadliest weather threat we face, but heat-related illnesses are entirely preventable. Yet too many workers are collapsing on the job or dying. With record-breaking temperatures, Virginia must adopt common-sense measures to save lives and reduce preventable medical emergencies.”
HB 20 (Del. McClure) and SB 121 (Sen. Carroll Foy), would remove long-standing exemptions in the Virginia Minimum Wage Act that exclude farmworkers and H-2 visa workers from minimum wage protections. The bills would ensure these workers are covered by Virginia’s existing minimum wage law, closing loopholes that allow wage disparities to persist.
Del. Adele McClure said, “I’m proud to have partnered with the Legal Aid Justice Center and more than 60 organizations over the past three years to advance HB20. This bill ensures farmworkers finally receive the protections and economic security they deserve under the Virginia Minimum Wage Act. I’ve championed HB20 every session since 2024 because fair pay for the workers who help feed our families and power our economy is the right thing to do. My grandmother was a sharecropper, and my family and so many others have felt the impact of exclusionary policies. It’s past time we correct this historic wrong, remove a vestige of Jim Crow from state law, and protect the essential workers who we may not often see, but who nevertheless support every single Virginian.”
“Excluding farmworkers and H-2 visa workers from Virginia’s minimum wage is an outdated policy rooted in racial discrimination that continues to harm workers and local economies today. Farmworkers deserve the same basic wage protections as every other worker in the Commonwealth, and other states have shown that fair wages and a strong agricultural industry can coexist. It is time for Virginia to remove these arbitrary exemptions and ensure that all workers are treated with dignity and fairness,” said Sen. Carroll Foy.
The agricultural workers’ minimum wage exemption dates back to the Jim Crow era and remains in force today. Minimum wage laws are meant to set a basic floor for pay, yet this exemption allows Virginia farmworkers to be paid less, embedding inequality directly into the state’s labor system. The result is a two-tiered workforce in which all farmworkers—regardless of age, experience, or skill—are excluded from the same wage protections afforded to other workers, a divide that continues to shape wages and working conditions across Virginia’s agricultural economy.
“Every season, we witness the dedication of the 1,200 farmworkers who come to the Eastern Shore to help feed our communities, often while working in difficult and underappreciated conditions. Ensuring they receive at least the minimum wage is the most basic acknowledgment of their dignity and indispensable labor. AWAC stands firmly in solidarity with farmworkers across Virginia in calling for fair pay and the respect they deserve,” said the Rev. Rick Willis, vice president of the Agricultural Workers Advocacy Coalition.
Workers impacted by both heat exposure and wage exclusions lack basic protections and face serious consequences to their health, economic stability, and ability to support their families.
“Virginia’s agricultural workers labor from sunrise to sunset to feed our communities, yet they are still denied the basic dignity of minimum wage protections. This exclusion — rooted in racism — must finally come to an end. Workers across the state are also facing dangerous heat conditions every summer, with many ending up in emergency rooms simply for doing their jobs. No one should risk illness or death just to earn an honest wage, and Virginia has a moral obligation to protect the people who keep our state running,” said Manuel Gago, co-director of the Worker Justice Program at the Legal Aid Justice Center.
“You don’t have to work outdoors for heat stress to be a serious safety concern,” said Dani Loesch, a UFCW Local 400 member and backroom receiver at a Kroger store in Virginia Beach. “Although the backroom is technically indoors, it often lacks heat or air conditioning and can be more uncomfortable than outside. We work long hours doing physical labor in temperatures as high as 95 degrees with high humidity. Under these conditions, it doesn’t take long to become overheated and dehydrated.”
“It’s pretty simple — a Virginia heat rule will save the lives and protect the health of many Virginia workers. The requirements are straightforward: rest in cool shade, access to water, training and an emergency plan. States with strong heat protections have lowered illness and injury rates, and Virginia can do the same,” said Charlotte Brody, a registered nurse and vice president for environmental and occupational health at the BlueGreen Alliance.
“Heat injuries are preventable, and workers deserve safe conditions on every jobsite. Carpenters Local 205 stands with LCV in support of heat justice and worker safety,” said a representative of Carpenters Local 205.
Advocates urged lawmakers to advance HB 1092/SB 288 and HB 20/SB 121 to address preventable workplace risks, close outdated wage loopholes, and bring the Commonwealth closer to labor standards already adopted in many other states.
