- Virginia AG Jay Jones announced the creation of the Worker Protection Unit at the 44th Constitutional Convention of the Virginia AFL-CIO in Williamsburg. The unit – the first of its kind in Virginia – will be a dedicated enforcement team focused on employers’ unfair and illegal treatment of workers, including employers not paying employees overtime and paying less than the state minimum wage. The unit will also focus on misclassification of employees and improperly labeling workers as independent contractors, and it will also enforce laws banning harassment or retaliation against employees.
- The unit will sit inside the Office of Civil Rights within the Public Advocacy Division, allowing it authority to investigate complaints, pursue civil litigation, and work alongside state and federal partners. It will work alongside the Department of Labor and Industry, which in its 2025 annual report stated that it received over 1,600 complaints about unpaid wages.