Virginia

Key facts

EEOC filing deadline

300 days (FEPA work-sharing state)

State agency deadline

1 year to OCR

Employer coverage

1 or more employees (dramatically expanded in 2020 — previously 15+)

State law

Virginia Human Rights Act (VHRA), significantly amended in 2020

State court statute of limitations

2 years

Additional protections beyond federal law

• •Sexual orientation
• •Gender identity
• •Pregnancy, childbirth, and related medical conditions (explicit state coverage)
• •Status as a veteran

How it works

Virginia has a work-sharing agreement with the EEOC. A charge filed with Virginia Office of the Attorney General — Office of Civil Rights is generally also considered filed with the EEOC ("dual-filed"), and vice versa. You usually only need to file once.

Key notes

Virginia significantly strengthened its employment discrimination law in 2020 under the Virginia Values Act, expanding employer coverage to just one employee and adding sexual orientation and gender identity protections. This was a major shift — Virginia moved from one of the weakest state employment discrimination regimes to one of the more comprehensive ones. Workers can now file directly in circuit court without going through the OCR, which is a significant option.