Compliance Corner: What’s Changing and What You Need to Know, July 2026

Welcome to your July 2026 Compliance Corner, a quick snapshot of important payroll, HR, and employment law updates.

This page highlights select compliance items you should be aware of, so you can stay informed on key changes, reminders, and emerging requirements that may impact your business.

Please note: This is not a comprehensive list of every employment law or compliance update. Regulations are constantly evolving at the federal, state, and local levels. For ongoing compliance guidance, proactive alerts, and expert HR support tailored to your business, learn more about DP Boost HR.

What's highlighted: 

• One Big Beautiful Bill, W-2 Overtime Reporting Rules

• State Retirement Mandates

• Federal Law Alert: Fringe and Account-Based Benefits Plan Updates for 2026

• Federal Law Alert: OSHA Form 300A Posting Begins February 1, Electronic Reporting Due March 2
• VA Paid Family & Medical Leave
• VA Paid Sick Leave

• VA Requires Pay Ranges in Job Postings and Prohibits Salary Inquiries

• VA Noncompete Agreement Updates

• VA Expands Discrimination Protections

One Big Beautiful Bill, W-2 Overtime Reporting Rules

Learn More →

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State Retirement Mandates

Across the country, more states are implementing retirement savings mandates, and many employers are finding themselves covered sooner than expected. Even if you’re not currently required to offer a plan, that may change as legislation continues to evolve.

This shift is also creating opportunity. Many employers are using this moment to establish retirement benefits that help attract and retain talent, take advantage of potential SECURE 2.0 tax credits, and stay ahead of compliance requirements before mandates take effect.

Join Our Upcoming Webinar to Stay in Compliance →

Federal Law Alert: Fringe and Account-Based Benefits Plan Updates for 2026

Provisions from the budget reconciliation bill (HR 1: One Big Beautiful Bill Act), affecting benefits provisions in 2026, are described below: 

Bicycle Commuter Reimbursement Exclusion
Tax-free reimbursements to employees for qualified commuting expenses for bicycles, previously excluded for tax years 2018 through 2025, is indefinitely excluded. As a result, employers can’t reinstate bicycle commuter expenses as a tax-free benefit again in 2026 and need to amend their fringe benefits documents if they included the previous temporary exclusion dates.

Dependent Care Flexible Spending Account Limit
The dependent care flexible sending account (DCFSA) annual contribution limit will increase to $7,500 for plan years beginning in 2026.

Increasing the limit is optional for employers; however, employers offering a DCFSA that want to take advantage of the increase should update their cafeteria and benefits plan documents and notify employees prior to the start of their 2026 plan year.

Direct Primary Care Service Arrangements
Beginning January 1, 2026, certain direct primary care service arrangements (a contract between an individual and primary care physicians for care for a monthly fee) will not prohibit an employee from contributing to a health savings account (HSA). Employees may use their HSA to pay the monthly cost of direct primary care service arrangements that meet certain qualifications (e.g., a monthly fee of $150 or less for one person).

HR 1 was signed by the President on July 4, 2025.

Federal Law Alert: OSHA Form 300A Posting Begins February 1, Electronic Reporting Due March 2

Form 300A Workplace Posting Begins February 1
Covered employers that had 11 or more employees in the entire company at any point in 2025 are required to post the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) Form 300A, Summary of Work-Related Injury and Illnesses, from February 1 through April 30. This requirement applies even if the company didn’t have any recordable incidents in 2025.

OSHA Form 300A must be certified by a company executive and posted in each establishment in a conspicuous location where notices to employees are customarily posted.

Certain establishments are partially exempt from OSHA’s routine record keeping requirements, if they have 10 or fewer employees or if their primary business activity is classified as low hazard according to OSHA’s guidelines. A full list of exempt low-hazard industries, ordered by North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) codes, can be found here. (The exemption is “partial” because all employers must notify OSHA when an employee is killed on the job or suffers a work-related hospitalization, amputation, or loss of an eye.)

Form 300A Electronic Submission Due by March 2
Covered establishments that had 250 or more employees in the prior calendar year, or 20–249 employees if they’re in certain high-risk industries, must submit their 2025 Form 300A data electronically using OSHA’s online Injury Tracking Application (ITA). The deadline to submit the report is March 2, 2026. These requirements are based on the size of each “establishment” (how many employees there are at a given physical location), not how many employees are in the entire company. Most employers that are covered by a State Plan must also use the ITA to send data electronically.

Employers that meet any of the following criteria DO NOT have to send Form 300A information to OSHA:

• They are partially exempt from OSHA’s routine record keeping requirements, as mentioned above.
• They never had 20 or more employees during the previous calendar year, regardless of industry.
• They had between 20 and 249 employees at some point during the previous calendar year but are NOT on this list of high-hazard industries.

Additional information, FAQs, and the ITA can be found on OSHA’s ITA page.

Form 300 and Form 301 Electronic Submission Required by March 2
Covered establishments in designated high-hazard industries that had 100 or more employees in the prior calendar year will need to electronically submit information from their Form 300, Log of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses, and Form 301, Injury and Illness Incident Report, through OSHA’s ITA. This is in addition to submitting information from their Form 300A.

Help Determining Coverage
Employers can use the ITA Coverage Application to determine if they’re required to electronically submit their injury and illness information and whether they should review an applicable State Plan to determine reporting requirements.

Miss the filing deadline for this year? DP Boost can help you stay on top of these requirements and help navigate any issues with late filing. 

Coming Soon, Stay Prepared! 

VA Paid Family & Medical Leave

Virginia employers are approaching a major new compliance requirement with the upcoming state Paid Family and Medical Leave (PFML) program. While benefits won’t begin until December 1, 2028, payroll contributions and key administrative requirements will start earlier, making early preparation essential.

The program will provide eligible employees with up to 12 weeks of paid, job-protected leave for qualifying family, medical, military, and safety-related reasons, and will introduce new payroll, policy, and compliance considerations for employers of all sizes.

From eligibility and funding details to how PFML interacts with existing leave laws like FMLA, there are important steps employers can begin taking now to prepare for implementation.

Read the Full Breakdown →

VA Paid Sick Leave

Staring July 1, 2027, Virginia will have a new paid sick leave (PSL) law. Employers will need to begin providing sick leave by the following dates, based on their sizes: 

• July 1, 2027: Employers with 50 or more employees
• January 1, 2028: Employers with 25 or more employees
• January 1, 2029: Employers of all sizes

Below are the law's key provisions: 

Covered Employees

• All employees are covered by the law, with the exception of certain healthcare workers (such as home healthcare workers that were already covered by their own paid sick leave law)
  

Accrual, Carryover, and Front Loading

• Employees will begin to accrue PSL upon hire at a rate of one hour for every 30 hours worked. PSL accrual can be capped at 40 hours per year, and all unused PSL carries over from year to year
• Instead of using the accrual method, employers can front load the full 40 hours of PSL at the beginning of each year. The law doesn’t say whether this eliminates the carryover requirement, we expect that this will be clarified by the state before the law takes effect.
• For exempt employees, employers can base accrual on a 40-hour workweek (even if they generally work more than that) or their usual number of hours if they regularly work less than 40 hours

Use

• Employees can use PSL as soon as it’s accrued for the following reasons:

  • To care for their own, or their family member's, mental or physical illness, injury, or health condition, including diagnosis, treatment, and preventive medical care 
  • For certain reasons related to the employe or their family member being a victim of domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking, (e.g., to seek medical care, counseling, or legal services) 

• Employees can use PSL in increments of one hour (or less if the employer allows it) 

• Employers can cap PSL use at 40 hours per year. Additionally, employers can require that employees give notice of their PSL use, but only if they provide employees with a written policy that outlines the notice procedures

   

Documentation

• When employees use PSL for three or more consecutive workdays, employers can require that they provide reasonable documentation that the leave was taken for a covered reason

Notice and Posting

• Employers will be required to notify employees of their rights under the PSL law by posting a notice in the workplace and providing a written notice (most likely to each employee individually). The law doesn’t provide details on these requirements, but the state is expected to release regulations that provide more specific information and hopefully provide model notices as well

Record Keeping

• Employers also need to keep records of employees’ PSL use and accrual for three years, and keep employees’ sensitive information, such as protected health information, confidential. Again, the law doesn’t provide specifics but the state is expected to release more details before the effective date
  

Payout at Termination

• Employers aren’t required to pay out unused PSL at termination. However, if an employee is rehired within 12 months, previously accrued but unused PSL needs to be reinstated and made available for immediate use, unless it was paid out at termination

Paid Leave Policies

• Employers can use a paid leave policy, such as a PTO policy, to meet the requirements of PSL so long as it meets or exceeds the requirements of the PSL law
  

What Does this Mean for You

• Identify employee head count to confirm which deadline applies

• Review your current PTO policy, if it does not meet the requirements of PSL, a Sick Leave Policy must be created

• Communicate the availability of PSL to all employees as your established deadline approaches

VA Requires Pay Ranges in Job Postings and Prohibits Salary Inquiries

Beginning July 1, 2026, Virginia employers of all sizes will be required to include pay ranges in job postings. Additionally, employers will be prohibited from inquiring about an applicant’s pay history.

• Employers will need to include the wage or salary range in both internal and external job postings, meaning either the exact rate of pay or the minimum and maximum pay for the position, determined in good faith
• Employees won’t be able to ask applicants about their wage or salary history
  • An applicant can voluntarily provide this information, including negotiating an offer, but an employer can only use it to support a higher wage than the initial offer
  • Employers can’t refuse to interview, hire, employ, promote or otherwise retaliate against an applicant or employee for refusing to provide wage or salary history or for requesting wage or salary range information

What does this mean to you?

• Establish pay ranges for all roles
  • Conduct a compensation analysis to define pay ranges for every position
  • Ranges should reflect market data, internal equity, and role level
• Audit job postings
  • Review active job postings to include pay range information
• Remove pay history questions from applications and interviews
  • Eliminate any questions about current or prior salary from job applications; this law update applies to verbal inquiries by recruiters and hiring managers
    
    

VA Noncompete Agreement Updates

Starting July 1, 2026, Virginia noncompete agreements won’t be enforceable against employees who are fired without cause, unless the employer provides severance benefits or other monetary payment. Employers are required to disclose these benefits before the noncompete agreement is finalized. However, what constitutes a termination “for cause” is not defined in the law.

• These limitations only apply to agreements that are created, amended, or renewed on or after July 1, 2026
• It is recommended that employers consult with an attorney to ensure current noncompete agreements remain enforceable
• All employers must post an updated copy of the law
• https://lis.virginia.gov/bill-details/20261/SB170/text/SB170ER

• Audit existing noncompete agreements
• Identify which are due for renewal on or after 7/1/2026
• It is highly recommended you consult counsel to confirm enforceability
• Update noncompete agreement templates
• Include a clear disclosure of severance or monetary benefits before the agreement is signed
• Identify a severance structure
• Determine what severance your organization will offer to preserve enforcement of noncompete agreements upon a without-cause termination
  
  

VA Expands Discrimination Protections

Beginning July 1, 2026, Virginia’s employment discrimination law will apply to employers with five or more employees. The current law generally applies to employers with 15 or more employees.

What does this mean to you?

• Add an anti-discrimination policy to your handbook
• Employers with 5 or more employees are now subject to the Virginia Human Rights Act
• Draft and implement an equal employment opportunity (EEO) and anti-harassment policy covering protected classes: race (including traits historically associated with race which includes hair texture, hair type, and protective hairstyles such as braids, locks, and twists), color, religion, sex, pregnancy, childbirth, or other related medical conditions (including lactation), sexual orientation (including transgender status, gender identity or expression), ethnic or national origin, ancestry, age (40 and older), marital status, military/veteran status, and disability
  
  

Stay Ahead of What's Next

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Let our experts handle the complexities so you can stay compliant and focused on growing your business.

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Disclaimer: The information provided in this Compliance Corner is intended for general informational purposes only and should not be considered legal, tax, or HR advice. Employment laws and regulations are subject to change and may vary by state and local jurisdiction. We encourage you to consult with your legal counsel or HR advisor regarding how these updates may apply to your organization.