Builders and Contractors Exchange
Weekly Bulletin: 04 Jul 2004
Virginia General Assembly Eliminates Exceptions For Employers To "Day Of Rest" Laws
By: Lisa Thatch
Virginia has historically recognized both Sunday closing laws ("blue laws") and "day of rest" laws. The blue laws generally imposed Sunday restrictions on such activities as retail sales, general labor, and liquor sales. However, Virginia legislators also provided for numerous statutory exceptions to the blue laws. With the operation of so many businesses on Sunday came the passage of day of rest laws, which required that employers allow employees 24 hours of rest from work per calendar week, and any non-managerial employee could choose Sunday, or Saturday upon a showing of religious conviction, as his day of rest. There were also several statutory exceptions to the day of rest laws. Thus, approximately 80% of Virginia businesses could operate on Sundays, and were exempt from the day of rest laws.
The General Assembly recently passed legislation, by an overwhelming majority, which will eliminate blue laws from the books in Virginia as of July 1, 2004. In addition, the legislation also eliminates the statutory exceptions to both the blue laws and the day of rest laws, but does not eliminate the day of rest laws. Whether the elimination of the exceptions to the day of rest laws was an unintentional oversight, or an acceptable trade-off for abolishing the blue laws, is, as yet, unknown.
What is known is that come July 1, 2004, when the new statute goes into effect, many Virginia businesses will be affected, for better or worse. The primary result of the abolition of Virginia's blue laws is that businesses that were formerly restricted from operating on Sundays can now be open for business. The side effect is the elimination of the exceptions to the day of rest laws. Beginning July 1, 2004 all employers will be subject to the day of rest laws.
What does this mean for Virginia employers? They are no longer exempt from day of rest laws, and they must ". . . allow each person employed . . . at least 24 consecutive hours of rest in each calendar week" Va. Code Ann. § 40.1-28.1. Further, non-managerial employees are entitled to choose Sunday, or under some circumstances, Saturday, as their day of rest. Va. Code Ann. §§ 40.1-28.2; 40.1-28.3. Thus, should any employee request Sundays (or Saturdays) off of work, the employer must oblige, or else suffer the consequences of noncompliance.
The statute prescribes the penalties for violations of these day of rest laws. See Va. Code Ann. § 40.1-28.4. It provides that violations are misdemeanors, subject to fines of $250 to $500 for each offense upon conviction. Further, if the employer is found to have compelled any non-managerial employee to work on his chosen day of rest, the employer is liable to that employee for wages three times the employee's regular rate of pay for the hours worked on the chosen day of rest.
As for the future of this legislation, it is just as likely that the abolition of the day of rest laws exceptions was an unintentional oversight that will be remedied by the legislature, as it was an agreed trade-off for the repeal of the blue laws and is here to stay. Either way, come July 1, 2004, Senate Bill 659 goes into effect and becomes operative. Thus, employers are well advised to adhere to it, until further notice.
Although it is not necessary for employers to institute radical changes in their scheduling of employees on July 1, 2004, they should be prepared to honor all written requests by employees concerning their chosen day of rest. And, as workers become more familiar with the laws, employers can expect to receive more requests for Sundays off. Thus, employers most likely to be adversely affected are those that operate continuously, utilize non-traditional work schedules or shift work not based upon a calendar week, and those dependent upon weekend business. If enough employees choose Sunday such that the business cannot operate properly, employers may try offering monetary, as well as non-monetary, incentives to employees in exchange for choosing an alternate day.
This new legislation, although created for the benefit of Virginia businesses, as well as for increased sales tax revenue for the Commonwealth, may nevertheless have the opposite result. Because scheduling staff to ensure that sufficient employees are present on Sundays may no longer be possible, some businesses may actually be forced to simply close on Sundays.
Before taking drastic action, however, it would be wise to consult an employment attorney. If you have questions about this new legislation and how it may affect you, or other related matters, you may contact the members of Vandeventer Black's Employment Law Group for further information.
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This article is meant to bring awareness to this topic and is not intended to be used as legal advice.