Employer compliance guide
The West Virginia labor law guide
Here is a guide to the important West Virginia labor laws that every business owner with employees must follow in order to stay compliant.
Contents7 sections
Wages and breaks
West Virginia Minimum wage
$8.75
The current minimum wage in West Virginia is $8.75.
Tipped min wage
$2.62
The minimum wage rate for tipped employees is $2.62.
West Virginia Overtime
1.5X
State law requires employers to pay non-exempt employees an overtime rate of 1 ½ their regular rate for all hours worked in a workweek in excess of 40.
The federal overtime rule stipulates that the minimum salary requirement for administrative, professional, and executive exemptions is $684 per week or $35,568 per year.
West Virginia Breaks
20 min
per 6 hrs
In workplaces where employees cannot take necessary breaks and/or permitted to eat on the job, employers must provide a meal break of at least 20 minutes to employees who work 6 hours or more.
Minor Breaks
30 min
per 5 hrs
All minors must be provided a meal break of at least 30 minutes if they are scheduled to work more than 5 hours.
Final paychecks in West Virginia
Employees who separate from employment for any reason (including terminations, resignations and layoffs) must be paid all final wages by the next regularly scheduled payday.
West Virginia child labor laws
Minors 14 and 15 years of age
Minors 14 and 15 years of age are subject to the following restrictions:
When school is in session: They may work a maximum of 3 hours a day on school days, a maximum of 8 hours a day on non-school days, a maximum of 20 hours a week during school weeks. They may work between the hours of 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. They may not work during school hours.
When school is not in session: They may work a maximum of 8 hours a day, no more than 40 hours a week. They may work between the hours of 7 a.m. and 9 p.m. from June 1 to Labor Day
Effective July 11, 2025, all age certificates are processed and issued by the WV Division of Labor Commissioner. Work permit requirements changed have changed and age certificates from Division of Labor along with parental consent is required, rather than school approval.
Minors 16 and 17 years of age
Minors 16 and 17 years of age are permitted to work the same hours as adult employees.
Breaks
All minors must be provided a meal break of at least 30 minutes if they are scheduled to work more than 5 hours.
Leave requirements
Required by this state
6Family and medical leaveRequired
Employers may be required to provide an employee unpaid leave in accordance with the Family and Medical Leave Act or other federal laws.
Jury Duty LeaveRequired
Employers are not required to pay employees for time spent on jury duty, but must excuse them for the days required in serving as a juror if they have proof of the summons on the next day after the summons.
Voting timeRequired
Employers must provide up to 3 hours of paid leave to vote as long as the employee has requested the time off in writing 3 days before the day of the vote.
If the employee has enough time outside of their shifts to vote, they do not need to be provided with paid leave.
Witness LeaveRequired
Employers cannot discharge an employee who testifies in a legal proceeding.
Emergency Response LeaveRequired
Employers may not discharge or discipline their employees because they take leave to serve as a volunteer firefighter or an emergency medical service attendant in response to an emergency. Employees may but cannot be required to use available paid leave.
Military LeaveRequired
West Virginia does not have its own military leave law, but the federal Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA) is applicable to all employers in the United States.
No state requirement
4Sick DaysNot req.
Employers are not required to provide paid or unpaid sick leave but must comply with their own established policies if they choose to implement one.
Bereavement leaveNot req.
Employers are not required to provide bereavement leave.
Vacation timeNot req.
Employers are not required to provide paid or unpaid vacation leave but must comply with their own established policies if they choose to implement one.
Employers may establish a policy that denies payment for accrued vacation time upon separation from employment.
Employers may also cap the amount of vacation time that can be accrued, and can implement a “use-it-or-lose-it” policy that requires employees to use their leave by a certain date.
Holiday leaveNot req.
Private employers are not required to provide paid or unpaid time off for holidays.
Hiring and firing
West Virginia Discrimination laws
Federal law makes it illegal for an employer to discriminate on the basis of: Race, Color, Age, Sex, Sexual orientation, Gender, Gender identity, Religion, National origin, Pregnancy, Genetic information, including family medical history, Physical or mental disability, Child or spousal support withholding, Military or veteran status, Citizenship and/or immigration status.
West Virginia law also makes it illegal to discriminate based on the following: Use of tobacco products off the premises during non-working hours; Arrest records; AIDS/HIV; Wage garnishment for consumer debt.
The West Virginia Pregnant Workers’ Fairness Act requires employers to make reasonable accommodations for employees who have limitations in their ability to work documented by a health care provider that stem from pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions unless the accommodation would impose an undue hardship on the employer.
Click here to read our blog on what acceptable and unacceptable questions to ask during an interview.
West Virginia Termination laws
West Virginia is an employment-at-will state, which means that without a written employee contract, employees can be terminated for any reason at any time, provided that the reason is not discriminatory and that the employer is not retaliating against the employee for a rightful action.
West Virginia Record-Keeping Laws
Regarding employment and payroll data, under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and others, you must:
For at least 3 years: keep payroll records, certificates, agreements, notices, collective bargaining agreements, employment contracts, and sales and purchase records. Also keep completed copies of each employee’s I-9 for three years after they are hired. If the employee works longer than three years, hold on to the form for at least one year after the employee leaves.
For at least 2 years: Keep basic employment and earning records like timecards, wage-rate tables, shipping and billing records, and records of additions to or deductions from wages. Also keep the records that show why you may pay different wages to employees of different sexes, such as wage rates, job evaluations, seniority and merit systems, and collective bargaining agreements.
For at least 1 year: The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission says employers should keep all employment records for at least one year from the employee’s date of termination.
Other record-keeping laws that may apply to you:
Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act, you need to keep records of job-related injuries and illnesses for five years. But some records, like those covering toxic substance exposure, have to be kept for 30 years.
You must keep files of benefit plans and seniority and merit systems while they are in effect and for at least a year after they end. You must also retain summary descriptions and annual reports of benefits plans for six years.
If your company is covered by the Family and Medical Leave Act, you must also retain relevant records of leaves, notices, policies, and more for three years.
Additional laws that may apply to you.
9 additional laws may apply. Open one to read the rule.
West Virginia Pay Practices
Employers must pay their employees at least semimonthly, except for railroad companies. An employer may request an exemption from the Labor Commissioner.
West Virginia Whistleblower Protection Law
Employers may not discharge or discriminate against an employee for doing any of the following:
Filing a complaint regarding discrimination
Participating in a proceeding regarding discrimination
Opposing discriminationWest Virginia Background check law
Employers who run background checks should ensure they’re following the requirements of the Fair Credit Reporting Act, which are available here.
West Virginia requires that employers conduct background checks on the following types of employees or applicants: Employees who administer medications or perform health maintenance tasks for certain healthcare facilities; Nursing home employees who will have physical contact with a resident or access to their property, personally identifiable information, protected health information, or financial information; Assisted living facility administrators; Medical adult day care center directors; Residential care community administrators; Personnel, including volunteers over the age of 18, who work for a family childcare facility; Personnel, including volunteers, who work for an out-of-school-time childcare center, with limited exceptions; Personnel who work for a child-placing agency and who will work with children; Personnel, including volunteers, who work for a residential childcare facility; Personnel, including volunteers, who work for a treatment facility for children or transitioning adults; Final candidates for the president of certain colleges and universities.
West Virginia Credit and Investigative Check laws
West Virginia does not expressly allow or prohibit employers from obtaining credit reports on applicants or employees.
West Virginia Arrest and Conviction Check laws
West Virginia does not expressly allow or prohibit criminal history checks for employment purposes.
West Virginia COBRA
COBRA is a federal law that allows many employees to continue their health insurance benefits after their employment ends. Because federal COBRA only applies to employers that have 20 or more employees, many states have adopted their own versions of the law, which are known as “mini-COBRAs.” West Virginia has a limited mini-COBRA, which allows employees to continue their coverage for disability insurance for up to 18 months after they are laid off.
West Virginia Employee Monitoring law
Employers in West Virginia may not listen to or record their employees’ oral, electronic, or wire communications, unless they have consent from at least one party to the communication.
West Virginia Social Media law
Compliance Calendar
Get our Compliance Calendar to stay on top of deadlines throughout the year: View it on your computer. Click + Google Calendar in the lower right to add it to your Google Calendar and subscribe to all updates. You can also download a calendar (.ics) file that you can import into iCal or Outlook, or download a PDF to your computer.
Remember
This summary is not qualified legal advice. Laws are always subject to change, and they can vary from municipality to municipality. It’s up to you to make sure you’re compliant with all laws and statutes in your area. If you need more compliance help, we recommend consulting with a qualified lawyer, checking with your local government agencies, or signing up for Homebase to get help from our certified HR Pros.
Staying compliant
Compliance you don’t have to remember
Homebase tracks breaks, overtime and paid time off as your team clocks in, flags the ones West Virginia treats as violations, and keeps the records if anyone asks for them.
- Overtime and double-time calculated from the clock, not from memory.
- Break and meal-period warnings before a shift is closed, not after payroll runs.
- Time cards, schedules and pay stubs kept together for the retention window.
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