As Commissioner of the Virginia Department of Labor and Industry (DOLI), I am honored to present the agency’s 2026 Annual Report highlighting the accomplishments of an extraordinary team dedicated to serving the Commonwealth of Virginia. Every day, our staff works to:

• Promote safe and healthy workplaces,
• Protect the rights of workers,
• Support Virginia's employers, and
• Strengthen the Commonwealth's economy through effective regulation, education, and service.

DOLI staff provide tangible results for Virginians that strengthen the economy by ensuring wages are paid correctly, workers stay safe at their jobs, and that employers have access to compliance assistance. In fiscal year 2026 (FY26), DOLI:

• Recovered over $800,000 in wages for hard working Virginians
• Identified over 5,400 workplace hazards for abatement
• Issued over 34,000 inspection certificates ensuring boilers and pressure vessels are meeting standards for safe operation
• Conducted 1,552 Youth Worker Compliance Inspections and assessed $468,063.00 in child labor penalties

This past year has been one of remarkable progress and transformation. DOLI continued to invest in modernizing the agency through significant website enhancements and expanded electronic services. These updates have improved accessibility, streamlined business processes, and provided outward facing services. These investments reflect our commitment to meeting Virginians where they are and delivering government services that are responsive, transparent, supportive, and public focused.

The 2026 legislative session marked one of the most significant years for worker protections and labor law since 2021. The General Assembly enacted robust worker protection legislation that will shape Virginia's workforce for years to come—legislation includes:

• Minimum wage increase
• First statewide paid sick leave and paid family and medical leave
• Comprehensive new framework for enforcing wage theft and related labor standards, including laws on:

ο Minimum wage
ο Overtime
ο Anti-misclassification
ο Prevailing wage
ο Wage payment

• Mandate to develop Virginia’s first heat illness prevention standard

These legislative changes also mark the beginning of a new chapter for DOLI, and we have already begun strengthening the agency's organizational capacity to meet the expanded responsibilities ahead. This includes strategic hiring to increase staffing in key program areas, enhanced training initiatives to support staff development, and improvements to internal processes that ensure we can effectively implement and enforce the new requirements.

The Virginia Institute for Learning and Outreach (VILO) is Virginia’s center for excellence in workplace safety, established in 2024 by the Virginia Department of Labor and Industry’s VOSH division. Through VILO, DOLI continues to strengthen partnerships with employers, workers, educational institutions, unions, and industry organizations while advancing a culture of prevention throughout the Commonwealth and beyond. VILO expands Virginia's ability to provide high-quality, workplace safety education and further establishes the VOSH Institute of Learning and Outreach (VILO) as a premier center for occupational safety and health training. We also strengthened our capacity in occupational safety and health by securing a Susan Harwood Training Grant from the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).

It is my privilege to share this Annual Report with you. I am proud of what our agency has accomplished and confident that DOLI will continue to build upon this momentum as we strengthen Virginia's workforce, support economic growth, and ensure the Commonwealth remains one of the best places in the nation to live, work, and conduct business.

/s/ Commissioner James Frederick