On January 27, 2026, the Virginia Court of Appeals issued a pivotal decision interpreting Virginia’s increasingly restrictive approach to employee noncompetition agreements. In Sentry Force Security, LLC v. Barrera, the court resolved a question that had been looming since Virginia first began limiting noncompetes for lower‑paid workers: how far those restrictions extend to customer and employee non-solicitation agreements.

For employers operating in Virginia, particularly those with large nonexempt workforces, the Sentry Force decision delivers both clarity and caution. It confirms that some restrictive covenants remain enforceable under Virginia law but also underscores the real compliance risks that arise when employers draft their restrictive covenants agreements too broadly.

Background: Virginia’s Expanding Restrictions on Noncompetition Agreements (2020–2025)

The Virginia General Assembly first entered this space back in 2020 with the enactment of Virginia Code § 40.1‑28.7:8, which prohibited employers from entering into, enforcing, or even threatening to enforce a covenant not to compete against a low‑wage employee. At that time, the statute defined a low‑wage employee primarily by compensation — those earning less than the Commonwealth’s average weekly wage (currently $1,507.01 per week (~$78,864.52 annually) as adjusted under the statute).

In 2025, the General Assembly amended the 2020 law to expand the definition of low-wage employee to include all employees classified as non-exempt under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act, regardless of earnings. This effectively made it unlawful for Virginia employers to enter into noncompete agreements with any employee who is eligible for overtime pay under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), regardless of the employee’s compensation level. The expanded ban does not apply to employees whose earnings are derived in whole or in predominant part from sales commissions, incentives, or bonuses.

The Sentry Force Case at a Glance

Sentry Force hired James Barrera in 2021. The Company required Barrera to sign a restrictive covenant agreement prohibiting him from soliciting, post-employment, Sentry Force’s customers and employees. After leaving Sentry Force, Barrera formed a competing company and allegedly began to solicit Sentry Force’s customers and employees. When Sentry Force filed suit to enforce the restrictive covenants agreement, Barrera argued it was unenforceable because he was a low‑wage employee.

What the Virginia Court of Appeals Decided

Customer Nonsolicitation Agreements Remain Enforceable

The Court of Appeals held that Sentry Force’s customer non-solicitation provisions, to the extent that they targeted Barrera’s affirmative solicitation of Company customers were enforceable, even though Barrera was a low-wage, nonexempt employee. The Court opined that a Virginia employer may prohibit former employees from initiating contact with the employer’s customers but cannot bar a former employee from accepting customer business that the employee did not affirmatively solicit. In other words, Virginia law protects a non-exempt employee’s right to accept business from former customers, but only to the extent that those customers independently seek the employee out.

Employee Nonsolicitation Agreements Are Prohibited

Employee non-solicitation provisions, on the other hand, are different, according to Virginia Court of Appeals, which confirmed that non-solicitation provisions that limit a former employee’s ability to recruit, hire, or encourage former coworkers to leave their employment are the equivalent of, and thus are treated as, prohibited noncompetes under the Virginia statute when applied to nonexempt employees.  Even attempting to enforce employee non-solicitation provisions can expose Virginia employers to statutory penalties, including cost and fee‑shifting.

Why This Decision Matters

The Sentry Force decision provides long‑awaited clarity on an issue that has frustrated Virginia employers since the statute’s initial enactment in 2020. The decision clarified that customer non-solicitation clauses remain viable employer tools for Virginia employers, while employee nonsolicitation clauses for nonexempt workers carry significant risks. Although Virginia remains hostile to traditional noncompetes for non-exempt workers, the Court confirmed that employers in the Commonwealth still have tools to protect customer relationships, provided that those tools are used carefully.

Action Steps for Employers

After Sentry Force, Virginia employers retain limited tools to protect their customer relationships but must avoid overbroad restrictions that function as unlawful noncompetes. Employers should consider auditing their FLSA workforce classifications and restrictive covenants agreements, removing employee non-solicitation clauses for nonexempt workers, and ensuring that customer non-solicitation language is narrowly crafted.

If you have questions concerning your business’s restrictive covenants agreements or need help with a specific employment law issue in Virginia, Maryland, or the District of Columbia, please contact Doug Taylor at (703) 525-4000 or rdougtaylor@beankinney.com.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not contain or convey legal advice. Consult a lawyer. Any views or opinions expressed herein are those of the authors and are not necessarily the views of any client.