Virginia may be great for businesses, but a new report says it’s terrible for workers

Virginia leaders have long trumpeted the state’s high rankings in lists of states that are good for businesses.

Over Labor Day weekend, the state landed on the wrong end of a different kind of list: The best states for workers.

Virginia ranked dead last in the report by Oxfam, a left-leaning charity focused on fighting poverty around the world.

Why is Virginia so bad?

According to Oxfam’s report: “Virginia has the lowest ratio of minimum wage to a living wage, and only a basic equal pay law among all the labor laws in the index. … There is no guarantee from the state government concerning accommodations for pregnancy or the right to pump, no mandated paid sick leave and no legislative support for best practices in work schedules. It is also a right-to-work state, which impedes the ability of workers to unionize and Virginia even prohibits collective bargaining and wage negotiations by public-sector workers.”