ASSOCIATES: 

• The Philadelphia Contributionship | Philadelphia, PA  

AGENCY: 

• Stewart Enterprises dba Firefly Insurance Agency | Falls Church, VA 
• Meridian Insurance Company | Falls Church, VA 

Nominations are now open for two of IIAV’s most prestigious honors, and we invite you to help us recognize outstanding leaders in our profession. 

Insurance Agent of the Year – IIAV Golden Eagle Award 
This award is presented to an individual who has made significant contributions to the American independent agency system within the Commonwealth of Virginia. It reflects not only their involvement with IIAV, but also their demonstrated excellence in the industry, community involvement, professionalism, and leadership. 
The Golden Eagle Award is considered IIAV’s highest honor. 

Outstanding Company Representative of the Year Award 
This award recognizes a company representative who fosters and strengthens relationships with independent agents. This individual promotes collaboration, enhances the agent-company partnership, and actively supports IIAV programs and conferences. 

How to Nominate: 
Please include a brief explanation in the comments section outlining why your nominee deserves the award. You may attach a separate document and include a bio if available. 

 We encourage you to take this opportunity to celebrate the individuals who make a meaningful impact on our industry. 
NOMINATION FORM 

When I travel to conferences and work with clients, I often get asked some variation of the same question: “Where did all the workers go?” To this, I usually answer, “You know where they went? They went to work…for someone else.” 

And the data suggests I’m right. The U.S. unemployment rate at the time of this writing is 4.3%. It has been at this level or lower for much of the past decade. For context, most economists consider full employment to be 4.2% which means that everyone that wants a job is currently working. Employers can anticipate this “tight labor market” to continue for the foreseeable future, driven largely by a declining birth rate, the “grey tsunami” of baby boomer retirements, smaller Gen Z and upcoming Alpha generations, and reductions in legal immigration. 

Q&A with The Workplace Advisors – April 2026 
Question: We provide employees with laptops so they can work remotely when needed. While they are expected to come into the office regularly, we allow them to work from home one day a week; however, they must be available during their regular scheduled hours. Since employees have laptops for remote work, can we expect them to respond to urgent emails or inquiries after hours? 

Answer: Possibly. 

Hopefully, this doesn't happen too often so employees are not tied to their computers. All employees need a chance to step away from work to recharge and prioritize their personal lives. 

You can set the expectation that employees respond to certain communications (such as urgent calls or emails from clients or co-workers or inquiries from prospects) whenever they are received even if they are during off-hours. 

However, if you are holding employees to a strict work schedule without flexibility during the week, they may push back and hold you to that same schedule. 

Legally, if the employee is non-exempt, they will need to track this time via your time-tracking method and you will need to pay them for this time, which may create overtime obligations. 

If this is a regular occurrence, then you might consider creating "on-call" schedules where one employee covers the requests to give others a break. These on-call employees may need to be paid for this time as well, so it is important to review your obligations before implementing any practice. 
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Jason Boleman | March 30, 2026 Virginia Lawyers Weekly 

A bill to further limit the enforceability of noncompete agreements for certain terminated employees is heading to the desk of Gov. Abigail Spanberger. 

If signed, Senate Bill 170 would add subsection C to Va. Code § 40.1-28.7:8, stating that a noncompete agreement between an employer and employee is not enforceable “if such employer discharges such employee from employment without providing severance benefits or other monetary payment to such employee, unless such employer discharges such employee for cause.” 
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It is illegal in Virginia to hold a phone while driving. 
There Are Some Exceptions 

1. The operator of any emergency vehicle while he is engaged in the performance of his official duties; 
2. An operator who is lawfully parked or stopped; 
3. Any person using a handheld personal communications device to report an emergency; 
4. The use of an amateur or a citizens band radio; or 
5. The operator of any Department of Transportation vehicle or vehicle operated pursuant to the Department of Transportation safety service patrol program or pursuant to a contract with the Department of Transportation for, or that includes, traffic incident management services as defined in subsection B of § 46.2-920.1 during the performance of traffic incident management services. 

April is Distracted Driving Awareness Month!
Learn More...