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Virginia Enacts Several New Leave Laws

Virginia’s new administration is ushering in a wave of sweeping changes to the labor and employment landscape. In addition to enacting significant restrictions on the use of non-competition agreements, Virginia has also enacted new leave laws.  Here is what employers need to know:

Sick Leave

SB 199 imposes sick leave obligations on Virginia employers.  Beginning July 1, 2027, employers with at least 50 employees will be required to provide sick leave to their employees.  Employers with at least 25 employees will be required to comply beginning January 1, 2028, and employers with at least one employee will be required to comply beginning January 1, 2029.

Accrual, Carryover, Payout

All employees must accrue a minimum of one hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours worked. Paid sick leave will be carried over to the following year.  Employers may limit accrual or use to no more than 40 hours per year.  Employers may also elect to frontload 40 hours of paid sick leave to the employee at the beginning of the year.  If the employer chooses to frontload the leave, carryover is not required.  Accrued but unused sick leave does not need to be paid out upon termination.

Use of Sick Leave

In addition to authorized use for the employee’s own mental or physical illness, the law also requires that the leave be available to care for specified family members, as well as for absences related to domestic violence or sexual assault.

Any employer with an existing paid leave policy, such as a PTO policy, that satisfies the requirements of the law and that may be used for the same purposes and under the same conditions as the law will not be required to provide additional paid sick leave.

Although employers have some time before this law goes into effect, now is a good time to prepare for compliance and evaluate whether your current leave policies comply with the requirements of this statute.  Please do not hesitate to reach out with any questions.

Paid Family and Medical Leave Insurance

Governor Spanberger signed SB 2 into law which requires the Virginia Employment Commission to establish and administer a paid family and medical leave insurance program.  The Commission will begin receiving contributions April 1, 2028 and will begin providing benefits December 1, 2028.

Under the program, covered individuals may take up to twelve weeks of job-protected, paid time off to care for a new child during the first year after the child’s birth, adoption, or foster placement, or to recover from a serious health condition.  This leave is also available to care for a family member with a serious health condition, handle military family needs, or to seek safety services as a result of domestic violence, harassment, sexual assault or stalking.

Funding for the program is provided through payroll contributions assessed to employers and employees beginning April 1, 2028.  The Commission will provide the contribution amounts by no later than October 1, 2027.  Employers with more than 10 employees will be required to deduct 50% of the contribution from employee wages and must remit the full contribution required for the employee (by matching the employee contribution) to the Commission.  Employers with 10 or fewer employees must deduct 50% of the contribution from employee wages but must remit only the deducted amount to the Commission – with no obligation to match the employee contribution.

The bill provides that a covered individual’s weekly benefit amount will be 80% of the employee’s average weekly wages, not to exceed 100% of the statewide average weekly net earnings. The paid leave runs concurrently with leave taken under the FMLA and can be taken intermittently.

In addition to withholding and submitting contributions, employers will be responsible for providing required employee notices, supporting employee leave requests, and coordinating with payroll systems.

More guidance on this program is forthcoming from the Virginia Employment Commission.  Please do not hesitate to reach out with any questions.

Volunteer Emergency Responder Leave

Governor Spanberger signed SB 100 which, effective July 1, 2026, prohibits an employer from retaliating against an employee solely because the employee fails to report for work because the employee is serving as a voluntary emergency responder actively responding to an emergency alarm or during a state of emergency.

A “volunteer emergency responder” is defined in the statute as an active member in good standing of a volunteer fire department or volunteer emergency medical services agency or auxiliary unit.

The employee must provide notice that they are rendering emergency services in response to an emergency alarm or state of emergency at least one hour before the employee is scheduled to report to work and, upon returning to work, must provide a copy of the incident report and a certification by the incident commander or other official that the employee was actively engaged in and necessary for rendering such emergency services.

This leave is unpaid, but employees may use available vacation or sick leave instead of unpaid time off.

We recognize that these laws impose significant new obligations on employers.  Do not hesitate to reach out with any questions.