Virginia: Paid Sick Leave Requirements

Requirements one by one

Two mandates: home health workers now, nearly everyone soon

Virginia has two paid-sick-leave laws sitting side by side. The one in force
today, enacted in 2021, covers only home health workers — people who provide
personal care, respite, or companion services to someone receiving consumer-
directed services under Virginia's Medicaid program. For that worker, an employer
must provide paid sick leave; for most other private employees, no statewide
mandate applies yet.

That changes on a schedule. In May 2026 Virginia enacted a statewide paid sick
leave law (§§ 40.1-33.6:1 to 40.1-33.6:7) that reaches nearly every employer.
Its first enactment becomes effective July 1, 2027, and the definition of a
covered "employer" widens over time: 50 or more employees on July 1, 2027; 25
or more on January 1, 2028; and one or more on January 1, 2029. The Commonwealth
and its agencies and political subdivisions are covered too. Home health workers
stay under their own 2021 law and are carved out of the new one.

Who is covered, and when

Under the home-health law, coverage does not depend on the employer's size: any
employer other than a federal agency must provide the leave to a qualifying home
health worker who averages at least 20 hours a week or 90 hours a month. A person
licensed by a health regulatory board who works for a licensed hospital no more
than 30 hours a month is excluded.

Under the statewide law, coverage is phased by headcount as above. It excludes the
home-health class (they keep their own law), certain licensed or as-needed
(pro re nata) health-care workers at licensed facilities or the UVA and VCU health
systems who work 30 hours a week or less, and railroad employers and employees
covered by 45 U.S.C. § 351.

The accrual math is the same one hour per 30 hours in both laws

Both laws use an identical core: an employee accrues at least one hour of paid
sick leave for every 30 hours worked, starting at the commencement of
employment, and may neither accrue nor use more than 40 hours in a year unless
the employer chooses a higher limit. Overtime-exempt employees are assumed to work
40 hours a week unless their normal week is shorter. The statewide law adds that
fee-for-service employees accrue under regulations the Commissioner will adopt.
See § 40.1-33.4 (home health) and § 40.1-33.6:2 (statewide) for the accrual text.

Frontloading and carryover differ in one detail

Accrued but unused leave carries over to the next year under both laws, and the
40-hour cap limits what an employee can bank or use in a year. Both let an employer
provide the whole expected year's leave up front. The difference is in the fine
print: the statewide law says an employer that grants 40 hours at the start of the
year "shall be considered to have satisfied" the accrual duty (§ 40.1-33.6:2(D)),
which functionally removes the carryover step; the home-health law allows the same
front grant but still states the carryover rule without that express exemption. A
paid-time-off policy or a qualifying collective bargaining agreement that meets the
statute's terms can stand in for a separate sick-leave bank under either law.

What the leave covers, and who counts as family

Both laws cover the employee's own or a family member's mental or physical illness,
injury, or health condition; the need for medical diagnosis, care, or treatment;
and preventive care (§ 40.1-33.5 for home health; § 40.1-33.6:3 statewide). The
statewide law adds a safety category: absences due to
domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking, to seek medical or mental-health
care, counseling, legal services, relocation or securing of a home, or other victim
services.

"Family member" is defined broadly in both — child, parent, spouse, grandparent,
grandchild, sibling, a person the employee is responsible for arranging care for,
and anyone whose close association is the equivalent of a family relationship. The
statewide law also counts a domestic partner and that partner's relatives.

Requests, notice, and documentation

A request may be oral, written, or electronic, and should state how long the leave
is expected to last. When leave is foreseeable, the employee must make a good-faith
effort to give advance notice and to schedule it without unduly disrupting
operations. An employer that requires notice must publish a written notice policy;
if it has not given the employee that policy, it cannot deny leave for failing to
follow it. An employer may not make the employee find a replacement worker or work
a make-up shift. Documentation may be required only for absences of three or more
consecutive workdays. The statewide law adds that leave is used in hourly
increments (unless the employer allows smaller ones) and that the employer must keep
health and abuse information confidential.

Pay, separation, and records

Leave is paid at the employee's normal rate with the same benefits and never below
the minimum wage without a tip credit; the statewide law ties the rate to the
regular rate defined in § 40.1-29.3(B). Neither law requires paying out unused
leave when employment ends. The statewide law adds portability: leave follows an
employee transferred within the same employer, is honored by a successor employer,
and is restored if the employee is rehired within 12 months. It also directs the
Commissioner to set posting, notice, and three-year recordkeeping rules. The
home-health law says nothing about payout, rehire, or records.

Enforcement and remedies

Both laws forbid retaliation against an employee for requesting or using the leave
or alleging a violation. The home-health law stops there — it names no penalty and
no lawsuit. The statewide law is far more detailed: it bans interference, lets the
Commissioner or the Attorney General enforce the article, sets escalating civil
penalties (up to $150, then $300, then $500 for repeat violations within two
years), and gives an employee a direct civil action for twice the unpaid leave,
twice actual damages, reinstatement, lost wages, and attorney fees. A complaint to
the Commissioner must be filed within one year; a lawsuit within two.

What trips people up

Most private employees are not covered yet. The only paid-sick-leave right in
force in Virginia today runs to home health workers. A general office, retail, or
restaurant employee has no statewide entitlement until the new law's phase-in date
for that employer's size arrives — July 1, 2027 at the earliest, and January 1,
2029 for the smallest employers.

The phase-in is by employer size, not a single switch. An employer with 40
employees is not covered on July 1, 2027; it becomes covered on January 1, 2028
(25+), and an employer with a handful of workers not until January 1, 2029. Count
employees against the threshold in effect on the date in question.

Frontloading avoids carryover only under the new statewide law. Granting 40
hours up front is expressly deemed to satisfy the statewide accrual duty. The
older home-health statute allows a front grant but still states a carryover rule,
so an employer of home health workers should not assume frontloading erases it.

A PTO policy substitutes only if it truly matches. Under either law, an existing
paid-time-off plan counts only if it offers enough leave usable for the same
purposes under the same conditions. A generous-looking bank that narrows the
qualifying reasons or conditions does not comply.

Common questions

I run a small Virginia business. Do I have to give paid sick leave right now?

Only if you employ home health workers as defined by the 2021 law. Otherwise there
is no statewide requirement yet. Watch your employee count against the phase-in
dates: 50+ employees are covered July 1, 2027, 25+ on January 1, 2028, and all
employers on January 1, 2029.

Does the new statewide law let cities require more?

Yes. The statewide law is a floor. It expressly does not preempt or limit any other
law or policy that provides greater accrual or use, or that extends other
protections to employees (§ 40.1-33.6:2(K)).

Can leave be used for something other than illness?

Under the statewide law, yes — it also covers absences related to domestic
violence, sexual assault, or stalking, such as medical care, counseling, legal
help, or relocating to a safer home. The in-force home-health law is limited to the
employee's or a family member's health needs and preventive care.

What can I recover if my employer denies leave the statewide law requires?

Once the statewide law applies to your employer, you may file a complaint with the
Commissioner within one year or sue within two years. A court that finds a violation
must award twice the unpaid leave, twice your actual damages, reinstatement if you
were retaliated against, lost wages, and attorney fees.

Statutes and sources

• Va. Code §§ 40.1-33.3 to 40.1-33.6 (Article 2.1, Paid Sick Leave; 2021 Sp.
  Sess. I c. 449). In-force home-health-worker mandate: definitions, accrual, use,
  and retaliation. Virginia
  Law
  (accessed July 22, 2026).
• Va. Code §§ 40.1-33.6:1 to 40.1-33.6:7 (Article 2.1:1, Paid Sick Leave),
  enacted by 2026 Va. Acts ch. 1129 (SB 199; identical HB 5), approved May 20,
  2026, effective July 1, 2027. Statewide mandate: phased coverage, accrual, uses
  including domestic-violence safety leave, notice and records, retaliation, civil
  penalties, and a private right of action. Enrolled bill
  text (accessed July 22,
  2026).