At a glance
- Virginia has enacted a statewide paid sick leave law requiring covered employees to accrue at least one hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours worked, with implementation beginning July 1, 2027.
- Employees may use accrued leave for their own or a family member’s illness, medical treatment, preventive care, and certain absences related to domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking.
- Employers must generally allow unused leave to carry over from year to year, although annual accrual and use may be capped at 40 hours unless a higher limit is provided.
- Compliance obligations will be phased in based on employer size, eventually extending to virtually all Virginia employers with at least one employee by January 1, 2029.
- Employers with qualifying paid time off or other paid leave policies may not need to provide additional sick leave, while the new law forms part of a broader package of employee-friendly workplace reforms in Virginia.
Virginia has adopted a state wide paid sick leave mandate, regarded as the first comprehensive law of its kind in the southern United States, with a phased rollout beginning July 1, 2027. Under the new mandate, covered employees must be allowed to accrue at least one hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours worked, beginning at hire, and may use this leave for their own or a family member’s illness, medical care, or preventative care, as well as for 'safe time' for certain absences related to domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking. Accrued but unused hours must carry over year to year. The statute caps accrual and use at 40 hours per year, unless the employer elects to provide a higher limit. Alternatively, employers may frontload the full 40-hour annual allotment at the beginning of the year, in which case the accrual tracking and carryover requirements are deemed satisfied. Employers are not required to pay out accrued but unused sick leave upon an employee's separation from employment.
The law applies to private and public employers on a phased basis:
- Employers with at least 50 employees must comply beginning July 1, 2027.
- Those with at least 25 employees on January 1, 2028.
- By January 1, 2029, virtually all Virginia employers with at least one employee will be covered.
Limited carve-outs apply, including for certain home health and part-time healthcare workers. Employers with existing paid time off or other paid leave policies that provide at least 40 hours of leave, which are usable for the same purposes and under the same conditions as the statute, are not required to provide additional paid sick leave.
Virginia’s paid sick leave mandate is part of a broader wave of employee-friendly legislation in the Commonwealth, which also includes new restrictions on non-competition agreements (including a ban on such agreements for most health care professionals) and new pay transparency requirements.
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