As we previously reported here, the Virginia legislature enacted a number of recent employment law updates. The most recent addition to this roster is Virginia’s expanded paid sick leave statute. On May 20, 2026, Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger signed into law House Bill 5/Senate Bill 199, which mandates that all private employers and nearly all state and local governments provide eligible employees with at least one hour of paid leave for every thirty (30) hours worked, up to an annual accrual and usage cap of forty (40) hours, with unused leave carrying over to the following year.
When the law takes effect, eligible employees will be permitted to use their paid sick leave for personal and family reasons, such as their own or a family member’s physical or mental illness, injury or to obtain preventative or acute medical care, or to seek services, relocate or secure a new home due to domestic abuse, sexual assault or stalking. “Family member” is defined broadly, and not only includes close blood, adoptive and marital relatives, but also individuals for whom an employee is responsible for providing or arranging health or safety-related care and any other individual related by blood or affinity whose close association with an employee is the equivalent of a family relationship.
Unlike some states that have enacted state family and medical leave insurance programs, Virginia requires employers to fund and administer paid sick leave directly. Paid sick leave begins to accrue immediately as of the law’s effective date, or employers have the option of frontloading all paid sick leave that an employee is expected to accrue at the beginning of the year.
Employees may use paid sick leave in increments of an hour or less; must provide reasonable advance notice (orally or in writing) of foreseeable leaves, including the expected duration of the leave, in accordance with the employer’s written policy for requesting time off or, if the employer has no such policy, employees must provide notice in a timely and reasonable manner; and may be required to provide reasonable documentation of leaves lasting three (3) or more consecutive days. Although sick time taken under the new law is paid, unused paid sick time need not be paid to employees upon termination. However, if an employee transfers to another division of a company, or if the employer is acquired, the new division or successor must honor the employee’s accrued paid sick leave.
The new law will go into effect in phases based on employer size. Employees with at least fifty (50) employees must implement the law by July 1, 2027, while employers with 25-49 employees have until January 1, 2028 to comply and employers with at least one (1) employee will be required to implement the law by January 1, 2029. In addition to requiring paid sick leave, the law imposes other notice and recordkeeping requirements. Employers that do not comply with the statute are subject to fines which increase with subsequent violations. Aggrieved employees also may pursue a private right of action to seek up to double the amount of uncompensated sick leave and double actual damages, plus injunctive relief, attorneys’ fees and costs. Employers that operate in Viriginia should review their current sick leave and paid time off (PTO) policies and ensure compliance with the new law as of the applicable effective date.
