Virginia Enacts Statewide Paid Sick Leave Law

On May 20, 2026, Virginia enacted House Bill 5 (HB 5) and Senate Bill 199 (SB 199), creating a new statewide paid sick leave requirement.

The law phases in based on employer size and requires covered employees to accrue one hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours worked, up to a 40-hour annual cap, with broad protected uses covering the employee’s or a family member’s health, preventive care, and needs related to domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking.

This update applies to private employers and to the Commonwealth of Virginia, its agencies, institutions, and political subdivisions. The first phase-in date is July 1, 2027, for employers with 50 or more employees.

Legal Requirements

• Provide paid sick leave in accordance with the law’s accrual, carryover, and usage requirements, including allowing leave for all covered purposes.
• Provide required notices, maintain records of compliance, protect the confidentiality of information obtained in connection with leave requests, and comply with future implementing regulations issued by the Commissioner of Labor and Industry.
• Do not interfere with employees’ use of paid sick leave or retaliate against employees for requesting or using leave, exercising their rights under the law, participating in investigations, or informing others of their rights.

Practical Considerations

• Review existing paid time off (PTO), vacation, sick leave, and other paid leave policies to determine whether they already satisfy the law’s accrual, use, carryover, notice, and non-retaliation requirements.
• Consider whether to frontload at least 40 hours of paid sick leave at the beginning of each year instead of administering a traditional accrual system.
• Review collective bargaining agreements to determine whether the statutory exemption applies and whether the agreement provides sufficient paid leave for the same covered purposes and under the same conditions.
• Evaluate payroll, Human Resources Information System (HRIS), attendance, and leave-management systems to ensure they can properly track accruals, carryover, usage, transfers, reinstatement obligations, and related recordkeeping requirements.

Overview

Phased Rollout by Employer Size

• July 1, 2027: Employers with 50 or more employees.
• January 1, 2028: Employers with 25 or more employees.
• January 1, 2029: Employers with one or more employees.

Accrual, Carryover, and Frontloading

• Covered employees accrue one hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours worked.
• Employers may cap annual accrual and use at 40 hours unless a greater benefit is provided.
• Accrued but unused leave carries over from year to year, although employers may continue to apply the annual 40-hour cap.
• Employers may satisfy the accrual requirement by frontloading at least 40 hours of paid sick leave at the beginning of the year.

Permitted Uses

• Employees may use paid sick leave for their own or a family member’s physical or mental illness, injury, health condition, diagnosis, care, treatment, or preventive care.
• Leave may also be used for absences related to domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking, including obtaining medical care, counseling, victim services, legal assistance, relocation assistance, or taking steps to secure an existing residence.

Family Member Definition: The law uses a broad family-member definition that includes:

• Children, parents, spouses, domestic partners, grandparents, grandchildren, and siblings.
• Biological, foster, adoptive, step, legal guardian, and in loco parentis relationships.
• Individuals for whom the employee is responsible for arranging health- or safety-related care.
• Any individual related by blood or affinity whose close association is equivalent to a family relationship.

Notice, Documentation, and Administration

• Employees may request paid sick leave orally, in writing, electronically, or through another method acceptable to the employer. For foreseeable leave, employees must make a good-faith effort to provide advance notice and minimize disruption to operations when possible.
• Employers must have a written notice policy before denying leave based on an employee’s failure to follow notice procedures. For absences lasting three or more consecutive workdays, employers may require reasonable documentation showing the leave was used for a covered purpose.
• Paid sick leave must be used in hourly increments unless the employer permits smaller increments.

Transfers, Rehires, and Successor Employers:

• Employees retain accrued paid sick leave when transferring between divisions or locations, when employment continues with a successor employer, and when rehired within 12 months of separation, unless the employer paid out the accrued leave at separation.

Existing PTO Policies and Collective Bargaining Agreements: Existing Paid Time Off (PTO), vacation, sick leave, or other paid leave programs may satisfy the law if they provide at least the same amount of leave and permit use for the same covered reasons under the same conditions. Certain employees covered by qualifying collective bargaining agreements may also be exempt if the agreement provides equivalent leave benefits.

Separation from Employment: The law does not require employers to pay out unused accrued paid sick leave upon termination, resignation, retirement, or other separation, provided the employer’s policy is consistent with that approach.

Enforcement

• The Commissioner of Labor and Industry may enforce the law and must issue implementing regulations by July 1, 2027.
• The Virginia Attorney General may also pursue enforcement actions.
• Employees may file administrative complaints or bring civil actions alleging violations.
• Prevailing employees may recover significant remedies, including unpaid sick leave, damages, reinstatement, lost wages, attorney fees, costs, and other relief authorized by the statute.

Why This Matters

Virginia is moving from a limited paid sick leave framework covering certain home health workers to a broad statewide paid sick leave mandate that will eventually apply to employers with as few as one employee. Employers should identify their phase-in date, evaluate whether existing paid leave programs satisfy the law’s requirements, and prepare payroll, HR, recordkeeping, and attendance systems well before the applicable compliance deadline.

Key Risks for Employers

• Employers that incorrectly determine their coverage date or employee count may fail to implement compliant leave practices on time.

• Attendance policies that count protected paid sick leave as an absence supporting discipline, discharge, demotion, or other adverse action may create retaliation exposure.

• Employers using frontloaded leave programs or integrated PTO policies should confirm that the programs satisfy all statutory accrual, usage, carryover, and notice requirements.

• Employees may pursue administrative or civil remedies, potentially creating substantial liability for leave-denial, retaliation, or recordkeeping violations.

• Inadequate records or improper handling of health- and safety-related information may undermine employer defenses during administrative investigations and litigation.

Additional Information

The law applies to employees covered by Virginia wage and hour law. Certain employees are excluded, including employees already covered by Virginia’s existing paid sick leave law for home health workers and certain healthcare workers identified in the statute.

Employees compensated on a fee-for-service basis must accrue paid sick leave in accordance with regulations to be issued by the Commissioner of Labor and Industry. Employers with fee-for-service workforce categories should monitor future regulatory guidance for additional compliance requirements.

Source References

• Virginia SB 199 – Employment; paid sick leave, civil penalties.
• Virginia HB 5 – Companion

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