Virginia Legislation Update: Paid Family Leave
When Paid Leave Will Become Available
On April 22, 2026, Governor Spanberger signed SB2 / HB1207 into law, which establishes a paid family and medical leave insurance program for covered employees working in Virginia. Beginning December 1, 2028, the law provides a covered employee with up to 12 weeks of paid leave because:
They need to attend to a new child during the first year after the child’s birth, adoption, or foster placement;
They need to attend to their own or a family member’s serious health condition;
They need to attend to a covered service member who is a family member or next of kin; or
They have a qualifying exigency arising out of a family member’s active duty.
These are essentially the same reasons that an employee may utilize unpaid leave under the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). And leave taken for these reasons under the Virginia law will run concurrently with leave taken under the FMLA.
Though the Virginia law also provides a covered employee with up to 4 weeks of paid leave if they need to seek safety-related services for themselves or a family member, which is not a reason someone may take leave under the FMLA.
Employees seeking to take leave under the Virginia law are required to notify their employer “as soon as practicable.” As under the FMLA, employees will be able to utilize the Virginia paid leave on an intermittent or reduced leave schedule.
Who is Covered, Who Pays for the Leave, and How Much of the Leave is Paid
In a stark contrast with the FMLA, the Virginia law will apply to virtually all private employers and will apply to essentially any employee who has been paid at least a certain amount (calculated by the Virginia Employment Commission; currently $3,000) in at least two of the prior five calendar quarters. Additionally, employees returning from this paid leave who worked for their employer for at least 120 days prior to the commencement of their leave will be entitled to be restored to the same position or an equivalent position as when the leave commenced.
Leave utilized under the Virginia law will be paid out from a new trust to be established by the state, which will be funded from employee payroll contributions (as well as matching contributions from employers with more than 10 employees). Employees and employers will start making these payroll contributions on April 1, 2028.
Except for covered employees who make less than $100 per week on average, the benefit amount that covered employees will be paid during the leave will be the lower of: (i) 80% of their own average wages; and (ii) the average wage in Virginia. For their part, employers must continue to pay their normal share of health care benefits for employees utilizing this leave.
Notice Requirements
At some point, the Virginia Employment Commission will create a poster regarding the law in English and Spanish that employers will be required to display in a conspicuous place. Employers will be further be required to display the poster in any language that is the first language of at least five percent of their workforce.
Employers will also be required to provide each employee with written notice about the Virginia law: (i) upon hiring; (ii) every year after hire; and (iii) when the employee requests leave under the law or when the employer knows of an employee’s intent to take leave that may be eligible under the law. Such notice must include:
(i) a statement of an employee’s right to family and medical leave benefits pursuant to the law;
(ii) the amount of family and medical leave benefits available;
(iii) the procedure for filing a claim for family and medical leave benefits;
(iv) a statement of the right to job protection and benefits continuation;
(v) a statement that discrimination and retaliatory personnel actions against a person for requesting, applying for, or using family and medical leave benefits are prohibited; and
(vi) a statement that the employee has a right to file a complaint for a violation of the law.
Notably, there is nothing in the law that clarifies when this notice provision of the law will go into effect. Thus, at least arguably, employers will need to start informing new hires about this law beginning on July 1, 2026 (which is when the law itself becomes effective). We expect the Virginia Employment Commission will provide some guidance on this point before then.
