Today, Virginia requires paid sick leave only for certain home health workers. That changes on July 1, 2027. A new law signed on May 20, 2026 (HB 5, 2026 Acts of Assembly Chapter 1128) extends paid sick leave to nearly all employees of private employers and state and local governments, phased in by employer size. Covered employees will earn 1 hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours worked, up to 40 hours a year.
This guide explains when the new law applies to your business, answers the most common questions about how it works, covers the current home health worker law, and lays out what employers should do before their start date. Several details, including how to count employees and what notices are required, will be settled by Department of Labor and Industry regulations due by July 1, 2027.
When Virginia’s New Paid Sick Leave Law Applies
The law phases in based on how many employees an employer has:
| Employer size | Paid sick leave required starting |
| 50 or more employees | July 1, 2027 |
| 25 or more employees | January 1, 2028 |
| 1 or more employees | January 1, 2029 |
The law doesn’t yet say whether these thresholds count only employees in Virginia or an employer’s entire workforce. A company with 30 employees in Virginia and 300 nationwide could have a start date of July 1, 2027 or January 1, 2028, depending on how the Department of Labor and Industry reads the law. The Department’s regulations are expected to answer this.
“If your headcount puts you anywhere near a threshold, plan for the earlier date. Building a compliant policy takes months, not weeks, and it’s far easier to launch early than to explain to employees why their leave started late.” — Ryan Parker, Esq.
Common Questions About Virginia Paid Sick Leave
The answers below describe the new law. Home health workers covered by the current law are addressed in their own section.
Who can take paid sick leave in Virginia?
Under the new law, nearly all employees of private employers and of state and local governments, including part-time employees, once their employer’s start date arrives. The law excludes home health workers covered by the existing home health law, railroad employees, and certain employees covered by the federal Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act under a collective bargaining agreement.
Which employers have to provide this leave?
Employers with 50 or more employees starting July 1, 2027, employers with 25 or more starting January 1, 2028, and all employers starting January 1, 2029. Until an employer’s start date, only the home health worker law applies.
How much leave do employers need to provide?
Employees earn at least 1 hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours worked, starting on their first day. Employers don’t have to let employees accrue or use more than 40 hours in a year, unless they choose a higher limit. Overtime-exempt employees accrue as if they work 40 hours a week, unless their normal workweek is shorter. Airline flight crew are also treated as working 40 hours a week.
What can Virginia paid sick leave be used for?
- The employee’s own mental or physical illness, injury or health condition, including diagnosis, care, treatment and preventive care
- Caring for a family member with any of those needs
- Absences related to domestic violence, sexual assault or stalking against the employee or a family member, such as medical or mental health care, counseling, legal services, relocation or victim services
The family member definition is broad. It includes children of any age, parents, spouses and domestic partners, grandparents, grandchildren and siblings, the employee’s in-laws, anyone the employee is responsible for arranging health or safety care for, and anyone whose close association with the employee is the equivalent of a family relationship.
How does this relate to other types of leave?
An employer with a PTO, vacation or personal leave policy doesn’t have to add separate sick leave if the policy provides at least the required amount of leave, usable for the same purposes and under the same conditions. Collective bargaining agreements that provide equivalent paid leave on the same terms also satisfy the law.
Paid sick leave is separate from Virginia’s new paid family and medical leave insurance program, which is run by the state. Contributions to that program begin April 1, 2028, and benefits begin December 1, 2028.
Can employers limit how many hours of sick leave employees use in a year?
Yes. Employers can limit both accrual and use to 40 hours per year. Employers can also choose a higher limit.
Can employers provide all the leave at once instead of letting it accrue?
Yes. Employers can give employees, at the start of the year, all the paid sick leave they’re expected to accrue that year, instead of tracking accrual.
Do employers have to carry over unused leave?
Yes. Unused leave carries over to the following year. The law caps accrual and use at 40 hours a year, but it doesn’t clearly say whether employers can also cap how much carried-over leave an employee holds, or whether frontloading the full 40 hours removes the carryover obligation. Expect the Department’s regulations to address this.
“Carryover is the open question I’d watch. Until the regulations settle it, write your policy so unused hours roll over, and don’t build a balance cap or a frontload-and-forfeit approach into it yet.” — Ryan Parker, Esq.
What is the smallest amount of leave an employee can use?
One hour, unless the employer allows smaller increments.
How much do employers have to pay for sick leave?
Employees are paid as though they had worked the hours they took as leave, at their regular rate of pay and never less than the applicable minimum wage.
What notice do employers and employees need to provide?
Employees can request leave orally, in writing, electronically or by any other method the employer accepts, and should include the expected duration when they can. For foreseeable leave, employers can require employees to make a good-faith effort to give advance notice and to schedule leave to limit disruption, but only if the employer has a written policy describing its notice procedures.
Employers will also have to notify employees of their rights in writing and display a poster. The Department of Labor and Industry will publish the required notice. See Virginia labor law poster requirements for current posting rules.
What verification can employers ask for?
For absences of three or more consecutive workdays, employers can require reasonable documentation that the leave was for a covered reason. Documentation from a health care professional satisfies the requirement for health-related leave. Records containing health or domestic violence information must be kept confidential.
Are employees’ jobs and benefits protected when they take this leave?
Yes. Employers can’t retaliate against employees for requesting or using paid sick leave. Employees who transfer within the company keep their accrued leave, and so do employees who stay on when a different employer takes over the business.
Unused leave doesn’t have to be paid out at separation. If an employee is rehired within 12 months, their unused leave must be reinstated. After a longer gap, they’re treated as a new employee. See the Virginia employee separation guide and checklist for final pay rules.
What happens if an employer doesn’t comply?
The Commissioner of Labor and Industry can impose civil penalties for knowing violations of up to $150 for the first violation, $300 for the second and $500 for each one after that. No penalty applies if the employer corrects the violation within a reasonable time, which the regulations will define. Employees can also sue directly, without filing an administrative complaint first, and recover twice the amount of any unpaid sick leave. Lawsuits must be filed within two years, and administrative complaints within one year. Employers must keep paid sick leave records for three years.
Home Health Workers: The Current Law
Since July 1, 2021, Virginia has required paid sick leave for home health workers under Va. Code §§ 40.1-33.3 through 40.1-33.6. That law stays in place, and home health workers it covers are excluded from the new law.
A home health worker under this law is someone who provides personal care, respite or companion services to a person receiving consumer-directed services under Virginia’s medical assistance plan, and who works an average of at least 20 hours a week or 90 hours a month. Covered workers earn 1 hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours worked, up to 40 hours a year, for their own or a family member’s health needs. Employers can require reasonable documentation for absences of three or more consecutive workdays.
Agencies that employ home health workers and other staff will run two policies after their start date under the new law: the existing law for home health workers, and the new law for office staff, nurses and other employees.
Virginia Paid Sick Leave Scenarios
A 60-employee company in Richmond
The company must provide paid sick leave starting July 1, 2027. Employees begin accruing that day, and new hires accrue from their first day of work. The law doesn’t include a waiting period before employees can use accrued leave, so an employee hired in September 2027 who has accrued 6 hours by October can use them.
A 30-employee restaurant group
The group’s start date is January 1, 2028. A server working 30 hours a week accrues 1 hour a week, reaching 40 hours after about 40 weeks. Sick leave pay can’t fall below the applicable minimum wage, so the group should confirm how payroll will calculate sick leave for tipped employees before the start date.
An existing PTO policy
A 75-employee firm gives every employee 80 hours of PTO a year, usable for any reason. That’s more than 40 hours, but the policy only satisfies the law if employees can use the PTO for every covered purpose under the same conditions. If the policy requires two weeks’ notice for all PTO, or a doctor’s note for any sick day, it needs to change for sick leave uses before July 1, 2027.
“Most employers I talk to assume their PTO policy already covers them, and many will be right on the number of hours. Where they’ll fall short is the conditions. Notice rules, blackout periods and documentation requirements written for vacation don’t carry over to sick leave. Read your PTO policy as if every hour in it were sick leave, and fix whatever wouldn’t be allowed.” — Ryan Parker, Esq.
How Virginia Employers Should Prepare
- Count your employees and identify your start date. If you’re close to 50 or 25, or have more employees outside Virginia than in it, plan for the earlier date until the regulations clarify how to count.
- Decide between accrual and frontloading, and set your annual accrual and use limits at 40 hours or higher.
- Review any PTO policy against the law’s purposes and conditions, including notice and documentation rules.
- Write a notice procedure for foreseeable leave. Without a written policy, you can’t require advance notice.
- Set up payroll to track accrual, use and carryover, and to keep records for three years.
- Plan for separate policies if you employ home health workers covered by the existing law.
- Update your handbook before your start date. See Virginia employee handbook requirements and SixFifty’s employee handbook builder for multi-state employers.
- Watch for the Department of Labor and Industry’s regulations, due by July 1, 2027, and the required employee notice.
Simplify Virginia Paid Sick Leave with SixFifty
Virginia’s new law will require most employers to write a paid sick leave policy for the first time. SixFifty helps employers build policies that keep up with new requirements, with less administrative work for HR. Schedule a free demo today, explore the paid leave policy creator, or see paid sick leave laws and requirements by state.
