Virginia Creates Paid Family and Medical Leave

On April 22, 2026, Virginia approved Senate Bill 2 and House Bill 1207, creating a new statewide Paid Family and Medical Leave (PFML) insurance program administered by the Virginia Employment Commission (VEC).

The new law establishes a phased rollout under which the VEC must have the program in place by January 1, 2028.

Virginia’s PFML law creates a state-administered paid leave insurance framework that provides wage replacement and job protections for qualifying family and medical leave reasons, including bonding leave, the employee’s own serious health condition, care for a family member, certain military-related leave, and certain safety-services leave.

This update is applicable to virtually all private employers, and the VEC must establish the program by January 1, 2028, payroll contributions begin on April 1, 2028, and benefit claims and payments begin on December 1, 2028.

What Employers Need to Do

• Begin reviewing leave, attendance, and benefits policies now so they can be aligned with Virginia’s new PFML framework before payroll contributions start in 2028.

• Prepare payroll systems for the contribution model, including the different rules for employers with more than 10 employees versus employers with 10 or fewer employees, and the rule that deductions may not reduce wages below the applicable minimum wage.

• Plan for new notice and posting duties, including written notice at hire, annual notice, event-triggered notice when leave may qualify, and workplace posting obligations in English, Spanish, and any first language spoken by at least 5% of the workforce.

• Evaluate whether any employer-sponsored leave arrangement could qualify as an approved private plan that provides rights, protections, and benefits equal to or greater than the state program.

• Train managers and HR personnel on job restoration, benefits continuation, anti-retaliation protections, and the rule that PFML leave may not be counted as an absence under attendance-control policies.

Overview

• Virginia created a new PFML insurance program in Title 60.2 and directed the VEC to establish and administer it.

• By January 1, 2028, the VEC must have the program established; by April 1, 2028, it must begin collecting contributions; and by December 1, 2028, it must begin receiving claims and paying benefits.

• Covered leave includes bonding with a new child after birth, adoption, or foster placement; the employee’s own serious health condition; caring for a family member with a serious health condition; caring for a covered service member; qualifying military exigency leave; and seeking safety services related to domestic violence, harassment, sexual assault, or stalking, with safety-services leave capped at four weeks in a benefit year.

• Eligible individuals may receive up to 12 weeks of benefits in a benefit year, and weekly benefits are generally 80% of average weekly wages, subject to a $100 minimum weekly benefit unless wages are below that amount and a maximum tied to 100% of the statewide average weekly wage.

• Leave may be taken on a continuous, intermittent, or reduced schedule basis, and employees must make a reasonable effort to schedule leave so as not to unduly disrupt employer operations when practicable.

• The law defines “family member” broadly to include children of any age, grandchildren, grandparents, parents, siblings, spouses, domestic partners, step, foster, and adoptive relationships, and certain individuals who live in the employee’s home and depend on the employee for care.

• Employers with more than 10 employees must remit the full contribution and may deduct up to 50% of the required amount from employee wages. In comparison, employers with 10 or fewer employees deduct and remit only the employee-side amount and do not have to make an additional employer contribution.

• Employees who the current employer has employed for at least 120 days before leave begins are entitled to reinstatement to the same or an equivalent position, and employers must maintain health care benefits during leave as if the employee had remained actively working, with the employee continuing to pay the employee share.

• Employers must provide written notice at hire, annually, and when an employee requests leave, or the employer learns of a potentially qualifying leave need, and must maintain a workplace poster with the required information in English, Spanish, and any first language spoken by at least 5% of the workforce.

• Employers may apply to satisfy their obligations through an approved private plan, but the plan must provide rights, protections, and benefits equal to or greater than the state program and must be recertified every two years.

Why This Matters

• Virginia’s new PFML law is a major shift because it moves the state beyond unpaid federal leave protections and creates a statewide paid-leave insurance system with payroll contributions, wage replacement, notice requirements, job protection, and anti-retaliation rules.

• The law is broader than the FMLA in important ways, including who may qualify, the expanded definition of covered family members, and the availability of leave for safety services as well as intermittent or reduced schedules.

• Even though contributions and benefits do not begin until 2028, the law creates enough payroll, policy, notice, and administrative obligations that employers may want to begin planning now rather than waiting for VEC regulations.

Key Risks for Employers

• Waiting too long to assess payroll, policy, and leave-administration changes needed for April 1, 2028, contribution collection and December 1, 2028, benefit administration.

• Misapplying the contribution rules for small employers versus larger employers or making wage deductions that push pay below the applicable minimum wage.

• Failing to honor job restoration, health benefits continuation, or anti-retaliation protections for employees who request, apply for, or use PFML benefits.

• Treating PFML leave as a countable absence under attendance-control policies, which the statute expressly prohibits.

• Assuming an existing employer-sponsored leave policy or insurance product will automatically qualify as a private plan without VEC approval and ongoing recertification.

Source Reference

• Virginia SB 2 – Paid family & med. leave insurance program; definitions, notice requirements, civil action, report.

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