Paid family leave in Virginia is changing. The Commonwealth has enacted a mandatory paid family and medical leave program that will pay eligible workers up to 12 weeks of benefits per year for qualifying life events, with payments scheduled to begin January 1, 2029.1Virginia Legislative Information System. SB2 – 2026 Regular Session Payroll contributions that fund the program start April 1, 2028. Until then, the only Virginia-specific paid leave available is through a voluntary private insurance policy that your employer may or may not have bought.
What the New Program Will Pay
Once benefits begin, the program will pay 80 percent of your average weekly wage, capped at 100 percent of the statewide average weekly wage, with that cap adjusted each year.1Virginia Legislative Information System. SB2 – 2026 Regular Session Lower-wage workers are guaranteed a minimum of $100 per week. You can draw up to 12 weeks in any application year.
There is no waiting period. Once the Virginia Employment Commission approves your claim, payments run from the first day of qualifying leave. Leave can be taken continuously, intermittently, or on a reduced schedule, which matters if you need recurring treatment rather than one long absence. You are expected to make a reasonable effort to schedule leave in a way that does not unduly disrupt your employer’s operations.
Who Is Covered and For What Reasons
The law covers nearly all Virginia workers, including private-sector and local government employees, regardless of employer size. Full-time and part-time workers both qualify.2Virginia Employment Commission. First in the South: Virginia Enacts Paid Family and Medical Leave Self-employed workers and independent contractors are not automatically enrolled but can opt in.1Virginia Legislative Information System. SB2 – 2026 Regular Session
Qualifying reasons for leave are broader than under the federal Family and Medical Leave Act:
- Your own serious health condition that prevents you from performing your job.
- Caring for a family member with a serious health condition. Virginia’s definition of “family member” is broader than the FMLA’s spouse, parent, or child.
- Bonding with a new child after birth, adoption, or foster placement.
- Safety-related services related to domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking, including legal assistance, counseling, or relocation.
- Caring for a covered service member or addressing issues arising from a family member’s active-duty deployment.
The domestic violence category is easy to overlook. Attending court, seeking counseling, or relocating to escape abuse counts as qualifying leave under this program.
Job Protection After 120 Days
Virginia’s law pairs the pay with job restoration rights, which many state paid leave laws do not. If you have worked for your current employer for at least 120 days before taking leave, you are entitled to your job back when you return.
Compare that to the federal FMLA, which requires 12 months of employment, at least 1,250 hours worked, and an employer with 50 or more employees within 75 miles. Under Virginia’s program, a part-time employee at a small business who has been on the job four months has restoration rights. Under FMLA, that same worker has none.
When Contributions Start and Who Pays
The VEC must have the program built by January 1, 2028. Payroll contributions start April 1, 2028, giving the fund about nine months of reserves before benefit payments begin January 1, 2029.3Virginia Employment Commission. Virginia Paid Family and Medical Leave FAQ
The VEC sets the contribution rate annually. The default split is 50-50 between employer and employee, though employers can choose to cover more.3Virginia Employment Commission. Virginia Paid Family and Medical Leave FAQ Two variations apply:
- Employers with 10 or fewer employees are not required to contribute the employer share. Their workers still pay the employee portion through payroll deductions.
- Self-employed people who opt in pay the full contribution themselves, since there is no employer to split with.
The actual contribution rate had not been published as of mid-2026.
How the Program Works With FMLA
If you qualify for both Virginia paid leave and federal FMLA, the two run concurrently. You do not stack 12 weeks of paid state leave on top of 12 weeks of unpaid federal leave for the same event; the state benefit pays you during the FMLA-protected absence, and both clocks run together.
Many Virginia workers who qualify for the state program do not qualify for FMLA at all because of its size, tenure, and hours thresholds. For those workers, the Virginia program supplies both the pay and the job protection that FMLA would not have.4U.S. Department of Labor. FMLA Forms
What You Can Do Before 2029
The mandatory program does not help you if you need leave now. Your options in the meantime are narrower, and they depend on what your employer already offers.
Ask your HR department whether your employer carries a voluntary family leave insurance policy under Virginia Code Section 38.2-107.2. Insurance carriers can sell these policies to employers as a standalone group policy, a rider on a group disability policy, or built into an existing disability policy. Where a policy exists, it pays a percentage of income during leave for the birth or adoption of a child, foster placement, caring for a family member with a serious health condition, or military family situations.5Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code 38.2-107.2 – Private Family Leave Insurance Benefit amount, duration, and waiting periods are whatever the policy your employer bought says they are. There is no standard floor.
If no such policy exists at your workplace, check whether you qualify for unpaid FMLA leave for job protection, and whether your employer offers short-term disability insurance. Short-term disability can cover part of your wages during a medical leave, including recovery from childbirth, but it does not cover bonding time or caregiving for a family member.
Self-employed workers have the fewest options in the interim. The voluntary insurance framework is structured for group sale to employers, so individual access is limited. When the mandatory program opens in 2029, self-employed people can opt in and pay the full contribution to receive benefits on the same terms as employees.
How Claims Will Be Filed
Under a current voluntary policy, claims go to the insurance carrier, not the state. Contact HR to confirm coverage and get the policy number and claim forms; most carriers accept digital submission. For a health-related claim, you will need medical certification from a provider describing the condition and expected duration. For bonding leave, expect to provide a birth certificate or adoption documentation. Carriers typically process claims within two to four weeks.
Once the mandatory program begins, the VEC will handle claims directly. The VEC Commissioner is responsible for adopting the regulations that will govern documentation requirements and dispute procedures, and those specifics had not been finalized as of mid-2026.