Virginia’s paid sick leave law currently applies only to home health workers, but that changes on July 1, 2027, when HB5 extends the same protection to nearly all private and public-sector employees in the state. Under both the current and expanded versions, eligible workers earn at least one hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours worked, capped at 40 hours a year unless the employer sets a higher limit.
Who Is Covered Right Now
Until July 2027, the law reaches one workforce: home health workers who average at least 20 hours per week or 90 hours per month.1Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code 40.1-33.3 – Definitions It took effect July 1, 2021, and was one of the first paid sick leave protections enacted in Virginia.
Two groups are specifically excluded. If you hold a license, registration, or certification from a health regulatory board within the Department of Health Professions, the law does not treat you as an eligible employee. The same applies if you work for a hospital licensed by the Department of Health and average no more than 30 hours per month.1Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code 40.1-33.3 – Definitions
What Changes on July 1, 2027
The General Assembly passed House Bill 5 in the 2026 session. It extends paid sick leave to all employees of private employers and state and local governments, with a delayed effective date of July 1, 2027.2Virginia General Assembly. HB5 – 2026 Regular Session
The accrual formula stays the same: one hour per 30 hours worked. What’s new is enforcement. The expanded law adds civil penalties for knowing violations and gives workers the right to sue directly. Employees paid on a fee-for-service basis will accrue leave according to regulations the Commissioner of Labor and Industry adopts. If you run a Virginia business without a sick leave policy, the window between now and July 2027 is when to build one.
How Leave Accrues
Eligible employees earn a minimum of one hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours worked, and leave starts building from the first day on the job.3Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code 40.1-33.4 – Accrual of Paid Sick Leave There is no waiting period before you can use accrued hours.
Both accrual and usage are capped at 40 hours per year unless your employer allows more. Unused leave carries over to the following year, but those carryover hours don’t count toward the next year’s 40-hour accrual cap.4Cornell Law School. 12 Va. Admin. Code 30-130-3060 – Eligibility and Use So your total balance can climb above 40 hours over time, but you can only earn 40 new hours in any single year.
If you’re exempt from overtime under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act, the law assumes a 40-hour workweek for accrual unless your normal schedule is shorter. Employers can also front-load the full expected annual accrual at the start of the year rather than letting it build hour by hour.3Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code 40.1-33.4 – Accrual of Paid Sick Leave
Employers who already provide paid time off, personal days, or other leave meeting the statute’s requirements don’t need to create a separate program. An existing policy satisfies the mandate as long as workers can use at least 40 hours annually for the purposes the law covers and accrue at no less than the one-per-thirty rate.3Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code 40.1-33.4 – Accrual of Paid Sick Leave
No Payout When You Leave
Virginia does not require employers to pay out unused sick leave when you quit or are fired. If your employer’s own policy promises a payout, that promise binds them, but the state statute creates no such obligation. Accrued vacation pay works differently under Virginia law, so don’t assume the two are treated the same.
What You Can Use Sick Leave For
You can use accrued leave for two categories of need:
- Your own physical or mental illness, injury, or health condition, including diagnosis, treatment, and preventive care such as routine checkups or vaccinations.
- Care for a qualifying family member facing illness, injury, or a health condition, or accompanying them for preventive medical care.
Mental health needs qualify equally, whether for you or a family member.5Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code 40.1-33.5 – Use of Paid Sick Leave
Who Counts as Family
The statute’s definition is broad. It covers biological, adopted, foster, and stepchildren, along with legal wards and anyone you stand or stood in a parental role toward, regardless of age. On the other side, it covers biological, foster, step, and adoptive parents, legal guardians, and anyone who stood in a parental role to you or your spouse when you were a minor. It also covers spouses, grandparents, grandchildren, and siblings (including step and foster relationships) of you or your spouse, plus anyone you’re responsible for helping obtain health care.
The catch-all category covers anyone related by blood or close personal association whose relationship is equivalent to a family bond.6Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code 40.1-33.3 – Definitions You don’t need a legal or biological tie if the relationship genuinely resembles a family connection.
Requesting Leave and Providing Documentation
You can request sick leave orally, in writing, electronically, or by any other method your employer accepts.5Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code 40.1-33.5 – Use of Paid Sick Leave For a scheduled appointment or planned procedure, give notice early enough for your employer to plan around your absence. For unexpected illness, notify them as soon as reasonably possible.
If you miss three or more consecutive workdays, your employer may ask for reasonable documentation confirming you used the leave for a covered purpose.7Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code 40.1-33.5 – Use of Paid Sick Leave A note from a health care provider is the usual form. For absences shorter than three days, employers cannot demand a doctor’s note as a condition of using your leave.
What Employers Cannot Require
If your company enforces advance notice requirements, it must give employees a written policy describing those procedures. An unwritten expectation isn’t enforceable.5Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code 40.1-33.5 – Use of Paid Sick Leave
Two conditions are flatly prohibited. Employers cannot require you to find a replacement worker before taking sick leave, and they cannot make you work an alternative shift to make up for hours missed.5Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code 40.1-33.5 – Use of Paid Sick Leave The point of sick leave falls apart if using it means scrambling to arrange coverage while ill.
Protection Against Retaliation
Employers cannot fire, discipline, threaten, discriminate against, or otherwise penalize you for requesting or using paid sick leave, or for reporting a violation of the law.8Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code 40.1-33.6 – Retaliatory Action Prohibited That protection covers compensation, work conditions, scheduling, location, and benefits.
Virginia’s broader whistleblower statute also covers employees who report violations of state or federal law to a supervisor or government agency. Under that provision, you can file a civil action within one year of the retaliatory act, and a court can order reinstatement, back pay with interest, and reasonable attorney fees.9Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code 40.1-27.3 – Retaliatory Action Against Employee Prohibited Both protections may apply if an employer retaliates against you for raising sick leave concerns.
Penalties and Lawsuits Under the 2027 Expansion
The current version of the law has limited enforcement tools. HB5 changes that. Starting July 1, 2027, the Commissioner of Labor and Industry can impose civil penalties on employers who knowingly violate the statute:
- First violation: up to $150
- Second violation: up to $300
- Each additional violation: up to $500
Per-violation penalties may look modest, but they add up quickly for employers denying leave to multiple workers.10Virginia General Assembly. SB372 – 2026 Regular Session
HB5 also creates a private right of action. Employees can sue without first filing an administrative complaint, and the deadline is two years from the date of the violation or from when the employee knew or should have known about it. A successful plaintiff receives double the amount of any unpaid sick leave, double any actual damages, and reasonable attorney fees.2Virginia General Assembly. HB5 – 2026 Regular Session
How to File a Complaint
The Virginia Department of Labor and Industry handles sick leave complaints through its Labor and Employment Law Division. The Payment of Wage Unit within that division investigates claims for unpaid wages, retaliation, and other labor law violations.11Virginia Department of Labor and Industry. Labor Law You can file online through the DOLI self-service portal.12Virginia Department of Labor and Industry. Labor Law VDOLI Portal
Once the 2027 expansion takes effect, you also have the option to skip the agency and file a civil lawsuit directly, with a two-year window and the enhanced remedies described above. For retaliation claims under the current law, the whistleblower statute provides a one-year window and remedies including reinstatement and back pay.9Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code 40.1-27.3 – Retaliatory Action Against Employee Prohibited
How Virginia Sick Leave Interacts With FMLA
If you qualify for unpaid leave under the federal Family and Medical Leave Act, your Virginia paid sick leave can run concurrently. Either you or your employer can substitute accrued paid leave for unpaid FMLA leave, so you get paid during time that would otherwise be unpaid while keeping FMLA job protection.13U.S. Department of Labor. FMLA Frequently Asked Questions FMLA guarantees your job for up to 12 weeks; Virginia’s law ensures you’re paid for the sick hours you’ve earned.
FMLA applies only to employers with 50 or more employees within a 75-mile radius, and only after you’ve worked for that employer for at least 12 months. Virginia’s sick leave law has no such size threshold, so smaller employers who fall outside FMLA are still bound by the state requirement.