Virginia passes paid sick and safe leave mandate (with slide deck) 

Virginia joins 20 other states — plus Puerto Rico and Washington, DC — in requiring accrued paid leave for employees. The new legislation — 2026 Chs. 1128/1129 (HB 5/SB 199) — will require employers in the state to provide employees working in Virginia up to 40 hours of paid sick and safe leave (PSSL) annually beginning on July 1, 2027. The leave will accrue at one hour for every 30 hours worked. The state’s Department of Labor and Industry (DOLI) will adopt rules, enforce the law, and provide a model employee notice.

Virginia also enacted a PFML law this year. For details, see Virginia enacts paid family and medical leave mandate (June 17, 2026). For details on other state and local PSSL laws, see Roundup: State accrued paid leave mandates (July 23, 2025).

Note: The new Article 2.1:1 in the Virginia Code is titled “Paid Sick Leave.” In these materials, we use “PSSL” to refer to the new law because it entitles employees to protected leave for safety reasons in addition to sickness.

For more on Virginia’s PSSL mandate, download the article here and the companion slide deck here.