Virginia’s journey toward paid family and medical (PFML) leave has been years in the making. Following multiple legislative sessions and extensive policy discussions, the Commonwealth has finally crossed the finish line. The amended House Bill No. 1207 has been enacted into law, creating a PFML program in Virginia.
For policy enthusiasts, there was a bit of last-minute excitement while monitoring this legislation: while the original bill was sent to Gov. Abigail Spanberger on March 31, she proposed some recommendations on the final day for action. On April 22, the legislature then reconvened and adopted the amended bill in its entirety, upon which the bill became law. In a news release, the Governor called this a landmark law given that the state is the first in the South to create a PFML program.
Contributions to the program will begin on April 1, 2028, and employees may begin receiving benefits on December 1, 2028. The new law also allows for private plans. Read on for more details about the new program:
Covered Employers: Most employers that employ at least one individual in the state must provide PFML to eligible employees through the state-run program to be administered by the Virginia Employment Commission (VEC) or a private plan.
Eligible Employees: To be eligible, employees with US work authorization must have earned enough wages in at least two quarters to meet the minimum earnings required under Virginia’s Unemployment Benefits Table, which is currently $3,000. Employees of the federal and state government and self-employed individuals are not covered. However, self-employed individuals may opt into the program.
Covered Leave Reasons: Virginia PFML allows employees to take leave for:
- an employee’s own serious health condition
- caring for a family member with a serious health condition
- qualifying exigency leave
- care for a covered service member who is their next of kin or other family member
- bonding with a child during the first year after the birth, adoption, or placement of the child
- safe leave for the needs of an employee or their family member
Amount of Leave: Each benefit year, an employee can take a maximum of 12 weeks of leave in a benefit year in combination of all allowable leave reasons. Safe leave is limited to a maximum of four weeks per benefit year. There is no waiting period for benefits.
Covered Family Members: Virginia PFML permits an employee to take leave for the following relationships:
- a child,
- a parent,
- a spouse or domestic partner,
- a sibling,
- a grandchild,
- a grandparent, and
- an individual who regularly resides in the employee’s home or where the relationship creates an expectation that the employee care for them and who depends on the employee for care. This does not include an individual who simply resides in the home with no expectation that the employee care for them.
For care for a covered service member, “next of kin” means the nearest blood relative other than the covered servicemember’s spouse, parent, son, or daughter.
Premiums: Employers must pay premiums to the state beginning April 1, 2028. The premium rates will be announced by October 1, 2027. The VEC will be required to adjust rates accordingly to ensure that the projected balance of the PFML trust fund as a percentage of total program expenditures does not fall below 40 percent.
Employers with more than 10 employees and their employees are each responsible for 50% of the annual premiums unless the employer chooses to cover the entire amount. Small employers (with 10 or fewer employees) are not required to pay the employer share and their employees are responsible for 50% of the annual premiums.
Employers that fail to remit their PFML contributions on time will have the overdue amounts accrue interest at 1.5% per month. Employers will be solely responsible for paying the interest due and cannot pass on these costs to their employees.
Benefit Calculation: The weekly benefit amount is 80% of the employee’s average weekly wage (AWW), up to a maximum weekly benefit amount of the state’s average weekly wage. The minimum weekly benefit amount is $100 per week except that if the employee’s AWW is less than $100 per week, the weekly benefit amount is their full wage.
Type of Leave: Employees can take continuous or intermittent leave, though claims must be payable for at least eight hours of leave accrued in one workweek, unless the VEC sets a lower threshold.
Concurrency: VA PFML leave runs concurrently with leave under the federal FMLA, if the leave meets the requirements of both laws. An employer can require that PFML benefit payments be made concurrently or otherwise coordinated with payments made or leave allowed under a collective bargaining agreement or employer policy.
Employer Notice: Employers must post and provide each employee with a VA PFML workplace notice at the time of hiring, annually, and when an employee requests PFML-qualifying leave. The required workplace notice must be in English, Spanish, and any language that is the first language spoken by at least five percent of the employer’s workforce.
Employee Notice: An employee must provide notice of their intention to take leave to their employer as soon as practicable. In addition, an employee must provide a certification that supports their need for PFML benefits to the state plan or an approved private plan.
Job Protection: An employee who has been employed with their current employer for at least 120 days prior to the start of their VA PFML leave is entitled to be restored to their previous position, or to a position with equivalent benefits, pay, and other terms and conditions of employment.
Maintenance of Health Care Benefits: Employers must continue any health care benefits to which a covered individual was entitled prior to taking such leave for the time that they were absent from work or receiving benefits under VA PFML. The employee must continue to pay their share of the cost of benefits while on leave.
Private Plans: An employer can satisfy the requirements of the VA PFML law through a private plan approved by the VEC. The benefits, leave durations, and protections provided to covered employees must be equivalent to or greater than the benefits to which their covered employees are entitled under the state’s PFML program. Private plans can be self-insured or fully insured.
Reports and Public Dashboard: By December 1, 2028 (at the same time benefits first become payable), the VEC is required to maintain a publicly accessible online dashboard providing real‑time insights such as the number of claims filed and approved, average approval times, and breakdowns by leave purpose to ensure ongoing visibility into program performance. By April 1, 2030, the VEC must submit a comprehensive report to the legislature detailing program participation trends, including reasons for leave, beneficiary demographics, weekly benefit amounts, premium rates, fund balances, and outreach progress.
Rulemaking: The VEC is required to promulgate all rules and regulations by April 1, 2028, the same milestone date for the start of contribution collections. (Since employers will need guidance to start payroll withholding for contributions, it is likely that PFML rules will be issued piecemeal similar to other states’ PFML rulemaking timelines.)
Governor’s Amendments: The following provisions were made part of the final law, per the Governor’s suggested amendments:
- Job protection: The Governor’s version limited job protection to employees who have been with their current employer for at least 120 days prior to the start of their VA PFML leave. The original version granted job protection to all PFML claimants, with no minimum tenure requirement.
- Eligibility: The Governor’s version added an explicit requirement that claimants must be authorized to work in the United States at the time they apply for benefits.
- Safe leave: The Governor’s version added a four-week-per-benefit-year cap on safe leave.
- Family members: The Governor’s version removed “any individual whose close association with a covered individual is the equivalent of a family relationship” as a covered family relationship.
- Private plans: The Governor’s version added a reapplication requirement where employers with approved private plans will need to reapply every two years and pay a recertification fee.
- Fraud and disqualification: The Governor’s version included a Class 1 misdemeanor penalty and a five-year disqualification for willful fraud, while the original version only provided for a three-year disqualification without criminal prosecution.
- Advisory Board: The Governor’s version removed the 18‑member Advisory Board to guide and advise the VEC on PFML program implementation, consisting of five legislators and 13 citizen members representing business, small business, labor, child‑ and family‑focused advocacy, disability and health organizations, technology, human‑centered design, and PFML expertise.
How is FINEOS helping carriers and employers prepare for paid leave programs?
FINEOS will be ready to administer this new leave law by its effective date. Using modern insurance technology solutions like the FINEOS Platform can help insurance carriers remain agile and competitive when leave legislation is passed. Learn more about how a modern, integrated disability and absence management (IDAM) solution can help your organization adapt to sudden changes and remain in compliance.
