Paid Sick Leave in Virginia: Who Qualifies and How Much You Earn

Virginia does not require most private employers to provide paid sick leave. The only statewide paid sick leave mandate in Virginia law applies to a narrow group: certain home health workers. Under Virginia Code § 40.1-33.4, a covered home health worker who works on average at least 20 hours per week (or at least 90 hours per month) must accrue at least 1 hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours worked, and the employer is only required to let the worker accrue and use up to 40 hours per year. If you are not a home health worker covered by this statute, no Virginia law forces your employer to give you any paid sick time at all — whatever sick leave or PTO you have comes from your employer's own policy, an employment contract, or a collective bargaining agreement.

This makes Virginia very different from states like California, New York, Colorado, or Washington, which require nearly all employers to provide accrued paid sick leave to most employees. Virginia chose a far more limited approach, so it is critical to know exactly where you fall.

The federal baseline: no paid sick leave

Start with what federal law does and does not do. The federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) sets a minimum wage (currently $7.25 per hour at the federal level) and requires overtime at 1.5 times the regular rate after 40 hours in a workweek — but it does not require employers to provide any paid sick leave, paid vacation, or paid time off. The federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) provides job-protected leave for serious health conditions, but that leave is unpaid. So in the absence of a state or local mandate, U.S. workers generally have no legal right to paid sick days. Virginia largely follows this federal baseline, with the single home health worker exception described below.

Who qualifies under Virginia's home health worker law

Virginia's paid sick leave statute (Va. Code §§ 40.1-33.3 through 40.1-33.6) was enacted in 2021. As originally proposed, it would have covered a much broader set of "essential workers," but the version that became law was narrowed to home health workers — broadly, individuals who provide personal care, respite, or companion services to a person in that person's home through a Medicaid-funded program or a similar arrangement.

To qualify, the home health worker must work, on average, at least 20 hours per week or 90 hours per month. Workers below that threshold are not covered by the mandate. The law also has carve-outs and definitions that determine which arrangements count, so the precise coverage depends on the facts of how the care is funded and delivered.

How accrual and caps work

• Accrual rate: at least 1 hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours worked.
• Annual cap: the employer is not required to allow accrual or use of more than 40 hours of paid sick leave per year, although an employer may choose to offer more.
• Carryover: the statute permits carrying accrued, unused paid sick leave into the following year, but the employer can still limit total use to 40 hours in a year.
• Front-loading: an employer may satisfy the requirement by giving the full amount of leave at the start of the year instead of tracking accrual hour by hour.

What the leave can be used for

Covered paid sick leave can generally be used for the worker's own mental or physical illness, injury, or health condition; for diagnosis, care, or treatment; and to care for a family member with a similar need. Because the permitted uses and family-member definitions are set by statute, a covered worker should read the exact text of § 40.1-33.4 or confirm with the agency before assuming a particular absence is protected.

Local ordinances: why Virginia cities cannot fill the gap

In many states, cities and counties have passed their own paid sick leave ordinances to go beyond state law. That generally cannot happen in Virginia. Virginia is a Dillon Rule state, meaning local governments have only the powers expressly granted to them by the General Assembly. Localities have not been given authority to impose their own private-sector paid sick leave mandates, so you will not find a Richmond, Norfolk, Virginia Beach, or Arlington paid sick leave ordinance covering private employers the way you would in Chicago, Seattle, or New York City. For most Virginia workers, the question begins and ends with state law and the employer's own policy.

How sick leave interacts with PTO and FMLA

Because Virginia does not broadly mandate sick leave, most paid time off in the Commonwealth is contractual. That has practical consequences:

• Combined PTO banks count. If your employer offers a single paid time off (PTO) bank that you can use for any reason, that policy can satisfy a covered home health worker's sick leave right as long as it provides at least as much leave, accrued at least as fast, and usable for the same reasons.
• Use-it-or-lose-it and payout. Virginia does not require employers to pay out unused vacation or PTO at separation unless a policy, contract, or practice promises it. Whether your accrued time is paid when you leave depends on your employer's written policy, so read it carefully.
• FMLA runs in parallel. If you work for an employer with 50 or more employees within 75 miles and you have worked at least 1,250 hours in the past 12 months, FMLA gives you up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave for a serious health condition or to care for a family member. Employers can require — or you can choose — to use accrued paid leave at the same time, so your paid days and FMLA weeks can overlap rather than stack.
• Other Virginia protections still apply. Separate Virginia laws address pregnancy accommodation and unpaid leave situations, and Virginia provides certain leave protections for crime victims and for civil air patrol and military service. Those are distinct from a paid sick leave entitlement.

How to enforce your rights

If you are a covered home health worker and your employer is not providing the required paid sick leave, your first step is usually to raise it in writing with the employer and point to the specific policy or statute. If that does not resolve it, you can contact the state agency that oversees wage and labor standards.

The Virginia Department of Labor and Industry (DOLI) is the Commonwealth's labor agency and is the place to start for questions about wage, hour, and labor-standard issues. For wage-payment disputes, Virginia's wage payment law (Va. Code § 40.1-29) is enforced through DOLI, and unpaid promised compensation can sometimes be pursued there or in court. Keep records of your hours worked, your accrued and used leave, your employer's written policy, and any denied requests. Document dates and who you spoke with.

For broader employment disputes — such as retaliation or discrimination tied to taking leave — the Virginia Office of the Attorney General's Office of Civil Rights and the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) may also be relevant, depending on the facts.

Where to verify the current rules

Statutory thresholds rarely change, but figures tied to inflation do. As of 2026, Virginia's minimum wage is higher than the federal $7.25 floor and is adjusted on a schedule set by the General Assembly; because the exact rate can change at the start of a calendar year, confirm the current figure directly with the Virginia Department of Labor and Industry before relying on it. Likewise, confirm the precise text of the home health worker paid sick leave law — Va. Code §§ 40.1-33.3 through 40.1-33.6 — on the Virginia General Assembly's official Code of Virginia website, since coverage definitions are detailed and occasionally amended.

Bottom line: unless you are a covered home health worker, Virginia gives you no statutory right to paid sick leave, and your paid time off is whatever your employer agrees to provide. Read your employee handbook, get the policy in writing, and verify any specific number with DOLI or the Code of Virginia.

This article is general information, not legal advice. For advice about your situation, consult a licensed Virginia employment attorney or contact the Virginia Department of Labor and Industry.

Official Virginia Sources

This page is based on Virginia employment law. Rules and figures change — verify the current details directly with the official Virginia sources below. This is general legal information, not legal advice.

• Virginia Department of Labor and Industry (DOLI) — official Virginia agency.
• DOLI Labor & Employment Law Division – Payment of Wage (File a Wage Claim)
• Code of Virginia, Title 40.1 – Labor and Employment

Federal law and local ordinances may also apply. Federal laws like the Fair Labor Standards Act set a national floor, and your city or county may add protections (such as a higher local minimum wage or paid sick leave). Check both alongside Virginia state law.