Written by a parent, not a doctor. Nothing here is medical advice.

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Virginia program

Paid time off through work

In 2026, pay during leave depends on employer benefits and a narrow law for certain Medicaid consumer-directed care workers.

What it is

In 2026, pay during leave depends on employer benefits and a narrow law for certain Medicaid consumer-directed care workers.

Virginia’s broader sick-leave and family-leave payments start later. Your employer may already offer paid time off. Federal FMLA can protect qualifying unpaid leave now.

Eligibility rules
  • The current right covers qualifying Medicaid consumer-directed personal-care, respite or companion workers, rather than everyone working in home health.
  • Right now the only state sick-leave right is for Medicaid home-care workers, who earn one paid hour per 30 worked, up to 40 hours a year. A broader law reaches employers with 50 or more workers in July 2027 and smaller employers over the two years after.
What you get
  • Generally up to 40 paid sick-leave hours yearly for qualifying Medicaid consumer-directed care workers.
  • Employer-paid time off depends on your workplace’s policy.
What the rules cover
  • Virginia's own paid family leave program does not start paying until December 2028, so it cannot help with wages lost now.
If you decide to apply
  1. Ask HR for the written sick-leave, family-leave and FMLA policies.
  2. Bring your usual hours, employment dates and expected care schedule to the discussion.

The employer today; the state employment commission for paid family leave from 2028 · Official page ↗

If you decide to apply
  • The future job-restoration rule requires 120 days with the employer. Current FMLA has its own work-history and employer tests.
Good to know

The broader sick-leave law starts in 2027. State family-leave payments start December 1, 2028.

Other details
  • Your answers’ employer-size range may not settle the 25-worker threshold. HR can supply the actual headcount.
Official sources
Ask your social worker

“What paid time off can I use now, and could FMLA protect the same absence? Could you help check my employer’s policy and whether the limited care-worker law applies?”

Why I’m asking: A future benefit will not cover the wages we lose during treatment now.

More background and detailed requirements
Additional program information and published rules

Who does what

The three parts, side by side. The agency decides; nobody on this page does.

You

Ask for the written policy rather than relying on a state right that has not started.

Your social worker

The employer's benefits office states what its own policy gives.

The care team

Records and letters when the application asks for them.

Who decides
The employer
Ask HR
“What does the company policy give for paid sick and family leave, and does federal job-protected leave apply to me?”

How to apply

First step: Ask the employer for its own written leave policy, and ask whether federal job-protected leave applies to you.

  1. Ask the employer for its own written leave policy; company policy is what exists in 2026.
  2. Ask whether federal job-protected leave applies.

Official application / program page ↗

Where it starts: Ask the employer what its own sick and family leave policy gives, and use federal job-protected leave where it applies.

What to gather

  • The employee handbook leave section
  • Your start date and hours worked in the last year

How long: Company policy answers apply now; the state dates are July 1, 2027 and December 1, 2028.

What a yes looks like

A written company policy giving paid days, or federal job-protected leave approved.

What a no looks like, and the next move

No company policy and no federal cover. Then unpaid leave, a furlough or reduced hours are the things to negotiate.

Watch out

  • The 2028 step down to 25 employees splits the size bucket this page asks about; count heads.
  • A headline saying Virginia has paid family leave is about a law that pays from December 2028.

The numbers and the rules

The arcane layer, kept on purpose. Checked September 11, 2026.

What it is worth

Nothing payable in 2026 for most jobs. General paid sick leave starts July 1, 2027 at 50 employees; paid family leave pays from December 1, 2028.

  • $2,028 — Date paid family leave payments begin
  • $50 — Employer size the general sick-leave law first reaches
  • $40 — Hours a covered home-health worker can accrue and use in a year

Legal protection: Covered home-health workers accrue one paid hour for every 30 worked and can use it to care for a family member · From December 1, 2028, up to 12 weeks replacing 80% of covered wages, with job restoration after 120 days with the employer

What it costs the family: None.

The eligibility facts, as published

Current law
home-health workers averaging at least 20 hours a week or 90 hours a month
Future sick leave
employers of at least 50 from July 1, 2027; at least 25 from January 1, 2028; at least one from January 1, 2029
Future paid family leave
claims and payments from December 1, 2028; 12 weeks at 80% of covered wages; 120 days with the employer for job restoration

The trap: Reading "Virginia has paid family leave" and planning on it. The law is enacted, but claims and payments begin December 1, 2028, and qualifying leave then runs at the same time as federal job-protected leave.

Where I read this

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