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

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West Virginia program

Protected leave for state and county school employees

West Virginia’s Parental Leave Act gives eligible public employees unpaid leave to care for a seriously ill child.

What it is

West Virginia’s Parental Leave Act gives eligible public employees unpaid leave to care for a seriously ill child.

Some public employees have a state leave right as well as federal FMLA. This state leave protects the job but is unpaid. Annual and personal leave must be used first.

Eligibility rules
  • Covered employers are units of state government and county boards of education, not private employers.
  • The employee must be permanent and have at least twelve consecutive weeks of service. Annual and personal leave must be exhausted first.
What you get
  • Up to twelve weeks of unpaid protected leave in a twelve-month period.
  • Restoration to the position held before leave.
  • For state employees, use of up to 80 hours of accrued sick leave annually for family care.
What the protection covers
  • The 80-hour family sick-leave provision uses leave already accrued by a state employee. It does not create a general paid family leave program.
If you decide to apply
  1. Ask your human resources office to check the state Parental Leave Act and FMLA together.
  2. Ask the care team for a letter confirming the serious health condition.
  3. For planned treatment, give the employer two weeks’ written notice and ask which leave must be used first.

The employer · Official page ↗

After you ask
  • Human resources reviews employment history, the request and medical documentation, then identifies the applicable leave.
Good to know

The state personnel policy runs state leave and FMLA at the same time. It does not promise two separate twelve-week blocks.

Other details
  • State leave and federal FMLA run at the same time, not one after the other. During FMLA you keep paying your usual share of the health premium; during leave protected only by the state law you pay the whole premium, so ask HR which applies to each week.
Official sources
Ask your social worker

“Does my employer qualify for the state leave law, and how would it work with FMLA and any paid leave I have? Could you help us check the tradeoffs, insurance costs and paperwork?”

Why I’m asking: I want to know which absence protects my job and what income or insurance costs change.

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 in writing, give two weeks' notice for planned treatment, and ask what leave has to be used first.

Your social worker

Human resources says which leave applies and holds the position.

The care team

A letter confirming the serious health condition.

Who decides
The employer's human resources office.
Ask HR
“I work for a county board of education. I am asking for leave under the West Virginia Parental Leave Act as well as the federal law to care for my child. How much annual and personal leave has to be used first?”

How to apply

First step: Write to human resources asking for state parental leave and federal leave together.

  1. Ask human resources for both the federal and the state leave in the same letter.
  2. Ask how much annual and personal leave has to be used first.
  3. For a state employee, ask about the eighty hours of sick leave for a family member.

Official application / program page ↗

Where it starts: Ask the human resources office in writing and give two weeks' notice for planned treatment.

What to gather

  • Your leave balances
  • A letter from the oncology team
  • Your start date with the employer

How long: Two weeks' notice where treatment can be planned.

Clock: For treatment you can plan, the Act asks for two weeks' written notice to the employer.

What a yes looks like

A written approval naming the weeks and confirming the job is held.

What a no looks like, and the next move

Ask whether the refusal is about the employer being covered or about your length of service.

Watch out

  • It covers public employers only, not private ones.
  • It starts after annual and personal leave are exhausted.
  • The state's policy says the two leaves are used up at the same time, not one after the other.

Dates that change this

2010-10-01: The state personnel policy saying the two leaves run together is from 2010 and is the version the current page still links. (not yet confirmed against the final rule)

The numbers and the rules

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

What it is worth

Twelve unpaid weeks with the job held, for a state or county school employee, and up to eighty hours of sick leave a year for state employees.

  • $12 — Unpaid leave in a twelve-month period
  • $12 — Service needed to qualify
  • $80/year — Accrued sick leave a state employee can use for a family member

Legal protection: The position held before the leave is held and restored · Care of a son or daughter with a serious health condition is a covered reason

What it costs the family: The leave itself is unpaid.

The eligibility facts, as published

Employer
units of state government and county boards of education
Tenure
permanent employment with at least twelve consecutive weeks of service
Condition
annual and personal leave must be exhausted first

Expect friction on: It covers public employers only · The leave is unpaid and comes after annual and personal leave are exhausted

The trap: This leave starts only after annual and personal leave are used up, and the state's own policy says leave that qualifies under both this Act and the federal one is used up at the same time, not one after the other.

Where I read this

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