Virginia Adopts Family Leave Insurance and Bans Non-Competes for Health Care Workers

Summary — The Virginia General Assembly approved amendments to two major employment laws: a paid family and medical leave program and a ban on non-competition agreements for certain health care professionals. The measures significantly expand employee leave protections beginning in 2028 while also restricting restrictive covenants in the health care sector as early as July 1, 2026.

On April 22, 2026, the General Assembly approved proposed amendments offered by Governor Spanberger to two new laws that will have significant implications for Virginia employers when they go into effect. The first, Paid Family and Medical Leave, won’t take effect for two more years. The second—a ban on non-competition agreements for certain health care professionals—is effective on July 1, 2026.

Paid Family and Medical Leave

Paid Family and Medical Leave Insurance (PFMLI) is one of the most significant results from the 2026 General Assembly session. Under this new law, beginning December 1, 2028, Virginia employees may be eligible for twelve (12) weeks of PFMLI benefits per year for qualifying medical or family events. These events include the birth, adoption, or foster care placement of a child; an employee’s need to care for a covered family member with a serious health condition; an employee’s own serious health condition that makes them unable to perform their job; the need to care for a covered service member; or seeking “safety services” for oneself or a family member. “Safety service leave” allows employees to take leave when they or their family members are victims of domestic violence, harassment, sexual assault or stalking. This leave is for things like attending to legal matters related to these crimes; seeking medical or psychological treatment for the injuries caused by these crimes; obtaining services from a victim’s services organization; or relocating or securing a home to ensure the victim’s safety. Leave for safety services reasons is limited to four weeks per year. Additionally, employees may receive paid exigency leave under this bill if they have a family member on active duty in the military.

PFMLI is similar to the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), but there are significant differences between the two. First, FMLA only guarantees unpaid leave. Not only does PFMLI promise paid leave, it also generally provides more benefits for employees than the FMLA. PFMLI explicitly provides paid leave for victims of domestic violence, harassment, sexual assault, or stalking. Further, it is much easier for employees to qualify for leave under the PFMLI than it is for them to qualify under the FMLA. Under the FMLA, an employer only must provide leave if the employer has 50 or more employees each day for 20 or more work weeks in a two-year window. Conversely, employers must comply with the PFMLI if they pay a minimum of $1,500 in wages per quarter or have at least one employee. Similarly, under the FMLA, an employee can only take leave if they have worked for the employer for twelve months and for at least 1,250 hours. To receive PFMLI benefits, an employee need only be authorized to work in the United States.   

In practice, Virginia’s paid family and medical leave will operate much like unemployment benefits. As with unemployment benefits, the program will be managed by the Virginia Employment Commission (VEC). Employees may receive 80% percent of their average weekly wages if they are eligible for this program, up to $1,507.01 per week. Note that the maximum weekly benefit amount is required to be adjusted annually, so it will likely increase. Although the law does not contain an explicit waiting period, individuals must have earned a qualifying amount of wages as set forth in a benefit table contained in Virginia Code § 60.2-612(A)(1). Self-employed individuals are eligible to elect coverage, too.

To receive benefits, claimants will need to provide documentation supporting their need for the benefit. This leave is job-protected, meaning that employers will have to reinstate the employee to their same or an equivalent position upon return. Further, employees must receive the same fringe benefits and service credits that they were entitled to prior to taking leave. Leave may be intermittent; it does not have to be taken sequentially. Paid leave taken under this law must run concurrently with any available leave under the FMLA, to the extent an employee is even eligible for FMLA. 

Paid leave will be jointly funded by employers and employees via mandatory payroll contributions. In two years, on April 1, 2028, employers must begin collecting and remitting payroll contributions to the Family and Medical Leave Insurance Trust Fund. By December 1, 2028, the VEC will begin taking claims and paying leave benefits to qualifying individuals. 

How exactly employers comply with the new law will be dictated by the VEC’s rules and regulations, which have not been released yet. The VEC will issue these rules and regulations by April 1, 2028, to guide both employers and employees. The VEC’s rules and regulations will specify the process for filing and receiving benefits claims, a timeline and process for providing notice of claims, a timeline for claim determinations, and other necessary information.

Importantly, there is a private plan option. Employers may request the VEC approve a private leave plan, assuming the employer’s private plan provides the same protections and benefits as the statute. Paid leave cannot, however, be waived by agreement, including by collective bargaining agreement. 

Employers who violate the statute’s leave protections or anti-retaliation provisions may be sued by the affected employee and may face enforcement action by the Commissioner of Labor and Industry or the Attorney General of Virginia. Similarly, employers who fail to contribute to the Family and Medical Leave Insurance Trust fund will face penalties.

Non-Competition Agreements for Many Health Care Professionals Banned

Beginning July 1, new employment-based non-competition agreements for many health care professionals will be banned in the Commonwealth. The General Assembly recently expanded Virginia Code § 40.1-27:8, which bans non-competes for low-wage and non-exempt workers to include a ban on non-competition agreements for “any person licensed, registered, or certified by the Board of Medicine, Nursing, Counseling, Optometry, Psychology, or Social Work.” Note that many employees that would be considered health care professionals are licensed by other Boards; the law’s applicability to those licensed or certified only by certain boards means that others (for example, those licensed or certified by the Boards of Dentistry, Pharmacy, or Physical Therapy) are not subject to this ban. The law is not retroactive; it states: “[N]othing in this act shall invalidate, alter, or otherwise affect any contracts, covenants, or agreements entered into or renewed prior to July 1, 2026.” Although prior agreements are technically grandfathered in, there may be some concern about enforceability given this new law could be used as evidence of the Commonwealth’s strong public policy against non-competes for these types of healthcare workers.

The new law does permit non-competition agreements and similar restrictive covenants as part of the sale of a business, provided that the restrictive covenants are reasonable in scope, duration, and geographic area. Additionally, with some restrictions, non-solicitation provisions—regardless of whether they are related to the sale of a business—are still permissible, as are repayment provisions. Essentially, employers can still require affected health care employees to refrain from soliciting customers both during and after employment. Employers also can still require employees to pay back certain recruitment-related costs such as relocation expenses or signing bonuses if they were employed for less than five years. For non-solicitation provisions, however, employers cannot prohibit health care professionals from telling current patients where they are going to be continuing their practice, their contact information at that practice, and that the patient has a right to choose their health care provider.

Two Outstanding Items

While there has been a flurry of changes to Virginia’s employment laws, two “big ticket” items remain in limbo. The first is Paid Sick Leave, which would give Virginia employees up to one week of paid sick leave (on top of PFMLI benefits). The second is a bill that would not only grant public sector employees the right to collectively bargain but also set up a government agency that would assist independent in-home caregivers, better their working conditions, and make finding such caregivers much easier for families. The Legislature rejected the Governor’s amendments to these two bills. So, we will have to wait until May 22, at the latest, to see if she vetoes these bills or if they will become law.