Legislation requiring public and private employers with 15 or more employees to provide employees with earned paid sick time failed to pass the Senate. SB 481 (Favola) would have required that employees accrue a minimum of one hour of earned paid sick time for every 30 hours worked, up to a minimum of 40 hours earned paid sick time per year. The measure had a delayed effective date of January 1, 2021. The legislation faced opposition from business groups concerned over the cost implications, however, advocates argued that passage would allow workers currently without access to these benefits the ability to stay home when sick without fear of lost wages thereby reducing likelihood of transmission of communicable diseases. The bill was revised numerous times after initial passage before it passed the House 52-45 and no further action was taken by the Senate. HB 898 (Guzman) was companion legislation in the House that was left in the House Appropriations Committee on February 11. Federal legislation addressing this issue was also recently introduced in response to the spread of the Coronavirus.
VACo Contact: Jeremy R. Bennett