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Each year, we track some of our most important paid leave policy fights across the nation, and this year has highlights and lowlights. While members of Congress continue to work to advance and pass national paid family and medical leave and paid sick days programs, states continue to lead the way for workers. Since 2020, over 40 states and the District of Columbia have expanded leave rights to workers. This piece covers key developments of paid family and medical leave and paid sick and safe days including Virginia’s passage of critical paid leave and paid sick days laws and progress toward paid leave in three states.

Paid Family and Medical Leave

Virginia

On April 22, 2026, Governor Spanberger signed a paid family and medical leave bill (HB 1207/SB 2) into law – making Virginia the first state in the South and the 15th state (including D.C.) to create a statewide program. Workers and employers will begin contributing to the program on April 1, 2028. On December 1, 2028, eligible workers will be able to take up to 12 weeks of job-protected paid family and medical leave and up to four weeks of safe leave. The law provides that leave may be used for the birth, adoption, or foster placement of a child, to tend to one’s own serious health condition, to care for a loved one – including chosen family – with a serious health condition, for qualifying military exigencies, and to respond to domestic violence. Virginia joins seven other states – New Jersey, Connecticut, Oregon, Colorado, Washington State, Minnesota, and Maine – that allow workers to take leave for their chosen family. About 3.2 million private-sector workers will be eligible for paid leave under the new law. That amounts to 91 percent of the private-sector workforce in Virginia.

Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania legislators and advocates continued to make progress towards passing a sustainable paid family and medical leave program this year. There are two bills pending: HB 200 and SB 906. HB 200 requires employers to provide workers with 12 weeks of paid leave for the birth, adoption, or foster placement of a child, to tend to one’s or a loved one’s serious health condition, to care for a covered service family member, and respond to domestic violence. SB 906 creates a state social insurance family and medical leave program and would allow workers to take up to 20 weeks of paid leave for the above reasons, as well. In March, the Pennsylvania House passed HB 200; however, the bill did not include sustainable funding. In June, a Senate Committee passed SB 906. The bill is now before the Senate Rules & Executive Nominations Committee and would have to be considered two more times before a Senate vote. However, Senate leadership has failed to bring either bill forward for a full vote to date.

Hawai’i

The Hawai’i House passed HB 2360, a bill that would create a paid family and medical leave program for Hawai’i workers. HB 2360 would provide workers up to 12 weeks of job-protected paid leave for the birth, foster placement, or adoption of a child, to tend to their serious health condition, care for a loved one with a serious health condition, seek support in response to domestic violence, and military exigences. However, the Hawai’i Senate failed to pass the bill. Despite the Senate’s inaction, this is the furthest such legislation has progressed in eight years. Rep. Sayama, who introduced HB 2360, shared that the “bill would not likely pass this year because the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations wants to complete a study.”

New York

In New York, workers can access paid family leave through the state’s paid family leave program and paid medical leave through the state’s Temporary Disability Insurance (TDI) program. The TDI program has not been updated since 1989 and lags behind neighboring states’ paid leave programs. Currently, New York’s TDI program only provides workers a maximum of $170 per week of leave, does not provide job protection for workers taking medical leave, and does not allow workers to take intermittent leave. In June, the New York Senate passed S 172, a bill that would amend the state’s TDI program to raise the $170 wage cap to 67 percent of a worker’s wages, not to exceed 67 percent of the state’s average weekly wage (currently $1,833.63). S 172 would also grant workers utilizing TDI job protection and allow workers to take intermittent leave under the program. However, the New York Assembly failed to pass the bill. In the last year, this is the second time this bill has made it through the New York Senate.

Earned Sick and Safe Leave

Virginia

On May 20, 2026, Governor Spanberger signed a paid sick and safe leave bill into law (HB 5/SB 199). This law provides workers the right to earn one hour of paid sick and safe leave for every 30 hours worked, up to 40 hours per year. On July 1, 2027, employees working for employers with at least 50 employees will be able to earn sick and safe leave. Beginning on January 1, 2028, employees at employers with at least 25 employees will be able to earn sick and safe leave. On January 1, 2029, all workers will be able to earn sick and safe leave. Virginia workers will be able to use this time to recover from a brief illness or seek medical care, care for a family member – including chosen family – with an illness or who needs medical care or respond to domestic violence. As of 2023, about 1.2 million workers – roughly 29 percent of Virginia’s workforce – lacked access to paid sick leave.

States continue to uplift workers and their families and more than 1 in 3 workers now live in a state with a paid family and medical leave program. Every person gets sick, workers should not be forced to choose between their job, their health, or their family’s health. Their health also should not depend on their zip code or winning the job lottery. It is time for Congress to pass the Healthy Families Act and the FAMILY Act and guarantee paid sick days and paid family and medical leave for workers across the country.

The author is grateful to Gail Zuagar, Udochi Onwubiko, Shannon Bonney, and Sharita Gruberg for their review and thoughtful comments.