The Senate Commerce and Labor Committee took up a bunch of pieces of labor-relation legislation Monday afternoon. Here is an update:
- SB 1159 from Senator Barbara Favola (D-Arlington) would require employers with a sick leave program to allow an employee to use their sick leave for the care of an immediate family member. The measure applies only to employers that have 25 or more employees and that provide paid sick leave that allows an employee to be absent from work in the event of the employee’s own incapacity, illness, or injury. The committee punted on the bill for today in order to clarify what it means to be an immediate family member.
- SB 1330 from Jennifer Boysko would have required the Virginia Employment Commission to establish and administer a paid family and medical leave program with benefits beginning Jan. 1, 2024. Funding for the program would be through premiums assessed to employers and employees beginning in 2023. The committee defeated the bill.
- SB 1228 from Jennifer Boysko, the Virginia Equal Pay Act, was also defeated in the Senate Commerce and Labor Committee. The bill would have The committee also requested a study of the legislation from the Virginia Employment Commission. Read the full bill here.
- SB 1358 from Ghazala Hashmi (D-Richmond) was passed by the day, giving Hashmi more time to answer the questions that committee members asked on Monday.
- SB 1202 from Chap Petersen (D-Fairfax) advanced out of the committee.
Virginia Scope is an independent news publication that is funded largely by donations and subscribers. As local newsrooms are losing writers each day, we are trying to fill the void to ensure that the public is informed and that leaders are held accountable for their actions.
