By Laura Youngquist

Employers in Virginia will now have the option to offer a wonderful benefit for their workers. Virginia is among the first states in the country to enact an insurance program aimed at securing paid family leave.[1] Paid family leave, while normal in all other high-income countries, has struggled to gain steam in the American political atmosphere until the last decade.[2] Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin signed two bills into law in April earlier this year that have already come into effect.

Virginia’s law established a new kind of insurance class: family insurance (offered by life insurance companies).[3] Much like an employer might offer medical, dental, and/or vision insurance, they may now also opt to offer a life insurance policy that includes family insurance which would pay for an employee’s loss of income in the following cases: (i) the birth of a child or adoption of a child by the employee; (ii) placement of a child with the employee for foster care; (iii) care of a family member of the employee who has a serious health condition; or (iv) circumstances arising out of the fact that the employee’s family member who is a service member is on active duty or has been notified of an impending call or order to active duty.[4]

Taking time away from work is incredibly important for families, especially for low-income households that often already endure a myriad of other stressors that pressure their wellbeing.[5] This legislation is filling a gap in existing circumstances: currently only maternity leave may be covered via short-term disability, as long as the policy has been purchased prior to conception.[6] New fathers are unable to use their short-term disability for parental leave,[7] so the new Virginia legislation has the potential to reconcile the lack of paternal support.

The limiting factor here, though, is that this policy is only an option for employers to offer – there are still several steps between the Virginian worker and acquisition of this benefit. Several other states that are expanding their access to parental leave are either creating mandatory or universal parental leave policies.[8] What makes Virginia’s policy unique is the classification of the insurance policy and allowance of competition between insurance companies which, hopefully, will allow for lower price rates for employers and therefore employees.[9] Only time will tell how effective this new insurance structure will be for Virginians, though this is certainly a move in the right direction for family protection within the state.

 

[1] State Paid Family Leave Laws Across the U.S., BIPARTISAN POLICY CENTER (Jan. 13, 2022) https://bipartisanpolicy.org/explainer/state-paid-family-leave-laws-across-the-u-s/#:~:text=New%20York%2C%20New%20Hampshire%2C%20and,New%20Hampshire%20and%20Virginia)%20basis (last updated Dec. 5, 2022).

[2] Maya Rosin-Slater, Easing the Burden: Why Paid Family Leave Policies are Gaining Steam, STANDFORD INSTITUTE FOR ECONOMIC POLICY RESEARCH (Feb. 2018) https://siepr.stanford.edu/publications/policy-brief/easing-burden-why-paid-family-leave-policies-are-gaining-steam.

[3] https://www.governor.virginia.gov/newsroom/news-releases/2022/may/name-933728-en.html.

[4] Alan Goforth, Proposed Legislation from NCOIL Would Allow for Paid Family Leave, BENEFITS PRO (July 22, 2022) https://www.benefitspro.com/2022/07/22/proposed-legislation-from-ncoil-would-allow-for-paid-family-leave/?slreturn=20221111131955.

[5] See Zara Abrams, The Urgent Necessity For Paid Parental Leave, 53.3 Am. Psych. Ass’n. 50, 51 (2022) (discussing key mental and physical health benefits of paid parental leave) https://www.apa.org/monitor/2022/04/feature-parental-leave#:~:text=Not%20only%20can%20parental%20leave,%2C%20Social%20Service%20Review%2C%20Vol.

[6] Paternity leave not covered in previous Virginia short-term disability additions. See, Jessica Du Bois, Virginia’s 12-Week Maternity Requirement for Short-Term Disability: What does it mean for Employers?, LINKEDIN (Oct. 22, 2021) https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/virginias-12-week-maternity-requirement-short-term-what-du-bois/; see also Kevin Haney, Virginia Maternity-Paternity Leave 2022 (Length & Amount), GROWING FAMILY BENEFITS (Sept. 5, 2022) https://www.growingfamilybenefits.com/virginia-parental-leave-laws/.

[7] Id.

[8] Virginia Expands Paid Family Leave Through Private Insurance, BIPARTISAN POLICY CENTER (Sept. 8, 2022) https://bipartisanpolicy.org/blog/virginia-expands-paid-family-leave/.

[9] Id.