Employees will always need time away from work, whether for health, family, or civic obligations. Both federal and state laws provide leave rights and impose obligations on employers to ensure workers can take this time without risking their jobs. Understanding these requirements is essential for compliance and for maintaining a fair workplace.

This guide breaks down the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), Virginia-specific leave protections, federal contractor rules, and a recent case that highlights some of the challenges faced by employers.

The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)

The FMLA is the federal employee leave law that applies to private employers with 50 or more employees (within a 75-mile radius), as well as public employers. Eligible employees — those with at least 12 months of service and 1,250 hours worked in the past year – are entitled to take up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave in a 12-month period for certain family or medical reasons.

FMLA leave-qualifying reasons include childbirth and bonding, the employee’s own serious health condition, caring for an immediate family member, and certain military-related situations. Employers must maintain the employee’s current group health insurance during FMLA leave and restore the employee to the same or an equivalent position upon return.

Recent litigation underscores the importance of compliance with the FMLA and with federal disability accommodation laws, like the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) (both laws may be implicated in the same employee leave request, and highlights the complexities often faced by employers). In Coffman v. Nexstar Media Inc. (4th Cir. 2025), an employee sought additional leave beyond her 12-week FMLA leave period for medical complications from pregnancy, as a reasonable accommodation under the ADA, but could not provide a definite return-to-work date. The Court held that indefinite leave is never a reasonable accommodation under the ADA. As the Coffman case makes clear, employers must balance employee FMLA leave rights with disability accommodations requests under the ADA. But the case also shows the limits of federal leave and disability accommodations laws — employers are not required to grant an employee’s request for an open-ended extension of unpaid leave.

How PTO and FMLA Interact

Virginia state law does not require private employers to provide employees with PTO or sick leave. However, if an employer does offer PTO or paid sick leave to its employees, the employer must honor its written policy. Employers may require employees to use PTO concurrently with FMLA, allowing workers to receive pay during what would otherwise be unpaid time.

Importantly, it is unlawful for employers to penalize employees for using PTO for a FMLA leave-protected purpose. In addition, inconsistent application of PTO policies can potentially expose employers to disparate treatment discrimination claims.

Virginia-Specific Leave Laws

Beyond the FMLA, Virginia state law requires employers to accommodate several categories of civic and personal leave.

• Jury Duty and Court Appearances: Employers cannot fire or penalize an employee for jury service or subpoenaed in-court testimony. Nor can employers force employees to use vacation or sick leave. Virginia law even restricts scheduling employees for back-to-back shifts after jury service.
• Election Officer Leave: Similar protections apply for employees utilizing leave to serve as an election official on Election Day.
• Military Leave: Under federal USERRA and Virginia law, employees called to active duty (federal or state) must be reinstated upon their return from service. In addition, employers cannot force use of accrued leave relating to covered military service.
• Civil Air Patrol Leave: Members may take up to 30 days for emergency missions and 10 days for training annually. Employers may not retaliate, and employees can sue for lost wages if denied this right.
• Crime Victim Leave: Victims may attend related court proceedings with notice. Employers may deny only if it creates undue hardship to the company. Retaliation for using this leave is expressly prohibited.
• Organ and Bone Marrow Donation Leave: Virginia requires employers with 50 or more workers to grant up to 60 business days for organ donation and 30 for bone marrow donation. Notably, this leave is in addition to FMLA. Employers must restore the employee to the same or equivalent position and cannot retaliate.
• Pregnancy and Disability Accommodations: Under the Virginia Human Rights Act, employers with five or more employees must provide reasonable accommodations for pregnancy and related conditions, which may include modified non-essential job duties or medical leave. The Fourth Circuit’s decision in Coffman shows how federal courts interpret these requests: a short extension of leave beyond the 12-week FMLA leave period may be a reasonable accommodation under the ADA; an indefinite absence is not. Employers must engage in the ADA’s required interactive process to determine whether there are reasonable accommodations that will allow the employee to perform the essential functions of their job.

Federal Contractor Requirements

Employers working under qualifying federal contracts must comply with Executive Order 13706, which mandates up to 56 hours of paid sick leave annually. Employees accrue one hour of paid sick leave per 30 hours worked. The leave may be used to cover personal illness, family care, preventive services, and needs related to domestic violence.

The federal contractor obligations under Executive Order 13706 are separate from those under the FMLA and apply even to smaller contractors who hold covered contracts. Federal contractors must carefully track accrual and usage to remain compliant.

Best Practices for Employers

To minimize potential legal risks, Virginia employers should:

• Update Employee Policies: Ensure that employee handbook reflects both FMLA and Virginia-specific leave rights, including the Virginia organ donor law.
• Train Supervisors: Train all managers to recognize leave requests, even informal ones, and to escalate them appropriately, in compliance with your leave policies and practices.
• Apply Policies Consistently: Avoid favoritism or retaliation. Courts scrutinize inconsistent enforcement.
• Plan for Coverage: Consider cross-training select staff or arranging temporary workforce coverage to reduce operational strain when employees are on protected leave.
• Seek Legal Guidance: Overlapping federal and state laws — the FMLA, ADA, USERRA, and Virginia’s statutes — often create complex scenarios. Consulting counsel early helps avoid costly mistakes.

Conclusion

Leave laws are continuing to evolve, but one overarching principle remains clear: employees should not have to choose between their jobs and essential family, medical, or civic responsibilities. For Virginia employers, the challenge is integrating FMLA, ADA, PTO, state-specific mandates, and federal contractor obligations where applicable, into coherent employee leave and accommodations policies. With proper planning and compliance, employers can support their workforce while avoiding litigation.

If you have questions about compliance or a specific leave issue, please contact Doug Taylor at (703) 525-4000 or rdougtaylor@beankinney.com.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not contain or convey legal advice. Consult an attorney. Any views or opinions expressed herein are those of the author and are not necessarily the views of the firm or any client of the firm.