Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin signed a law on April 12, 2023 mandating employers provide unpaid organ donor leave. When the law goes into effect on July 1, 2023, Virginia will join nearly 20 other states that require employers to provide medical donor leave.

Under the new law, Virginia employers with at least 50 employees must provide unpaid leave to organ donors, including bone barrow donors. Employees are eligible for this leave if they were employed by their current employer for at least 12 months prior and worked at least 1,250 hours in the preceding 12 months.

To receive organ donor leave, the eligible employee must provide written physician verification to the employer that (i) the eligible employee is an organ donor or a bone marrow donor and (ii) there is a medical necessity for the donation of the organ or bone marrow. Employers must offer 60 business days of unpaid leave in any 12-month period for employees to serve as organ donors and 30 business days of unpaid leave in any 12-month period for employees to serve as bone marrow donors. Employees may not take organ donor leave concurrently with leave under the federal Family and Medical Leave Act.

Employers must continue to provide eligible employees health benefits during organ donor leave and must pay employees any commission that becomes due because of work performed prior to the leave. Eligible employees are entitled to be restored to the same or an equivalent position and retaliatory action for taking organ donor leave is prohibited. The state Commissioner of Labor and Industry will be responsible for enforcing the new law.

 If you have any questions about this or any other issues related to leave and health management, please contact the Jackson Lewis attorney(s) with whom you regularly work. Register here if you would like to learn about our Leave & Accommodation Suite. The Leave & Accommodation Suite provides subscribers an expanding array of tools to manage leave and accommodation issues, including electronic access to a state and local leave law map that shows each leave law in every state and a database that provides a detailed explanation of each leave law. The Leave and Accommodation Suite is developed and updated continually by our Disability, Leave & Health Management attorneys.

Tags: Mandated Leave, Organ Donor Leave, Virginia
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Photo of Alyson J. Guyan Alyson J. Guyan

Alyson J. Guyan is a principal in the Washington, D.C. Region office of Jackson Lewis P.C. She represents corporations and other entities in a wide variety of employment, discrimination, harassment, and wage and hour matters.

Aly advises and represents employers in a broad…

Alyson J. Guyan is a principal in the Washington, D.C. Region office of Jackson Lewis P.C. She represents corporations and other entities in a wide variety of employment, discrimination, harassment, and wage and hour matters.

Aly advises and represents employers in a broad range of employment law matters arising under federal and state law, including claims based on the Fair Labor Standards Act, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, the Family and Medical Leave Act, and the Americans with Disabilities Act. She also works on administrative matters before the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, as well as state agencies. As part of her counseling practice, Aly provides daily advice and training to management to help employers avoid litigation. She regularly advises employers on various employment-related issues, including hiring, performance management, leave, compensation, termination, employment contracts, personnel policies and handbooks.

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