This year, the Virginia General Assembly passed guaranteed paid family and medical leave — the first state legislature in the South to do so. This groundbreaking legislation was a powerful win for working families, the economy and the entire commonwealth. But in a predictably cruel move, Gov. Glenn Youngkin just snatched that win away by vetoing Senate Bill 373.
Each day without paid leave, working people from Norton to Norfolk are forced to choose between the care they and their families need and the jobs that pay their bills. Senate Bill 373, championed by Sen. Jennifer Boysko, D-Fairfax, and Del. Briana Sewell, D-Prince William, would have eliminated those impossible choices. The law would have given most Virginia workers the right to paid leave for their own or a loved one’s serious health needs, to bond with a child, or to address the impact of military deployment.
The paid leave law would have supported Virginians when they need it most — when cancer strikes, when a new baby arrives, when a deployment looms — while providing peace of mind for all the times in between.
But the governor pulled the rug out from under the Old Dominion, taking these profound benefits with it. Youngkin’s veto pushes the commonwealth’s employers and its economy behind competitors. Neighboring Washington, D.C., already has a paid leave program, while Maryland and Delaware are rapidly building their own. Nationwide, 1 in 3 Americans lives in a state with a paid leave law. These existing state paid leave programs are funded by employers and employees contributing a fraction of a percent of each paycheck, the same way paid leave under this Virginia bill would have been funded.
This means employers in paid leave states only have to pay pennies in order to reap the rewards of providing paid leave, while Virginia businesses have to pay much more out of pocket to offer the same benefits. This lack of investment puts Virginia employers at a major disadvantage in recruiting and retaining the most in-demand employees. Polls show that people looking to relocate prefer states with paid leave programs, making post-veto Virginia a less attractive place to put down roots than its peers.
But the greatest costs of the governor’s callous decision will be the ones we cannot put a price on. Without paid leave, too many Virginians will lie awake at night searching for a way to take the time they need without risking the roof over their head or the food on their family’s table. Without paid leave, too many Virginians will put off the surgery that could save their lives or try to squeeze in chemo on their lunch breaks. Without paid leave, too many Virginians won’t be there for their child’s first smile or their parent’s last breath.
By passing paid leave, the General Assembly delivered a victory for Virginia — one the commonwealth desperately needs and fully deserves. Gov. Youngkin just took it away. Virginians will pay the price for his veto for years to come.
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Molly Weston Williamson is a nationally recognized paid leave expert and senior fellow at the Center for American Progress. Contact Williamson at mwilliamson@americanprogress.org.