Paid Family and Medical Leave Legislation is a Win for Va. Small Businesses

“It’s encouraging to see that both the Virginia House of Delegates and the Virginia Senate are advancing legislation that would offer significant benefit to small businesses throughout the commonwealth by establishing a state-run paid family and medical leave program. Now more than ever, small businesses are struggling to recruit and retain a talented workforce. This is primarily because most small businesses simply don’t have the resources to match the benefits offerings of the biggest corporations. In fact, we’ve heard from Virginia small business owners who told us that they have lost out on desirable employees despite offering them a competitive salary mainly because they could not compete with the benefits provided by their larger competitors. 

When small businesses can’t attract or retain top talent, it impacts their bottom line and their ability to innovate – but it’s also important to note that support for paid family and medical leave isn’t just about profits. Entrepreneurs also want to do right by their employees, which is why it’s no surprise that a Small Business Majority survey found that 66% of small business owners support establishing a state-run paid family and medical leave program.

Implementing a paid family and medical leave program is a commonsense policy solution that small businesses can get behind. For the good of small businesses and their employees throughout the commonwealth, we strongly encourage Virginia’s lawmakers to act swiftly during crossover to enact a program that would offer up to 12 weeks of paid family and medical leave protections.”