On Wednesday, April 22, Virginia became the first Southern state to guarantee paid leave for all its workers—giving 3.2 million Virginians critical rights to care for themselves and their families without sacrificing their paycheck.
In a midterm year—and in the same week Virginia voters approved a new congressional map that could boost Democrats’ chances of retaking the House—Virginia’s leadership sends a clear message: If elected officials are serious about affordability, paid leave should be at the center of their economic agenda.
This victory did not happen by accident. Advocates fought for paid leave in Virginia for more than eight years. The state’s previous governor, Glenn Youngkin, vetoed paid leave bills two years in a row.
But the story changed when Gov. Abigail Spanberger took office in January 2026.
Spanberger not only called on the Legislature to pass these policies, but campaigned on paid leave as a core part of her platform. She also included paid leave as part of her plan to build “an economy where every Virginian can earn a good living, afford to take care of their families, and know they’ll have a secure retirement.”
With the support of a strong coalition, Virginia’s Legislature responded this spring by once again passing paid family and medical leave.
As Virginia’s leaders have recognized, if we are going to tackle the crisis of affordability in the United States, we need to start by making sure that people can keep their jobs. With no national right to paid leave, many workers are forced out of their jobs during some of life’s most pressing and vulnerable moments, like giving birth to a new baby, caring for an elderly parent at the end of their life or undergoing chemotherapy.
Women who don’t have paid leave are more likely to be pushed into lower-paying jobs or to drop out of the workforce entirely. Paid leaves means workers can stay attached to their jobs when they need their income most.
Even without the consequence of job loss, taking leave with no pay can create significant financial strain for the average family. Each year, American families lose $22.5 billion in wages due to a lack of paid leave. At a time when families are already struggling with rising costs of gas, groceries and housing, this is money that they cannot afford to go without.
These consequences are especially acute for workers in low-wage jobs. Workers in the service industry who took unpaid leave reported a significant financial toll, including an inability to cover emergency expenses, hunger hardship and difficulty paying for utilities.
With no national right to paid leave, many workers are forced out of their jobs during some of life’s most pressing and vulnerable moments, like giving birth to a new baby, caring for an elderly parent at the end of their life or undergoing chemotherapy.
A lack of paid leave also exacerbates existing inequities, especially for women of color and young workers. Because of systemic sexism and racism, Black women especially are more likely to work in low-paying industries like service and retail that don’t provide any paid leave. They are also more likely to be the primary breadwinners in their families. And for young people, who often work in part-time and seasonal roles without benefits, taking even a few weeks of unpaid time off can follow them throughout their careers and cause lasting pay disparities.
Thousands of workers call A Better Balance’s free legal helpline each year with stories of financial burden because of a lack of paid leave. One new mom told us:
“This is supposed to be one of the most exciting times of my life, but instead, I am struggling to get by. I will not be able to afford our health insurance, my car payment or childcare once I am able to return to work.”
She is far from alone. Taking time away from work to manage basic health and family needs has become a luxury that the average worker cannot afford.
As Congress fails to take action, state legislators have been picking up the slack: Virginia joins 14 other states that already provide paid family and medical leave.
Progress on paid leave is happening in red and blue states. Other Southern states like Mississippi, Alabama and Tennessee have enacted policies providing paid parental leave for their public sector workers in just the past few years, all with bipartisan support. Even in the most conservative region in the country, there is significant momentum on this issue.
With 80 percent of voters in favor of paid leave, this is not just a matter of sound economic policy. It’s also smart politics.
As we approach the 2026 midterm elections, candidates from both parties will be talking about affordability and positioning themselves as pro-family. Voters will be looking to hear concrete solutions that respond to their real-life challenges, not just empty rhetoric.
Paid leave is one of the clearest ways to deliver relief to families during some of the most precarious moments they can face. Virginia’s example shows that when politicians commit to passing policies that matter in people’s daily lives, voters respond. Leaders in Congress from both parties should take notice, and fight for paid leave. Americans cannot afford to wait any longer.
