Cystic Fibrosis Awareness Month. DesignatesMay, in 2021 and in each succeeding year, as Cystic Fibrosis AwarenessMonth in Virginia.
Paid sick time. Requires public and private employers with 35 or more full-time equivalent employees to provide eligible employees, defined in the bill, with earned paid sick time and paid sick time. The bill provides for an eligible employee to earn up to 40 hours of earned paid sick time depending on the amount of hours the eligible employee has averaged over the previous year or, for a new employee, is projected to work. An eligible employee shall not earn or use more than 40 hours of earned paid sick time in a year, unless the employer selects a higher limit. The bill provides that earned paid sick time may be used (i) for an eligible employee's mental or physical illness, injury, or health condition; an eligible employee's need for medical diagnosis, care, or treatment of a mental or physical illness, injury, or health condition; or an eligible employee's need for preventive medical care; or (ii) to provide care to an eligible employee's family member, defined in the bill, under similar circumstances. The bill prohibits employers from taking certain retaliatory actions against employees related to earned paid sick leave and authorizes the Commissioner of Labor and Industry, in the case of a knowing violation, to subject an employer to a civil penalty not to exceed $150 for the first violation, $300 for the second violation, and $500 for each successive violation, if the second or successive violation occurs within two years of the previous violation. The Commissioner of Labor and Industry may institute proceedings on behalf of an employee to enforce compliance with this bill and to collect specified amounts from the employer, which shall be awarded to the employee. Alternatively, an aggrieved employee is authorized to bring a civil action against the employer in which he may recover double the amount of any unpaid earned sick time and the amount of any actual damages suffered as the result of the employer's violation. However, an aggrieved employee is required to seek redress through the employer's human resources department prior to filing an administrative complaint or civil action. The bill has a delayed effective date of January 1, 2023.
Virginia Law Enforcement Professional StandardsCommission Accreditation Grant Fund and Program. Establishesthe Virginia Law Enforcement Professional Standards Commission AccreditationGrant Fund (the Fund) and the Virginia Law Enforcement ProfessionalStandards Commission Accreditation Grant Program (the Program). TheFund and Program shall be overseen by the Department of CriminalJustice Services. Disbursements from the Fund shall be made to law-enforcementagencies to pursue accreditation from the Virginia Law EnforcementProfessional Standards Commission.
Publication of certain notices on locality'swebsite. Provides that in any instance in which a locality isrequired to publish certain notices related to local planning andzoning in a newspaper having general circulation in the locality,the locality may instead choose to meet such requirement by publishingthe notice on the locality's website.
Study; joint subcommittee; oversight of Medicaid managed care organizations and provider networks in the Commonwealth; report. Establishes a joint subcommittee to study oversight of Medicaid managed care organizations and provider networks in the Commonwealth, including (i) the current process by which the Department of Medical Assistance Services enters into contracts with managed care organizations for the delivery of services to Medicaid enrollees and the requirements of such contracts; (ii) the process by which managed care organizations enter into and terminate contracts with providers in the Commonwealth, including any procedural requirements that must be met before a provider agreement is terminated and any opportunity for communication and correction by the provider; (iii) managed care organizations' provider networks, including demographic information about enrolled providers and recent changes in managed care organizations' provider networks, including demographic information about providers that have been added to or removed from provider networks in recent years; and (iv) whether changes should be made to contracts between the Department of Medical Assistance Services and managed care organizations to ensure providers are able to meet agreements set forth in provider agreements while ensuring the safety and well-being of Medicaid enrollees, and to develop recommendations for improving the process by which providers of Medicaid services are recruited, enrolled in, participate in, and are terminated from provider networks to ensure access to a diverse array of services and providers for all Medicaid enrollees in the Commonwealth. The joint subcommittee shall complete its meetings by November 30, 2021, and the chairman shall submit to the Division of Legislative Automated Systems an executive summary of its findings and recommendations no later than the first day of the 2022 Regular Session of the General Assembly.
Study; Virginia State Crime Commission; alternative approaches to the Commonwealth's enforcement scheme for the possessionof controlled substances, including decriminalization; report.Directs the Virginia State Crime Commission to study the proprietyand effectiveness of alternative approaches to the Commonwealth'senforcement scheme for the possession of controlled substances, includingdecriminalization of the possession of such substances.
Study; JLARC; remote sales and use tax distributionto localities; report. Directs the Joint Legislative Audit andReview Commission (JLARC) to study the distribution of remote salesand use taxes to localities. JLARC shall determine whether currentpractices are distributing the proper amount of revenue to each localityand recommend to the General Assembly any changes needed to improvethe system.
Voting Rights for Women Month. DesignatesNovember, in 2021 and in each succeeding year, as Voting Rights forWomen Month in Virginia.
Constitutional amendment (first reference);legislative compensation; Legislative Compensation Commission.Establishes the Legislative Compensation Commission, charged withdetermining the salaries, allowances, and retirement benefits ofthe members of the General Assembly. Members would receive no compensationfrom the Commonwealth other than the compensation determined by theCommission. The Commission is established by appointment of the GeneralAssembly every four years beginning July 1, 2026.
Celebrating the life of the Honorable BernardS. Cohen.
