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West Virginia Sick Leave: What the 6-Employee Wage Rule Covers
West Virginia leaves paid sick leave off its statute books entirely. The state's own wage and hour law already draws a line on size: West Virginia's wage protections generally reach employers of 6 or more employees at one location, a lower bar than several neighboring states use. Nothing in state law sets an accrual rate, a carryover rule, or a payout requirement for sick time, so a West Virginia handbook is the entire rulebook unless federal law fills a gap.
West Virginia at a glance
| Paid sick leave mandate | None statewide for private employers |
|---|---|
| Governing rule | Your written policy, enforced as written |
| State paid family and medical leave | None. Federal FMLA only, unpaid, at 50+ employees |
| Minimum wage | $8.75 |
| Overtime | Weekly over 40 |
| Coverage below the 20-employee COBRA line | West Virginia Continuation (Group Accident and Sickness required policy provision), up to 18 months [W. Va. Code section 33-16-3(e) (Required policy provisions); see also section 33-16-3u] |
The only leave that is legally required here is federal
No West Virginia agency runs a paid family and medical leave program, so federal FMLA is the only job-protected leave on the table, and it pays nothing: it protects the job, not the wages. Three numbers gate it. Fifty or more employees within 75 miles. Twelve months on the payroll. And 1,250 hours actually worked in that year, a bar that quietly excludes a lot of part-time staff even at a covered employer. West Virginia's smaller average employer size means the exclusion bites more often here than the national picture suggests. See the U.S. Department of Labor's FMLA overview for the federal rule in full.
An 18-month continuation right below the COBRA line
Drop below the federal COBRA line of 20 employees and W. Va. Code section 33-16-3(e) takes over, backed by mini-COBRA notice rules at section 33-16-3u written specifically for smaller employers. The trigger is narrow: only a member of a group accident and sickness plan who is involuntarily laid off qualifies, but the payoff is generous, up to 18 months of the same coverage at the same group rate, longer than the federal baseline most terminated employees get elsewhere. See W. Va. Code 33-16-3.
Cross into Maryland and everything flips
Cross into Maryland and the picture reverses. Maryland's Healthy Working Families Act requires paid sick leave at employers with 15 or more employees, accruing at one hour for every 30 hours worked and capped at 40 hours a year, and even a Maryland employer with 14 or fewer workers must still provide the same leave unpaid rather than skip it. Maryland also runs a state paid family and medical leave program funded through payroll withholding, and its minimum wage of $15.00 an hour is nearly double West Virginia's $8.75. A West Virginia employer that hires a remote worker sitting in Maryland inherits Maryland's accrual and carryover rules for that one employee, regardless of what the West Virginia handbook says everyone else gets.
FMLA, remote-hire exposure and voluntary policy drafting: paid leave fundamentals.
For West Virginia specifically: nothing above is statutory in West Virginia, so your written policy is the enforceable rule, the wage floor those hours are paid at is $8.75, and below the federal 20-employee COBRA threshold West Virginia still requires continuation coverage for up to 18 months. HR outsourcing in West Virginia keeps that in the handbook and in payroll.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Does West Virginia require paid sick leave?
No. West Virginia has no statewide requirement for private employers, so whatever your handbook says is the enforceable rule, including on carryover and payout. Hours you do pay are paid at $8.75.
What pay rate applies to leave hours in West Virginia?
Minimum wage in West Virginia is $8.75. Overtime: Weekly over 40. Paid leave hours generally do not count toward the overtime threshold because they are not hours worked.
Does health coverage continue after separation in West Virginia?
Federal COBRA applies at 20 or more employees. Below that, West Virginia has its own continuation law, the West Virginia Continuation (Group Accident and Sickness required policy provision), running up to 18 months (W. Va. Code section 33-16-3(e) (Required policy provisions); see also section 33-16-3u).
Does West Virginia run a paid family and medical leave programme?
No. Federal FMLA is the only family and medical leave floor in West Virginia: 12 workweeks, unpaid, at employers with 50 or more employees.
Is West Virginia’s 18-month continuation right available at any employer size?
No. It applies to members of a group accident and sickness plan, and the mini-COBRA notice duty in section 33-16-3u is written specifically for employers below 20 employees.
Is this a PEO?
No. No co-employment and no employer-of-record change: your company stays the employer. HR outsourcing, powered by isolved.
Anthony leads HR outsourcing strategy at Business Executive Group, a national HR outsourcing firm serving employers across every state. BEG HR outsourcing is powered by isolved, with certified HR professionals building and maintaining state-correct leave policy as laws change.
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