By Mackenzie Meleski, Capital News Service

RICHMOND, Va. — The Virginia General Assembly did not pass legislation this session to ensure paid sick days for employees, despite strong public support. 

A 2021 study by Christopher Newport University found almost 90% of people surveyed support paid sick leave. Both House and Senate versions of the bill updated the current law that state employers only have to provide paid sick leave to certain home health workers. 

Sen. Scott Surovell, D-Fairfax, introduced Senate Bill 886, with chief co-patron Sen. Creigh Deeds, D-Bath. Del. Candi Mundon King, D-Prince William, introduced the similar House Bill 2087.

The bills also would have removed current regulations that require grocery store employees and health care providers to work at least 20 hours each week or 90 hours per month to be eligible for paid sick days. The Department of Labor and Industry would also have developed guidelines for grocery store employers to provide sick leave by Dec. 1.

The employees can accrue a minimum of one hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours worked, according to the bills. The earned paid sick leave can be carried over to the following year, but an employee cannot accrue or use more than 40 hours of paid sick leave in a year, unless the employer chooses a higher limit.

The Senate bill passed on a 22-18 party-line vote. Once the bill went to the House, it was killed in the Commerce and Energy subcommittee. The House bill failed to advance from the same committee.

Del. Elizabeth Guzman, D-Prince William, served as co-patron of Mundon King's bill. Guzman also sponsored HB 1988, to allow all employees of private employers and state and local governments to accrue paid sick leave. The bill allowed an employee to transfer accrued sick leave to the following year. An employee could also donate accrued sick leave to another employee, with certain restrictions, according to the bill. The bill died in the same House committee as the others.

Guzman has advocated for paid sick leave since 2018. The General Assembly passed an amended version of Guzman's legislation in 2021 that mandated paid sick leave for some in-home health care workers. The legislative attempts this session expanded on that work.

"The reason why we couldn't, you know, leave COVID behind us is because people need to pay their bills and they continue to go back to work being sick," Guzman said.

The bill failed to pass the House because it lacked Republican support, Guzman said.

Virginia law does not require employers to provide paid sick leave to all employees. The employer can determine how much sick leave an employee receives, according to Guzman.

The Virginia Interfaith Center for Public Policy advocated for Guzman's bill in 2021. The bill provided five paid sick days per year for 30,000 home health care workers in Virginia, according to the VICPP website.

VICPP conducted a study in 2015 that reported 1.2 million workers in Virginia have no paid sick leave, according to Jase Hatcher, VICPP economic justice program manager. This totals to 41% of private sector workers in Virginia, according to Hatcher. Taking just 3.5 unpaid sick days can result in an average family losing a month's worth of groceries, Hatcher said.

"That means that workers are choosing between taking care of themselves and their family member, or paying their bills," Hatcher said. "That is not how we should do that."

The VICPP study stated that 83% of registered Virginia voters supported a paid sick day standard, according to the VICPP website. Home health care providers need paid sick leave to tend to their health and also to help prevent further outbreaks of illness, VICPP stated. A 2020 study by Health Affairs found that paid sick leave reduced the spread of the coronavirus.

The VICPP believed the bill failed due to the "issues around its impact" on small businesses, Hatcher said. The Senate version of the bill added that a grocery store worker did not include any employee of a business that employs fewer than 25 employees. 

"What it comes down to is there are a lot of folks who just don't believe that there should be mandates or any mandates on paper, but as the data shows, without that mandate, 1.2 million workers go without," Hatcher said.

The VICPP will continue to advocate for a paid sick leave bill during the next session, because it is one of the most important issues for workers, according to Hatcher.

"The U.S. is one of the very, very few countries in the world which does not have a national paid sick leave policy," Hatcher said. "So making sure that we're filling the gaps at the local and state level is really essential before we can get that nationally."

RICHMOND — Virginia’s annual Statewide Tornado Drill will occur on Tues., March 7 at 9:45 a.m. If widespread severe weather threatens the Commonwealth on that date, the drill will be rescheduled for Thursday, March 9, at 9:45 a.m. The Statewide Tornado Drill is an opportunity to prepare Virginians for tornado threats and to test public warning systems. The drill will start at approximately 9:45 a.m. with a test tornado warning sent in the form of a Required Monthly Test by the National Weather Service to National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) weather radios and local broadcasters. Since this year's drill will utilize the Required Monthly Test, most NOAA weather radios will NOT automatically sound an alert tone. For those participating in the drill, including schools and businesses, it is suggested to turn on your NOAA Weather Radio by 9:40 am, listening to the voice broadcast. Those with their NOAA Weather Radio on and listening to the broadcast will hear the audible test alert broadcast at 9:45 am. Local radio stations, TV stations and cable outlets will also broadcast the test message via the Emergency Alert System (EAS).  Information and resources are available at: https://www.weather.gov/akq/SevereWeatherAwareness.

 “Severe Weather Awareness Week is an important time for us to share with the residents of the commonwealth that Virginia experiences all types of weather events throughout the year including lightning, flooding and tornadoes,” said Virginia Department of Emergency Management (VDEM) State Coordinator Shawn Talmadge. “The Statewide Tornado Drill provides an opportunity to practice your preparedness skills to keep you safe in the event of a real tornado.”

“Tornadoes can occur any month of the year. In 2019, 19 confirmed tornadoes touched down throughout the Commonwealth impacting 21 different jurisdictions,” said Jeff Orrock of the National Weather Service in Wakefield. "Looking back over the past 2 decades, tornadoes occurred in every year, though there were active and quiet tornado years. 2011,  2016 and 2018 were the deadliest years for tornadoes while 2004 was by far the most active year with over 80 tornadoes reported that year. 2007 was the quietest with only 2 tornadoes recorded". Tornadoes have occurred in every month of the year, but are most active from April through September. 

Have a plan, know your location and surroundings and have a way to receive Watches and Warnings from the National Weather Service. Check to see if your smartphone is set to receive Wireless Emergency Alerts. When a tornado watch is issued for your area, review your plan and know where to seek safe shelter when a tornado warning is issued.”

The tornado drill is just one event in Virginia Severe Weather Awareness Week activities that will be occurring from March 6th – 10th.  Virginia Severe Weather Awareness week will focus on a different severe weather topic each weekday.  Each day during the week will address a different topic, including Tornadoes, Severe Thunderstorms, Flash Flooding and Lightning.  For more information on the Severe Weather Awareness Week, please see the VA Severe Weather Awareness page or contact your local National Weather Service office.

RICHMOND, VA — The Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources (DWR) is happy to announce that the popular Richmond Falcon Cam is now live for the 2023 season and available for viewing at dwr.virginia.gov/falcon-cam/. The Falcon Cam is a live streaming camera which follows the activities of a peregrine falcon pair that nests in downtown Richmond, Virginia, atop the 21^st floor of the Riverfront Plaza building.  

Biologists monitoring the stream have observed the previous year's pair on a regular basis throughout the past month. "Falcon fans will be happy to hear that our familiar female (95/AK) and male (59/BM) have once again shown an interest in utilizing the Riverfront building as a nest site," said Meagan Thomas, Watchable Wildlife Biologist for DWR. "This pair has done an absolutely phenomenal job raising their chicks in the past two years, so I'm thrilled to see both birds on camera again." 

As long as no new birds show up and displace one of the current pair, the first egg will likely be laid around late-March. Until then, viewers can expect to see the falcons maintaining their nest, otherwise known as a "scrape," and continue to engage in courtship behaviors, such as sharing prey items and repeatedly bowing to one another.  

Comcast Business provides the Internet connection that allows thousands of wildlife lovers to follow the falcons via the live video feed of the nest. This is the seventh year that DWR has partnered with Comcast Business to facilitate the livestream. 

"We are excited to continue our longstanding partnership with DWR on an initiative that has delighted so many wildlife fans in Richmond and beyond over the years," said Dan Carr, Vice President of Comcast Business for Comcast's Beltway Region. "We look forward to continuing to provide fast, reliable and secure internet service so viewers can track these amazing falcons in real-time."  

Peregrine falcons are listed as state-threatened in Virginia with roughly thirty pairs, including the Richmond birds, nesting across the Commonwealth each spring. The camera gives viewers around the globe the opportunity to tune in and follow along with the pair as they nest and raise their offspring. And, like any TV nature show, past years have documented quite a bit of drama — including territorial disputes over the highly sought-after nesting site, chicks taking their first nail-biting flights off the building's ledge or even the failure of the nest altogether. It is impossible to predict exactly what 2023 has in store for the birds but regardless, there is no doubt that falcon fans across the country will be tuning in every step of the way and rooting for their success. 

Assuming the birds go on to nest in the box atop the Riverfront tower, the Richmond Falcon Cam will remain active through egg laying, incubation, hatching, and development — ultimately following the growth of the chicks until they fledge (take their first flight) in the summer. 

Rachel Hudson, a resident of Blackstone, is the recipient of the K. George Verghese Memorial Academic Merit Award, recognizing her academic achievements in the Associate Degree of Nursing (ADN) program at Southside Virginia Community College (SVCC).

Dr. Verghese was a long time faculty member at SVCC and was instrumental in the establishment of the ADN and Practical Nursing (PN) programs at the college.

Rachel is pictured with Leigh Moore, Associate Professor of Nursing.