---
type: "Bill"
title: "Workers' compensation; presumption of compensability for COVID-19."
description: "Workers' compensation; presumption of compensability for COVID-19. Establishes a presumption that COVID-19 causing the death or disability of firefighters, emergency medical services personnel, law-enforcement officers, and correctional officers is an occupational disease compensable under the Workers' Compensation Act. The bill provides that the COVID-19 virus is established by a positive diagnostic test for COVID-19, an incubation period consistent with COVID-19, and signs and symptoms of COVID-19 that require medical treatment and only applies to a person who was diagnosed a person who was diagnosed with the COVID-19 virus on or after July 1, 2021, and whose death or disability caused by infection from the COVID-19 virus occurred on or after July 1, 2021. This bill incorporates SB 1342."
jurisdiction: "us/states/va"
legislature: "Virginia General Assembly"
session: "2021"
identifier: "SB 1375"
citation: "Virginia SB 1375 (2021)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: []
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["Richard L. Saslaw"]
version_count: 5
action_count: 56
vote_count: 14
first_action: "2021-01-13"
last_action: "2021-04-07"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/05eaedce-2c71-475e-ad23-edfaf3335809"
source_url: "https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?212+sum+SB1375"
source_hash: "47a1c6dc6edc11dc06f2f2114f4a1ad690708ba2890876f062e73cddeb419605"
vintage: "2026-07-01"
source_snapshot: "https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump"
retrieved_at: "2026-07-06"
confidence: "reported"
tags: ["legislation", "bill", "us-va"]
---

# Virginia SB 1375 (2021) — Workers' compensation; presumption of compensability for COVID-19.

Workers' compensation; presumption of compensability for COVID-19. Establishes a presumption that COVID-19 causing the death or disability of firefighters, emergency medical services personnel, law-enforcement officers, and correctional officers is an occupational disease compensable under the Workers' Compensation Act. The bill provides that the COVID-19 virus is established by a positive diagnostic test for COVID-19, an incubation period consistent with COVID-19, and signs and symptoms of COVID-19 that require medical treatment and only applies to a person who was diagnosed a person who was diagnosed with the COVID-19 virus on or after July 1, 2021, and whose death or disability caused by infection from the COVID-19 virus occurred on or after July 1, 2021. This bill incorporates SB 1342.

## Version chain

The bill's text revisions, in order — the diff chain from filing to enrollment.

1. **CHAP0526** (committee substitute) — [source](https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?212+ful+CHAP0526)
2. **Committee substitute printed 21104340D-S1** (committee substitute) — [source](https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?212+ful+SB1375S1)
3. **Committee substitute printed 21200130D-H1** (committee substitute) — [source](https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?212+ful+SB1375H1)
4. **SB1375ER** (committee substitute) — [source](https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?212+ful+SB1375ER)
5. **SB1375ER2** (committee substitute) — [source](https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?212+ful+SB1375ER2)

## Votes

- Continued to Special Session 1 in Labor and Commerce — **0–0** (fail) · lower
- Constitutional reading dispensed (39-Y 0-N) — **39–0** (pass) · upper
- Reported from Commerce and Labor (15-Y 0-N) — **15–0** (pass) · upper
- Senate acceded to request (39-Y 0-N) — **39–0** (pass) · upper
- Passed Senate (39-Y 0-N) — **39–0** (pass) · upper
- VOTE: Agreed To (98-Y 0-N 1-A) — **97–0** (pass) · lower
- Conference report agreed to by Senate (39-Y 0-N) — **39–0** (pass) · upper
- House substitute rejected by Senate (7-Y 32-N) — **7–32** (fail) · upper
- Reported from Finance and Appropriations with substitute (16-Y 0-N) — **16–0** (pass) · upper
- VOTE: Passage (98-Y 0-N 1-A) — **97–0** (pass) · lower
- VOTE: Agree To (98-Y 0-N 2-A) — **97–0** (pass) · lower
- Constitutional reading dispensed (38-Y 0-N) — **38–0** (pass) · upper
- Senate concurred in Governor's recommendation (40-Y 0-N) — **39–0** (pass) · upper
- Reported from Labor and Commerce with substitute (21-Y 0-N) — **21–0** (pass) · lower

## Sponsors

- Richard L. Saslaw — primary (person)
- Jill Holtzman Vogel — cosponsor (person)
- John J. Bell — cosponsor (person)
- Kaye Kory — cosponsor (person)

## Timeline

The legislative action history — every referral, reading, and vote.

- **2021-01-13** Prefiled and ordered printed; offered 01/13/21 21101733D `introduction`
- **2021-01-13** Referred to Committee on Commerce and Labor `referral-committee`
- **2021-01-25** Impact statement from DPB (SB1375)
- **2021-01-25** Reported from Commerce and Labor (15-Y 0-N) `committee-passage`
- **2021-01-25** Rereferred to Finance and Appropriations `referral-committee`
- **2021-02-03** Senate committee, floor amendments and substitutes offered
- **2021-02-03** Reported from Finance and Appropriations with substitute (16-Y 0-N) `committee-passage`
- **2021-02-03** Committee substitute printed 21104340D-S1 `substitution`
- **2021-02-03** Incorporates SB1342 (Vogel)
- **2021-02-03** Constitutional reading dispensed (39-Y 0-N)
- **2021-02-04** Read second time `reading-2`
- **2021-02-04** Reading of substitute waived
- **2021-02-04** Committee substitute agreed to 21104340D-S1
- **2021-02-04** Engrossed by Senate - committee substitute SB1375S1
- **2021-02-04** Constitutional reading dispensed (38-Y 0-N)
- **2021-02-04** Passed Senate (39-Y 0-N) `passage`
- **2021-02-07** Placed on Calendar
- **2021-02-07** Read first time `reading-1`
- **2021-02-07** Referred to Committee on Labor and Commerce `referral-committee`
- **2021-02-08** Continued to Special Session 1 in Labor and Commerce
- **2021-02-11** Reported from Labor and Commerce with substitute (21-Y 0-N) `committee-passage`
- **2021-02-11** Committee substitute printed 21200130D-H1 `substitution`
- **2021-02-11** Impact statement from DPB (SB1375S1)
- **2021-02-12** Impact statement from DPB (SB1375H1)
- **2021-02-15** Read second time `reading-2`
- **2021-02-16** Read third time `reading-3`
- **2021-02-16** Committee substitute agreed to 21200130D-H1
- **2021-02-16** Engrossed by House - committee substitute SB1375H1
- **2021-02-16** Passed House with substitute (98-Y 0-N 1-A) `passage`
- **2021-02-16** VOTE: Passage (98-Y 0-N 1-A)
- **2021-02-18** House substitute rejected by Senate (7-Y 32-N)
- **2021-02-19** House insisted on substitute
- **2021-02-19** House requested conference committee
- **2021-02-23** Senate acceded to request (39-Y 0-N)
- **2021-02-23** Conferees appointed by Senate
- **2021-02-24** Conferees appointed by House
- **2021-02-25** Amended by conference committee
- **2021-02-27** Conference report agreed to by Senate (39-Y 0-N)
- **2021-02-27** Conference report agreed to by House (98-Y 0-N 1-A)
- **2021-02-27** VOTE: Agreed To (98-Y 0-N 1-A)
- **2021-03-09** Enrolled
- **2021-03-09** Signed by President
- **2021-03-11** Signed by Speaker
- **2021-03-12** Impact statement from DPB (SB1375ER)
- **2021-03-15** Enrolled Bill Communicated to Governor on March 15, 2021
- **2021-03-15** Governor's Action Deadline 11:59 p.m., March 31, 2021
- **2021-03-31** Governor's recommendation received by Senate
- **2021-04-07** Senate concurred in Governor's recommendation (40-Y 0-N)
- **2021-04-07** House concurred in Governor's recommendation (98-Y 0-N 2-A)
- **2021-04-07** VOTE: Agree To (98-Y 0-N 2-A)
- **2021-04-07** Governor's recommendation adopted
- **2021-04-07** Reenrolled
- **2021-04-07** Reenrolled bill text (SB1375ER2)
- **2021-04-07** Signed by President as reenrolled
- **2021-04-07** Signed by President as reenrolled
- **2021-04-07** Enacted, Chapter 526 (effective 7/1/21) `became-law`

## Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/05eaedce-2c71-475e-ad23-edfaf3335809`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Virginia legislature records).