Employment with hospital, higher education, state, subdivision, or certain religious or charitable organizations
Va. Code Ann. § 60.2-213
in effectA. "Employment" includes:
1. Service performed by an individual (i) in the employ of the Commonwealth or any of its political subdivisions or instrumentalities or (ii) in the employ of the Commonwealth and one or more other states or their political subdivisions or instrumentalities, for a hospital or institution of higher education located in this Commonwealth provided that such service is excluded from "employment" as defined in the Federal Unemployment Tax Act solely by reason of § 3306(c)(7) of that act and is not excluded from "employment" under subsection B;
2. Service performed by an individual (i) in the employ of the Commonwealth or any of its wholly owned instrumentalities or (ii) in the employ of the Commonwealth and one or more other states or their instrumentalities, provided that such service is excluded from "employment" as defined in the Federal Unemployment Tax Act (26 U.S.C.) by § 3306(c)(7) of that act and is not excluded from "employment" under subsection B;
3. Service performed by an individual (i) in the employ of any political subdivision of the Commonwealth or any of its wholly owned instrumentalities or (ii) in the employ of any instrumentality wholly owned by this Commonwealth, any of its political subdivisions or instrumentalities, or any instrumentality wholly owned by any of the foregoing and one or more other states or their political subdivisions, provided that such service is excluded from "employment" as defined in the Federal Unemployment Tax Act by § 3306(c)(7) of that act and is not excluded from "employment" under subsection B;
4. Service performed by an individual in the employ of a religious, charitable, educational or other organization but only if the following conditions are met:
a. Their service is excluded from "employment" as defined in the Federal Unemployment Tax Act (26 U.S.C.) solely by reason of § 3306(c)(8) of that act; and
b. The organization had four or more individuals in employment for some portion of a day in each of 20 different weeks, whether or not such weeks were consecutive, within either the current or preceding calendar year, regardless of whether they were employed at the same moment of time.
B. For the purposes of subdivisions A 3 and 4, the term "employment" does not apply to service performed:
1. In the employ of (i) a church or convention or association of churches, or (ii) an organization which is operated primarily for religious purposes and which is operated, supervised, controlled, or principally supported by a church or convention or association of churches;
2. By a duly ordained, commissioned, or licensed minister of a church in the exercise of his ministry or by a member of a religious order in the exercise of duties required by such order;
3. In a facility conducted for the purpose of carrying out a program of rehabilitation for individuals whose earning capacity is impaired by age, physical deficiency, mental illness, intellectual disability, or injury or providing remunerative work for individuals who because of their impaired physical or mental capacity cannot be readily absorbed in the competitive labor market by an individual receiving such rehabilitation or remunerative work;
4. As part of an unemployment work-relief or work-training program assisted or financed in whole or in part by a federal agency or an agency of a state or political subdivision thereof, by an individual receiving such work relief or work training;
5. By an inmate of a custodial or penal institution; or
6. In the employ of the Commonwealth, or any political subdivision thereof or any instrumentality of any one or more of the foregoing as set forth in subdivisions A 1 through 3, if such service is performed by an individual in the exercise of duties:
a. As an elected official;
b. As a member of a legislative body, or a member of the judiciary;
c. As a member of the state National Guard or Air National Guard;
d. As an employee serving on a temporary basis in case of fire, storm, snow, earthquake, flood, or similar emergency; or
e. In a position which, under or pursuant to the laws of the Commonwealth, is designated as (i) a major nontenured policymaking or advisory position or (ii) a policymaking or advisory position the performance of the duties of which ordinarily does not require more than eight hours per week.
Code 1950, § 60-14; 1952, cc. 30, 184; 1956, c. 440; 1962, c. 71; 1968, c. 738, § 60.1-14; 1971, Ex. Sess., c. 235; 1972, c. 824; 1974, cc. 466, 660; 1976, c. 304; 1977, c. 330; 1979, c. 637; 1980, cc. 520, 522; 1981, cc. 28, 369, 374, 375; 1982, c. 25; 1983, c. 14; 1984, cc. 120, 139, 204; 1985, cc. 152, 254; 1986, c. 480; 2012, cc. 476 , 507 .
Source: Open US Law by Vaquill AI (CC BY 4.0)URL: https://law.lis.virginia.gov/vacode/60.2-213/Fetched: 10/17/2026