Looking for DC Government’s Office of Paid Family Leave?

Looking to Apply for Benefits?

Looking for More Information on DC’s Paid Leave Benefits? Read on!

Eligibility

Everyone who works for a DC employer is eligible for the DC paid leave program, except for those employed by the Federal or District government. That includes full-time workers, part-time workers, temporary workers, and seasonal workers, who usually spend the majority of their work time in DC. Self-employed people who work in DC may also be eligible for benefits if they opted-into the program. It does not matter where you live, so long as you currently work in the District and the paid leave program has a record of your wages (which are reported by your employer every three months).

Your employer should tell you if you’re eligible for DC’s paid leave benefits when you’re hired, at least once a year afterwards, and if you ask them about paid leave options.

Pay

Workers who earn up to $22.50 an hour (or roughly $46,800/year) are eligible to have 90% of their wages replaced while on leave. For example, if you typically make $900 a week, you would receive $810 a week while on leave. The maximum amount anyone can receive is $1000 per week. The exact amount of your benefits will be based on your total average wages from all the DC employers you’ve worked for over the past 15 months. To estimate what your pay would be: click here (and scroll to the very bottom of the page) to fill out the “Paid Family Leave Weekly Benefit Calculator”.

Benefits are paid by the city, and funded through an employer tax. Benefits are paid out every other week through a direct deposit to your bank account or a pre-paid debit card. Receiving DC paid leave benefits does NOT guarantee job protection, but there are other laws that may protect you.

Paid Parental Leave

New parents who work in DC can now receive 12 weeks of paid parental leave to care for a new baby, or adopted or foster child, per year. Leave can be taken up to a year after the birth or placement of child, on a part-time or full-time schedule, so long as you are on leave from work while using paid parental leave benefits. Leave is not paid retroactively.

You must give your employer at least 10 days notice before taking paid parental leave. To apply, you’ll need:

  • Social Security Number or ITIN

  • Birth certificate, hospital admittance, custody placement, or other approved documents

  • Employer contact info

  • Regular work & leave schedule

  • Other information may be required by the Department of Employment Services

For more information on paid parental leave click here!

Paid Family Caregiving Leave

DC workers can take 12 weeks of paid family leave per year to care for a family member who has a serious health condition, on a part-time or full-time basis. Qualifying family members include your domestic partner or spouse, children, parents, grandparents, and siblings. Family members can be biological, adopted, foster, step, or in-laws. Serious health conditions include physical or mental illness or injury that require overnight hospital treatment, inpatient care, or continuing treatment under a doctor’s supervision.

When a leave need is known in advance, you must give your employer at least 10 days notice before taking paid family caregiving leave. If a leave need arises as an emergency, you should notify your employer as soon as possible. To apply, you’ll need:

  • Social Security Number or ITIN

  • A description of your relationship to the patient and the care you will provide

  • A medical provider’s contact information, diagnosis, and written opinion of your family member’s medical condition

  • Employer contact info

  • Regular work & leave schedule

  • Other information may be required by the Department of Employment Services

For more information on paid family leave click here!

Paid Medical Leave

DC workers can take 12 weeks of paid medical leave per year, if you have a serious health condition that prevents you from working or performing the regular activities of daily life. Serious health conditions include physical or mental illness or injury that require overnight hospital treatment, inpatient care, or continuing treatment under a doctor’s supervision. They can also include chronic conditions that occasionally impede work, incurable conditions, and pregnancies.

When a leave need is known in advance, you must give your employer at least 10 days notice before taking paid medical leave. If a leave need arises as an emergency, you should notify your employer as soon as possible. To apply, you’ll need:

  • Social Security Number or ITIN

  • A medical provider’s contact information, diagnosis, and written opinion of your medical condition

  • Employer contact info

  • Regular work & leave schedule

  • Other information may be required by the Department of Employment Services

For more information on paid medical leave click here!

Paid Pre-Natal Leave

Eligible individuals can take 2 weeks of paid leave for pre-natal medical care. Pre-natal leave benefits can be used for doctors’ appointments and pregnancy-related complications. Pre-natal leave is in addition to parental leave - which is available after the baby is born - so an individual can take 2 weeks of pre-natal leave and 12 weeks of parental leave within a 52 work-week period.