District of Columbia — Leave Laws

The District of Columbia's Universal Paid Leave Amendment Act of 2016, codified at D.C. Code §§ 32-541.01 et seq., establishes a paid-leave program administered by the Mayor for eligible individuals employed in the District, with wage-replacement benefits funded by employer contributions to the Universal Paid Leave Fund and administered by the Department of Employment Services.

Material update—2025 legislative amendments:

• The Fiscal Year 2026 Budget Support Act (D.C. Law 26-38, Universal Paid Leave Amendment Act of 2025), enacted in July 2024, makes material changes to core elements of the Act effective July 1, 2025 and October 1, 2025.
• The employer contribution rate is lowered to 0.72% of covered wages for wages paid on or after July 1, 2025 (previously 0.75% for July 1, 2024–June 30, 2025; previously 0.62%).
• Benefit durations are reduced for claims whose leave period begins on or after October 1, 2025: maximum medical leave is reduced from 12 weeks to 8 weeks, and family leave from 12 weeks to 6 weeks. Parental leave remains 12 weeks and prenatal leave 2 weeks.
• The maximum weekly benefit is capped at $1,000 for approved leave periods starting on or after October 1, 2025 (was previously $1,190 for Sept. 28–30, 2025; $1,153 for Oct. 1, 2024–Sept. 27, 2025; previously subject to annual inflation adjustment as funding permitted).
• The Universal Paid Leave program remains fully employer-funded—there is no employee payroll deduction.

Benefit types and duration:

• For leave beginning before October 1, 2025, the annual limits remain: up to 12 weeks of parental, family, and medical leave, plus 2 weeks prenatal leave, per year. For qualifying leave on or after October 1, 2025: 12 weeks parental, 8 weeks medical, 6 weeks family, 2 weeks prenatal. See detailed duration tables in the main benefit-duration and benefit-amount sections.

Authority and Administration:

• The Act is administered by the DC Department of Employment Services, which collects employer contributions and adjudicates claims.
• Core authority is at D.C. Code § 32-541.01 et seq., as most recently amended by the Universal Paid Leave Amendment Act of 2025.

Source: D.C. Code § 32-541.01 | D.C. Code § 32-541.02 | D.C. Code § 32-541.03 | D.C. Law 26-38 (FY26 Budget Support Act) | FY26 BSA Fiscal Impact Statement

For claims filed on or after October 1, 2022, D.C. Code § 32-541.04(e-1)(3) sets the maximum duration of paid-leave benefits within a 52-workweek period at 12 workweeks each for parental leave (bonding with a new child), family leave (caring for a family member with a serious health condition), and medical leave (the employee's own serious health condition), plus 2 workweeks for prenatal leave (prenatal medical care). An eligible individual may take up to 12 weeks total for any combination of parental, family, and medical leave within a 52-week period. Prenatal leave is additive: a pregnant individual may receive 2 weeks of prenatal leave plus 12 weeks of parental leave after birth, but the combined prenatal and medical leave may not exceed 12 weeks.

Source: D.C. Code § 32-541.04(e-1)(3) | D.C. Code § 32-541.04(d)(3)

An individual qualifies for Universal Paid Leave benefits under D.C. Code § 32-541.01(6) if the individual was a "covered employee" during some or all of the 52 calendar weeks immediately preceding the qualifying leave event, or if the individual is a self-employed person who opted into the program and earned self-employment income for work performed more than 50% of the time in the District during some or all of those 52 weeks. Importantly, the individual's claim must not be based on employment for the United States, the District of Columbia government, or an employer exempt from District taxation under federal law or treaty.

The covered-employee test

D.C. Code § 32-541.01(3) defines "covered employee" using a work-location rule with two alternative prongs:

• Prong A — the employee spends more than 50% of work time for the covered employer working in the District of Columbia; or
• Prong B — the employee's employment is based in the District, the employee regularly spends a substantial amount of work time in the District, and the employee does not spend more than 50% of work time in another single jurisdiction.

Prong A is the clearer threshold: if a worker physically performs more than half of their hours in D.C. for a covered employer, they are a covered employee. Prong B extends coverage to D.C.-based employees who travel or work remotely but do not concentrate more than half their time in any other single state or jurisdiction.

The covered-employer threshold

D.C. Code § 32-541.01(4) defines "covered employer" as any entity required to pay unemployment insurance on behalf of employees under D.C. Code § 51-103, with express exclusions for the U.S. government, the D.C. government, and employers the District cannot tax under federal law or treaty. The unemployment-insurance threshold under § 51-103 applies to any entity that employs at least one employee in D.C.; thus the Universal Paid Leave program has no employer-size floor—even a single-employee firm is a covered employer if it meets the other criteria. Self-employed individuals may opt in voluntarily and become covered employers for purposes of their own benefits.

The 52-week connection requirement

The statute requires that the individual have worked as a covered employee (or as an opted-in self-employed person) "during some or all of" the 52 calendar weeks before the qualifying event. The phrase "some or all" does not impose a minimum number of weeks or a minimum earnings threshold within those 52 weeks; the individual need only have worked for a covered employer at some point during the preceding year. The benefit amount is then calculated from the individual's average weekly wage during the highest four of the five quarters before the leave event (D.C. Code § 32-541.01(1)), which can result in a low or zero benefit if the individual had minimal earnings, but does not disqualify the claim.

Federal and D.C. government exclusions

Employees of the United States, employees of the District of Columbia government, and employees of any employer exempt from D.C. taxation under federal law or treaty are categorically ineligible. This exclusion is restated in both the "covered employer" definition (§ 32-541.01(4)) and the "eligible individual" definition (§ 32-541.01(6)).

Source: D.C. Code § 32-541.01

D.C. Code § 32-541.04(g) establishes the two-tier wage-replacement formula for District of Columbia Universal Paid Leave (UPL) benefits, subject to a statutory maximum weekly benefit that is adjusted annually for inflation. As of October 1, 2025, the maximum weekly benefit and certain leave durations are changed by the Fiscal Year 2026 Budget Support Act of 2025 (Universal Paid Leave Amendment Act of 2025).

Key Changes Effective October 1, 2025

• The maximum weekly benefit for Universal Paid Leave will be capped at $1,000 for any claims whose approved leave period begins on or after October 1, 2025. Claims with approved leave periods beginning before that date are subject to prior caps ($1,190 for claims beginning Sept. 28, 2025–Sept. 30, 2025; $1,153 for claims from Oct. 1, 2024–Sept. 27, 2025).
• The duration of qualifying medical leave is reduced from 12 weeks to 8 weeks, and family leave from 12 weeks to 6 weeks, effective for leave events after October 1, 2025. The statutory language retains 12 weeks for parental leave and 2 weeks for prenatal leave.

Benefit Formula (unchanged)

• For individuals earning up to 150% of the District minimum wage × 40-hour workweek, the weekly benefit equals 90% of the average weekly wage.
• For higher earners, benefits are calculated as 90% of the first $1,077 (for 2026 calculation) plus 50% of wages above that amount, capped at the statutory maximum.

Average weekly wage is defined as wages (including self-employment income if opted in) earned during the highest 4 of the last 5 completed calendar quarters, divided by 52, per D.C. Code § 32-541.01(1).

Partial weeks of leave are prorated under D.C. Code § 32-541.04(g)(4).

Authority

• Maximum benefit cap and duration changes: Universal Paid Leave Amendment Act of 2025 (Fiscal Year 2026 Budget Support Act of 2025, effective October 1, 2025); D.C. Code § 32-541.04(g).

Historical note: The maximum weekly benefit was $1,190 for leave beginning September 28–30, 2025, and $1,153 for October 1, 2024–September 27, 2025; these caps remain relevant for claims filed for earlier periods.

Source: D.C. Code § 32-541.04 | D.C. Code § 32-541.01 | DC Office of the CFO — Fiscal Impact Statement (2025 Act)

The District of Columbia's Universal Paid Leave Act provides wage-replacement benefits during qualifying leave, but it does not independently provide job protection (the right to return to the same or an equivalent position after leave). Instead, job protection during Universal Paid Leave depends entirely on whether the individual is also entitled to job-protected leave under the separate D.C. Family and Medical Leave Act (DC FMLA).

The statutory rule: no independent job protection

D.C. Code § 32-541.07(c) states categorically: "Nothing in this subchapter shall be construed to provide job protection to any eligible individual beyond that to which an individual is entitled under D.C. FMLA." The Universal Paid Leave statute cross-references DC FMLA for all job-restoration rights; it creates no freestanding obligation for an employer to restore an employee who takes only Universal Paid Leave.

Who gets job protection during Universal Paid Leave?

An individual taking Universal Paid Leave receives job protection if—and only if—the same leave event also qualifies the individual for leave under DC FMLA. DC FMLA is codified at D.C. Code §§ 32-501 et seq. and applies to employers with 20 or more employees in the District. An employee eligible under DC FMLA is entitled, upon return from family or medical leave, to be:

• restored to the position held when leave commenced; or
• restored to an equivalent position with equivalent employment benefits, pay, seniority, and other terms and conditions of employment.

D.C. Code § 32-505(d).

If the leave event satisfies both the Universal Paid Leave benefit criteria (e.g., bonding with a new child, caring for a family member with a serious health condition, the employee's own serious health condition, or prenatal care) and the DC FMLA eligibility criteria (employee worked for a covered employer for at least one year without a break in service and worked at least 1,000 hours in the preceding 12 months), then the two statutes run concurrently: the individual receives paid wage-replacement benefits from the Universal Paid Leave Fund and job-protected leave under DC FMLA. D.C. Code § 32-541.07(b).

Employees at smaller employers: paid benefits, no job protection

The Universal Paid Leave Act requires the District to provide a written notice to each covered employee stating, among other things, "[t]hat an employee who works for a covered employer with under 20 employees shall not be entitled to job protection if he or she decides to take paid leave pursuant to this subchapter." D.C. Code § 32-541.06(h)(1)(C). Because DC FMLA applies only to employers with 20 or more employees, an employee who works for an employer with fewer than 20 employees may still receive Universal Paid Leave wage-replacement benefits from the publicly administered fund, but the employer is not required to hold the employee's job or restore the employee to any position after the leave ends. The employee takes the paid leave at the risk of losing employment.

Concurrent-leave mechanics

When an individual's leave qualifies under both statutes, D.C. Code § 32-541.07(b) requires that "the paid leave taken pursuant to this subchapter shall run concurrently with, and not in addition to, leave taken under [federal FMLA or DC FMLA]." The individual does not receive separate blocks of leave time; rather, the same weeks of absence count against both the Universal Paid Leave duration limits (up to 12 weeks for parental, family, or medical leave, plus 2 weeks for prenatal leave, within a 52-week period) and the DC FMLA entitlement (16 weeks of family leave and 16 weeks of medical leave in any 24-month period). The job protection runs for the duration covered by DC FMLA; the wage replacement is governed by the Universal Paid Leave benefit formula.

Practical distinction

In summary:

• Universal Paid Leave = wage-replacement benefits (paid by the publicly administered fund), with no independent job protection.
• DC FMLA = job-protected unpaid leave (employer must restore the employee to the same or equivalent position), with no wage replacement from the statute itself (though the employee may use accrued paid time off or may receive concurrent Universal Paid Leave benefits if eligible).

An employee who qualifies for both receives the wage replacement and the job protection. An employee who qualifies only for Universal Paid Leave (most commonly because the employer has fewer than 20 employees) receives wage replacement but no statutory right to job restoration.

Source: D.C. Code § 32-541.07 | D.C. Code § 32-541.06 | D.C. Code § 32-505

D.C. Code § 32-541.03 requires covered employers to contribute to the Universal Paid Leave Fund to finance the District's paid-leave program. The contribution is structured as a percentage of employee wages with no ceiling on the wage base, meaning contributions are owed on all covered wages regardless of how much an individual employee earns.

Contribution rate (updated)

Effective July 1, 2025, a covered employer must contribute an amount equal to 0.72% of the wages of each covered employee to the District, in a manner prescribed by the Mayor. This rate was lowered from 0.75% (which was in effect from July 1, 2024, through June 30, 2025) due to amendments enacted in the Fiscal Year 2026 Budget Support Act of 2025. See D.C. Law 26-38, Subtitle IV(H), amending D.C. Code § 32-541.03. The 0.75% rate reflected prior amendments in the FY 2025 Budget Support Act but applies only for the year preceding July 2025.

Self-employed individuals who opt into the paid-leave program contribute the same 0.72% rate on their annual self-employment income. D.C. Code § 32-541.03(b), as amended.

Wage base: no cap

Unlike the District's unemployment insurance program, which caps contributions at the first $9,000 of annual wages per employee, the Universal Paid Leave contribution applies to all wages with no upper limit. The statute defines "wages" by cross-reference to the D.C. Unemployment Compensation Act, D.C. Code § 51-101(3), incorporating the same inclusions and exclusions (gratuities, back pay, etc.), but the Universal Paid Leave statute does not import the unemployment wage base ceiling. D.C. Code § 32-541.01(22). Contributions are therefore owed on the full amount paid to each covered employee annually, regardless of compensation level.

Reporting and payment mechanics

Contributions are collected quarterly through the Employer Self-Service Portal (ESSP) used for unemployment insurance tax reporting. Employers report covered wages and the system automatically calculates the paid-leave contribution. Contributions are deposited into the Universal Paid Leave Fund; any amounts exceeding the amount necessary for solvency (as certified by the CFO) are routed to the District's General Fund. D.C. Code § 32-541.03(b-1).

Enforcement

An employer who fails to make the required contributions is subject to the same notice requirements, procedures, interest, penalties, and remedies set forth in D.C. Code § 51-104 (the enforcement provision of the Unemployment Compensation Act). D.C. Code § 32-541.03(f).

Who pays: employer-only funding

The District's Universal Paid Leave program is funded entirely by employer contributions. There is no employee payroll deduction or employee-side tax. This distinguishes the District's program from those in Washington, New York, and California, which fund benefits partially via employee payroll withholding.

Material update note: The employer contribution rate is 0.75% for wages paid July 1, 2024 through June 30, 2025, and 0.72% for wages paid on or after July 1, 2025.

Source: D.C. Code § 32-541.03 | D.C. Law 26-38, Subtitle IV(H) (FY26 Budget Support Act) | FY26 BSA Fiscal Impact Statement

D.C. Code § 32-541.01(4)(A) defines "covered employer" for Universal Paid Leave purposes as any entity "required to pay unemployment insurance on behalf of its employees by § 51-103," with express exclusions for the U.S. government, the D.C. government, and employers the District cannot tax under federal law or treaty. The threshold question—which employers are "required to pay unemployment insurance"—turns on the broad definitions of "employer" and "employment" in the D.C. Unemployment Compensation Act.

The employer definition

D.C. Code § 51-101(1) defines "employer" as "every individual and type of organization for whom services are performed in employment." This language is categorical and contains no size threshold, payroll floor, or minimum-employee-count requirement. The definition is limited only by what constitutes "employment" under § 51-101(2).

The employment definition

D.C. Code § 51-101(2)(A)(i) defines "employment" to include services performed by any officer of a corporation and any individual who, under common-law rules, has the status of an employee. The statutory scheme follows the approach of the Federal Unemployment Tax Act (FUTA) and imposes contribution liability broadly. Unlike some state unemployment-insurance statutes that exempt employers with fewer than a specified number of employees or employers whose quarterly payroll falls below a dollar threshold, the District's unemployment statute imposes no general employer-size floor.

Exceptions: household employers and agricultural labor

The statute does carve out threshold rules for two specific categories of employment. For household or domestic service in a private home, an employer is subject to unemployment-insurance contributions only if the employer "paid cash remuneration of $500 or more in any calendar quarter." D.C. Code § 51-101(2)(A)(vi). For agricultural labor, employment is covered only if the employer paid $20,000 or more in cash remuneration in any calendar quarter or employed 10 or more individuals in agricultural labor for some portion of a day during 20 different weeks in the calendar year. D.C. Code § 51-101(2)(A)(vii).

Outside of those two categories—household employers and agricultural employers—there is no minimum threshold. An entity that employs even a single individual in a non-domestic, non-agricultural capacity is an "employer" required to pay unemployment insurance under § 51-103 and therefore a "covered employer" under the Universal Paid Leave Act.

Practical consequence for Universal Paid Leave

Because the Universal Paid Leave Act cross-references the unemployment-insurance employer threshold without adding any independent size limitation, the District's paid-leave program applies to every employer required to pay unemployment insurance, which in practice means every employer with at least one covered employee (other than household employers below $500/quarter and agricultural employers below their thresholds). There is no de minimis exemption, no minimum-employee-count safe harbor, and no small-employer carve-out for non-household, non-agricultural employers.

This breadth distinguishes the District's program from paid-leave statutes in states such as Washington, which applies only to employers with 50 or more employees, or New York, which phases in coverage by employer size. In the District, a startup with a single full-time employee working in D.C. is a covered employer required to contribute 0.75% of that employee's wages to the Universal Paid Leave Fund, and that employee is eligible for Universal Paid Leave benefits (though not for job-protected leave under DC FMLA unless the employer later grows to 20 or more employees).

Source: D.C. Code § 32-541.01 | D.C. Code § 51-101 | D.C. Code § 51-103