The District of Columbia (DC) has provided workers with paid family leave since 2020, giving people the critical time and financial support they need to navigate life-changing situations.
If you’re a DC employer, or if you’re about to hire a remote employee in the district, it’s important to understand exactly what types of leave employees are entitled to—and what’s required of your business.
Our guide below covers how the paid leave program works, who funds it, which employees are eligible, and how employers can maintain compliance.
What is the DC paid family leave program?
The Paid Family Leave Act, which started in 2020 and got updated in 2022, gives DC workers four types of paid leave:
Prenatal leave: Employees can take two weeks off during a pregnancy.
Parental leave: Employees can take 12 weeks to bond with a new child (whether born, fostered, adopted, or acquired through legal guardianship).
Caregiving leave: Employees can take 12 weeks to care for a family member with a serious health condition, including children, parents, grandparents, spouses, and siblings.
Medical leave: Employees can take 12 weeks to manage their own personal medical or health condition.
DC employees are entitled to a total of 12 weeks of leave per year, with the exception of employees who need both parental and prenatal leave. In that case, employees can combine parental and prenatal leave for a total of 14 weeks of paid time off.
During leave, employees get a weekly benefit payment of anywhere from 50-90% of their usual wages, depending on how much they earn relative to the district’s minimum wage. In 2026, the maximum benefit per week is $1,153.
You can use the Paid Family Leave Weekly Benefit Calculator to estimate your employees’ weekly benefit amount.
How do people qualify for paid family leave?
In DC, employees have to meet the following requirements to receive paid family leave:
Experience a qualifying event (like having a baby or getting diagnosed with a serious illness)
Be a covered worker in DC, meaning they spend a majority of their working time in the district
Be currently employed when applying for leave benefits
Self-employed people can also opt into the state leave program. They just need to:
Be a sole proprietor, independent contractor, or member of a partnership
Earn self-employment income from work performed at least 50% of the time in DC within the 52 weeks before needing leave
Pay 0.75% of their total gross income to the leave fund on a quarterly basis
Self-employed workers can either enroll in the program during open enrollment—November 1 to December 31—or in the first 60 days of beginning their self-employment.
How is DC's paid leave funded?
Paid leave in DC is funded entirely by employer contributions. All private-sector employers in the DC area, regardless of size, are required to participate in the program and contribute on behalf of their employees. The contribution amount is 0.75% of employee wages as of 2026.
How does DC's paid family leave work with FMLA?
The federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), which started in 1993, gives eligible employees up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave for bonding, caregiving, military exigency, and medical leaves. FMLA requires all employers in the United States with at least 50 employees working within a 75-mile radius to participate.
The biggest distinction between FMLA and DC paid family leave is that FMLA is unpaid but job-protected, while DC leave is paid but not job-protected.
DC also has its own leave law, called the District of Columbia Family and Medical Leave Act (DC FMLA), which requires DC employers with at least 20 employees to give eligible employees 16 weeks of unpaid family leave and 16 weeks of unpaid medical leave during a 24-month period.
In some cases, your employees might qualify for DC paid family leave and FMLA leave, or paid family leave and DC FMLA leave—or sometimes all three. If that’s the case, the programs run concurrently, and employees receive whichever protections are strongest.
For example, if one of your employees has to take a medical leave and qualifies for all three types of leave, they’ll be entitled to:
16 weeks off (via DC FMLA)
Weekly benefit payments for 12 of those 16 weeks (via DC paid family leave)
Continued health insurance during leave (via FMLA and DC FMLA)
Job protection during leave (via FMLA and DC FMLA)
DC paid family leave vs FMLA leave vs DC FMLA
DC paid family leave | FMLA | DC FMLA | |
Qualifying reasons | Caring for a new child; taking prenatal leave; managing a serious personal health condition; caring for a seriously ill family member (applies to children, parents, grandparents, spouses, and siblings) | Caring for a new child; managing a serious personal health condition; caring for a seriously ill family member (applies to spouses, children, and parents); supporting a military family member on deployment | Caring for a new child; recovering from a serious personal illness or health condition; caring for a family member with a serious health condition who’s also eligible for leave |
Eligibility requirements | Work primarily in DC; are currently employed when applying for benefits | Have worked for the employer for at least one year; have over 1,250 hours of service in the past year; the employer has at least 50 employees who work within a 75-mile radius | Have worked for the employer for one consecutive year; have at least 1,000 hours of service in the 12 months prior to leave; the employer has at least 20 employees |
Job protection | No | Yes | Yes |
Length of leave | Up to 12 weeks for parental, caregiving, and medical leave; 2 weeks for prenatal leave | Up to 12 weeks within a year | Up to 16 weeks of family leave and 16 weeks of medical leave within a 24-month period |
Payment | Weekly benefit payments dependent on wages | Unpaid | Unpaid |
Health benefits | No, employers aren’t required to continue providing health benefits to employees on state leave | Yes, employers are required to continue providing health benefits to employees on FMLA leave | Yes, employers are required to continue providing health benefits to employees on FMLA leave |
What are my employer responsibilities for DC paid family leave?
If you have even one employee in DC, you’re required to follow the district’s paid leave guidelines and reporting and contribution requirements. Here’s what you need to know:
1. Pay into the DC paid leave fund
The first step, if you haven’t yet, is to establish or update your account on the Department of Employment Services (DOES) online portal. That’s where you’ll submit your quarterly wage reports and paid leave contributions.
As a reminder, you’re responsible for paying 0.75% of your employees’ gross wages every quarter. The due dates are April 30, July 31, October 31, and January 31.
2. Notify your employees about their paid leave rights
It’s crucial to give your employees information about the district’s paid leave program, along with their rights under FMLA and DC FMLA.
Make sure you download this official notice from the district, which details the paid family leave program, qualifying leave reasons, and employee eligibility and rights. You’re legally required to distribute the notice to employees at three different times:
When they’re first hired
Once every year
When they request a leave
It’s also mandatory to post the notice in a prominent spot in your workplace, not just in English, but in any language your employees regularly speak in the workplace. While you’re at it, make sure you post the DC FMLA notice and the FMLA notice, too.
3. Follow all other state and federal requirements
Under DC FMLA and federal FMLA, you have two major responsibilities:
Continue paying your employees’ health insurance premiums when they’re on leave and
Reinstate them to their jobs (or comparable positions) when they return from leave.
If you don’t give employees the leave they’re entitled to, or if you discriminate against them for taking leave of any kind, you could face civil penalties from the state and federal government, not to mention potential lawsuits from employees.
4. Keep thorough records of all leave-related paperwork
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and DOES recommends holding onto your personnel and payroll records for at least three years. Make sure you keep:
Basic personnel records (name, Social Security number, address)
Payroll records (detailing wages for each pay period, payment method, employee earnings, and pay dates)
Copies of state and federal leave notices
Official employee requests for leave
Claims forms
Documentation of leave start and end dates
Copies of company policies on sick leave, vacation leave, and long-term disability
What will DC's paid family leave cost me?
Paid leave will cost you 0.75% (in 2026) of your employees’ gross wages, paid every quarter. Depending on the size of your payroll, your paid leave contributions could be a couple of thousand dollars or tens of thousands of dollars a year.
Of course, if you want to give your employees even more leave benefits, you can:
Top up employees’ pay, so they receive 100% of their usual wages during leave instead of 50-90%
Pay for additional leave beyond what the state mandates, so they can take more than 12 paid weeks a year
Do I need to change our company’s employee leave policy?
A well-written leave policy accounts for state and federal laws, covers all types of employees, and includes clear, detailed instructions employees can follow.
If you’ve been operating in DC for a while, your leave policy should already account for the district’s paid family leave program, but if you’re a new employer in the area, or you think your policy needs a refresh, here’s what to include:
A complete explanation of DC paid family leave, including what types of leave are allowed, who’s eligible, and how partial wage replacement works
A complete explanation of DC FMLA, including the types of leave covered, the eligibility requirements, and the protections employees are granted
An explanation of whether or not you’re a covered employer under FMLA, and how the program works if you are
Information about when and how employees can request leave
Information about payments during leave
Information about your company’s return-to-work process
The power of paid family leave in DC
If you employ DC-based workers, consider yourself fortunate. Adhering to the district’s paid family leave laws might seem intimidating or even feel tedious in practice, but having a reason to provide leave—and a structure for offering it—is actually a net positive.
Paid family leave is an investment in your employees’ wellbeing as people and professionals, which makes it a critical investment in your business’s long-term retention rates, too. Employees who feel taken care of on the job tend to perform better and stick around longer—and that’s good news for your business’s growth and longevity.
For more DC-specific business resources, check out Gusto’s guides to:
