If you work in Washington, D.C., family and medical leave comes from two separate laws working side by side. The DC Family and Medical Leave Act (DC FMLA) protects your job while you are out, and the District’s Paid Family Leave (PFL) program replaces part of your wages. DC FMLA is more generous than the federal Family and Medical Leave Act on nearly every measure that matters: it covers employers of any size, asks for fewer hours of work, defines family more broadly, and gives you more weeks of leave over a longer window.
Who Qualifies for DC FMLA
Every employer that pays someone for work performed in the District is covered, including the D.C. government itself. There is no minimum headcount.1D.C. Law Library. District of Columbia Code 32-501 – Definitions That alone sets DC FMLA apart from the federal law, which only reaches employers with at least 50 employees within 75 miles of the worksite.
To qualify as an employee, you need two things:
- At least 12 months of work for the same employer within the past seven years. The months do not have to be consecutive, and paid or unpaid leave provided as part of your regular benefits counts toward the total.1D.C. Law Library. District of Columbia Code 32-501 – Definitions
- At least 1,000 hours of work during the 12 months immediately before your leave begins.
The seven-year lookback is unusually forgiving. If you left a job and returned three years later, the earlier months of service still count toward the 12-month requirement. The 1,000-hour threshold also opens the door for many part-time workers; federal FMLA sets that bar at 1,250 hours.
Reasons You Can Take Leave
DC FMLA creates two separate banks of leave: family leave and medical leave. Using one does not reduce the other.
Family leave is available for four reasons:2D.C. Law Library. District of Columbia Code 32-502 – Family Leave Requirement
- Bonding with a newborn
- Placement of a child in your home for adoption or foster care
- Taking on permanent parental responsibility for a child placed with you
- Caring for a family member with a serious health condition
Medical leave is for your own serious health condition when it keeps you from doing your job.3D.C. Law Library. District of Columbia Code 32-503 – Medical Leave Requirement A serious health condition generally involves either an overnight hospital stay or ongoing treatment by a healthcare provider. A short, routine illness will not qualify; surgery, extended therapy, or chronic conditions typically do.
The District’s definition of “family member” is wider than the federal one. It covers anyone related to you by blood, marriage, or legal custody, a child living with you for whom you have taken on permanent parental responsibility, a foster child, and a person with whom you share or have shared a home within the past year as part of a committed relationship.1D.C. Law Library. District of Columbia Code 32-501 – Definitions Federal FMLA, by comparison, reaches only your spouse, parent, or child.
How Much Leave You Get
Eligible employees get up to 16 workweeks of family leave and a separate 16 workweeks of medical leave within any 24-month period.2D.C. Law Library. District of Columbia Code 32-502 – Family Leave Requirement3D.C. Law Library. District of Columbia Code 32-503 – Medical Leave Requirement In principle, that means you could use 16 weeks to recover from surgery and later take another 16 weeks to care for an ailing parent inside the same two-year window. Federal FMLA caps all qualifying leave at 12 weeks per 12 months combined.
If two members of the same family work for the same employer, the employer can cap their combined family leave at 16 workweeks per 24 months and limit simultaneous leave to four workweeks.2D.C. Law Library. District of Columbia Code 32-502 – Family Leave Requirement Couples planning overlapping leave after a birth should confirm this with their employer well in advance.
Intermittent Leave and Reduced Schedules
Leave does not have to come in one continuous block. When you are caring for a family member with a serious health condition, family leave can be taken intermittently if medically necessary, and you do not need your employer’s consent to do so.2D.C. Law Library. District of Columbia Code 32-502 – Family Leave Requirement A reduced schedule, where you cut your hours instead of stopping work entirely, does require an agreement with the employer. When approved, your 16 weeks of family leave can be stretched across up to 24 consecutive workweeks.
Getting Paid: DC Paid Family Leave
DC FMLA protects your job but does not require your employer to pay you while you are out. That is where the District’s Paid Family Leave program comes in. PFL is a separate program, funded entirely by an employer-paid payroll tax, that pays wage-replacement benefits during qualifying leave.4DC Paid Family Leave. PFL Tax Rate Change FAQ and Preparation Guidance Employees contribute nothing.
PFL offers up to 12 weeks each for bonding with a new child, caring for a family member with a serious health condition, and your own serious health condition, plus up to two additional weeks for prenatal care.5District of Columbia – Paid Family Leave. District of Columbia – Paid Family Leave The maximum weekly benefit is $1,190.6DC Paid Family Leave. Benefits Calculator
Self-employed workers, including sole proprietors and independent contractors, can opt into PFL coverage if they earn at least half of their self-employment income from work performed in the District.7DC Paid Family Leave. Self-Employed
To file a claim, apply online at does.pflbas.dc.gov or call (202) 899-3700. The Office of Paid Family Leave reviews the application and notifies your employer within 10 business days.8DC Paid Family Leave. How To Apply For Benefits Expect to submit a claim form along with supporting documentation such as a medical certification or certification of family relationship.
PFL and FMLA do not cancel each other out. A single absence can draw on PFL for the paycheck and on DC FMLA (or federal FMLA, or both) for job protection at the same time.
Returning to Your Job
When your leave ends, your employer must put you back in your original position or an equivalent one with the same pay, seniority, and benefits.9D.C. Law Library. District of Columbia Code 32-505 – Employment and Benefits Protection Seniority and benefits you had already accrued are preserved. You do not continue to accrue seniority during the leave itself.
Your group health insurance has to stay in place at the same level and on the same terms as if you had never left. You remain responsible for your share of the premium, and if you stop paying your share, the employer may drop coverage until you return and start paying again.10D.C. Law Library. Subchapter I – Family and Medical Leave
The law also forbids employers from firing, demoting, or otherwise retaliating against you for exercising your leave rights, filing a complaint, or cooperating with an investigation.11D.C. Law Library. District of Columbia Code 32-507 – Prohibited Acts
How to Request Leave
If your leave is foreseeable, such as a planned surgery or an expected birth, give your employer at least 30 days’ notice.12U.S. Department of Labor. Fact Sheet 28E – Employee Notice Requirements Under the Family and Medical Leave Act For emergencies, give notice as soon as you reasonably can.
Send your request to human resources or your supervisor. Say whether you are seeking family leave or medical leave, when you expect it to start, and when you expect to come back. Keep a written record of each exchange.
Your employer can require a medical certification from a healthcare provider for leave to care for a sick relative or for your own serious health condition. The certification must state when the condition began, how long it is expected to last, the relevant medical facts, and either that you cannot perform your job or how much time you need for caregiving.13Office of Human Rights. District of Columbia Code 32-504 – Certification An employer who doubts the certification can require a second opinion at its own expense, and if the two opinions disagree, a third provider agreed on by both sides gives the binding answer.
DC FMLA Compared to Federal FMLA
If you qualify for both, the two laws usually run concurrently. A single absence pulls from both at once; you do not get to stack 16 weeks of DC leave on top of 12 weeks of federal leave. What you do get is the more generous rule on each individual point.
- Employer size: federal requires 50 employees within 75 miles; DC has no size requirement.
- Hours worked: federal requires 1,250 hours; DC requires 1,000.
- Leave length: federal gives 12 weeks per 12 months total; DC gives 16 weeks per 24 months on each of two separate tracks.
- Family member: federal covers spouse, parent, or child only; DC covers blood, marriage, legal custody, foster children, and committed partners sharing a home.
One benefit runs the other way. Federal FMLA offers up to 26 workweeks within a single 12-month period for a spouse, child, parent, or next of kin caring for a covered service member with a serious injury or illness incurred in the line of duty.14U.S. Department of Labor. Military Caregiver Leave for a Current Servicemember Under the Family and Medical Leave Act Total FMLA leave in that 12 months cannot exceed 26 weeks, and no more than 12 of them can be for non-military-caregiver reasons. DC law has no equivalent provision.
If Your Employer Violates the Law
If you are denied leave you were entitled to, retaliated against for taking leave, or not restored to your position when you returned, you can file a complaint with the DC Office of Human Rights within one year of the violation.15Office of Human Rights. File a Discrimination Complaint You can also file a lawsuit directly in court. Available remedies include reinstatement, back pay, compensatory damages, and attorney fees. Talking to an employment lawyer early is often what keeps a disagreement from turning into litigation.