Washington, D.C. Paid Family Leave: What Employers Should Know

All private employers performing services in Washington, D.C., who pay unemployment insurance taxes for employees must offer DC Paid Family Leave (DCPFL). DCPFL provides partial wage replacement to eligible employees who require time off for a qualifying event. It does not provide job protection, although some employees might be eligible for such protection under the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA).

Federal FMLA provides unpaid, job protected leave to employees working for a covered employer when taking leave for a qualified family or medical reason. FMLA leave may run concurrently with DCPFL leave if the employee meets the applicable requirements under the FMLA and the DCPFL.

Self-employed individuals also may choose to elect coverage under DCPFL if they meet eligibility requirements. However, coverage can be terminated, as well as fines and penalties received, if self-employed individuals fail to make payments or file the required reports by the deadlines.

How Does Paid Family Leave Work in DC?

Employers fund 100 percent of the DC Paid Family Leave program through a payroll tax on employee wages. On July 1, 2024, the contribution rate increased from 0.26% to 0.75% of the wage paid to each covered employee. For covered employers, this means that they will contribute $75 to the fund for every $10,000 in wages paid to employees.

Under the law, employers cannot withhold any contributions from employee wages to pay for the paid family leave program.

Who Is Eligible for DC Paid Family Leave?

The DCPFL program provides benefits to covered employees taking leave for qualifying events and who spend a majority of their time working within the District of Columbia. Self-employed individuals who have opted into the program with earned income on work they spent more than 50% of their time in the district performing during the 52 calendar weeks before the qualifying event are also eligible to collect benefits from the program.

This is a portable benefit and wages can be accumulated from employers, so even if an employee is new to an employer they might qualify for leave based on past employment.

What Benefits Are Available Under DCPFL

The DC Paid Family Leave program provides benefits for the following:

• Personal Medical leave: This leave, capped at 12 weeks per year, is for an eligible employee who is unable to work due to their own serious health condition such as injury, chronic illness, or incapacitation. A claim must be filed by the individual within 90 days of the qualifying event.
• Family Medical leave: An employee can use up to 12 weeks to care for a family member with a serious health condition, whether that be physical or psychological in nature. The individual must file a claim within 90 days of the qualifying event.
• Parental leave: This leave enables bonding with a new child in the family, through birth, adoption, foster placement, or legally assuming parental responsibility for child. Covered employees may take up to 12 weeks and the leave must be taken in the first 12 months after the qualifying event. A claim must be filed within 52 weeks of the qualifying event.
• Pre-natal leave: This is capped at two (2) weeks and allows a pregnant individual time off to attend appointments, exams, or treatments. A claim must be filed as soon as possible after the qualifying event, but no later than 30 days from the start of the leave.

Eligible employees may take multiple qualifying leaves within a 52-week period, with the maximum amount of leave for any combination of parental, family, and medical leave being 12 weeks. Pregnant women are eligible for two weeks of prenatal leave and the 12 weeks parental leave after the birth of a child, for a maximum of 14 weeks, per the 2025 employee notice.

The wage replacement benefit is up to 90% of the average weekly wage (AWW) – with the AWW equaling the cumulative of an employee’s four-highest paid quarters of the five quarters that immediately preceded the leave. There is a per week maximum and a 52-week cap. As of Oct. 1, 2024, the maximum weekly amount available to eligible employees is $1,153.

What Are the Reporting and Recordkeeping Requirements Under DCPFL?

Covered employers are required to submit wage reports every quarter to the Office of Paid Family Leave on the same schedule used for submitting unemployment insurance reports.

The quarterly deadlines for reporting are the same as the quarterly payment deadlines.

• 1st Quarter: April 30
• 2nd Quarter: July 31
• 3^rd Quarter: Oct. 31
• 4^th Quarter: Jan. 31

Additionally, employers must provide notice to employees with details of the PFL benefits and eligibility requirements. Violations of the notice requirements could result in penalties. Employers must:

• Provide notice to employees upon hire or within 30 days of hiring
• Post the DCFL notice in a conspicuous and common workplace area
  • The notice will be updated each November and required to be posted no later than the following February.
• Provide notice to employees when they ask for leave that could qualify for benefits under the PFL program
• Distribute the notice by paper or electronically to all employees annually

Employers also are required to keep records that include employee name, Social Security number, wages for each pay period, method of payment, employee earnings, the dates wages were paid, employment dates, pay period dates, dates the employee took leave, copies of leave notices received from employees, and records of any disputes between employer and employee regarding PFL.

Employer recordkeeping requirements also include maintaining records of covered worker wage and PFL information outlined by the Department of Employment Services, and all written PFL notices given to employees and documents describing short-term and long-term disability policies, sick leave, vacation leave, and other employer paid and unpaid leave policies and practices.

These records must be kept for three years.

Is There a Private Plan Exemption to DCPFL?

Employers cannot opt out of the District of Columbia’s Paid Family Leave program. However, covered employers do have the ability to supplement DCPFL benefits through a private carrier.

Looking Forward

Businesses seeking to enhance their recruitment and retention efforts while looking to help maintain the well-being of employees could use mix of benefits in addition to a PFL plan. Paychex also provides HR Services to help businesses stay on top of their compliance requirements.

Other Resources

• DC Paid Family Leave website