FMLA in Washington DC: Eligibility, Paid Leave, and Job Protection

The FMLA in Washington, D.C. actually comes in two layers: the District of Columbia Family and Medical Leave Act (DC FMLA), which protects your job while you are out, and the separate DC Paid Family Leave (PFL) program, which replaces some of your wages. DC FMLA covers more workers than the federal Family and Medical Leave Act, requires fewer hours to qualify, and gives you up to 16 weeks of family leave and another 16 weeks of medical leave over any 24-month period.¹² Paid benefits through PFL run alongside that job protection and can add up to $1,190 a week.³

Who Qualifies for DC FMLA

Employer size does not matter here. The statute defines an employer as any individual, firm, association, or corporation that pays someone for services performed in the District, including the D.C. government itself.⁴ A five-person office in Dupont Circle is covered the same as a federal agency. That is the biggest departure from federal FMLA, which only applies to employers with 50 or more employees within 75 miles.

To qualify as an eligible employee, you need to hit two marks:

At least 12 months of work for the same employer within the seven years before your leave starts. Those months do not have to be consecutive, and paid or unpaid leave your employer gave you as part of regular benefits counts toward the total.⁴
At least 1,000 hours worked during the 12 months right before leave begins.

The 1,000-hour threshold matters for part-timers. Federal FMLA requires 1,250 hours, so someone averaging around 20 hours a week can clear the D.C. bar without clearing the federal one. The seven-year lookback is also more forgiving than federal law: if you left a job and came back three years later, the earlier service still counts.

Reasons You Can Take Leave

DC FMLA runs on two separate tracks, and using one does not reduce the other.

Family leave covers four situations: the birth of a child; the placement of a child with you through adoption or foster care; taking on permanent parental responsibility for a child placed with you; and caring for a family member with a serious health condition.¹

Medical leave applies when your own serious health condition prevents you from doing your job.² A serious health condition generally means an illness, injury, or physical or mental condition involving either an overnight hospital stay or ongoing treatment by a healthcare provider. A bad cold does not qualify; surgery, extended therapy, or chronic care typically does.

The District’s definition of “family member” is broader than the federal one. It includes anyone related 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 and maintain a committed relationship.⁴ That last category is the important one: committed partners who live together are covered even without marriage.

How Much Time You Get

Eligible employees receive up to 16 workweeks of family leave and a separate 16 workweeks of medical leave, measured over any 24-month period.¹² In theory you could use 16 weeks to recover from surgery and then take another 16 weeks to care for a sick parent within the same two years. Federal FMLA, by comparison, gives 12 weeks total for all reasons in 12 months.

When two family members work for the same employer, the employer can cap their combined family leave at 16 workweeks during a 24-month period and further limit simultaneous leave to four workweeks.¹ Couples planning leave after a new baby should confirm this with their employer early.

Intermittent Leave and Reduced Schedules

Leave does not have to be one continuous block. For care of a family member with a serious health condition, you can take family leave intermittently when medically necessary, without needing your employer’s approval. A reduced schedule, meaning fewer hours per day or per week, is different: it requires an agreement between you and your employer. If approved, the 16 workweeks of family leave can be spread over up to 24 consecutive workweeks.¹

Paid Family Leave: Getting Paid While You Are Out

DC FMLA protects your job but does not pay you. The DC Paid Family Leave program is what covers the paycheck. It is funded entirely by an employer-paid payroll tax of 0.75% of covered wages; employees contribute nothing.⁵

PFL provides up to 12 weeks each for bonding with a new child, caring for a family member with a serious health condition, and dealing with your own serious health condition, plus an additional two weeks for prenatal care.⁶ The maximum weekly benefit is $1,190.³

Self-employed individuals, including sole proprietors and independent contractors, can opt in if at least half their self-employment income comes from work performed in D.C.⁷ That is a rare benefit for freelancers and gig workers.

To claim benefits, apply through the online portal 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.⁸ You will need a claim form and supporting documentation, which for medical or family-care leave means a medical certification or certification of family relationship. Filing a PFL claim does not affect your DC FMLA entitlement, and taking DC FMLA does not affect PFL. One protects the job; the other pays the money.

Your Job and Health Insurance While on Leave

When you return, your employer must restore you to your original position or place you in an equivalent role with the same pay, seniority, and benefits.⁹ Seniority and benefits you accrued before leave are preserved, though you do not accrue more while you are out.

Group health insurance continues at the same level and under the same conditions as if you had never left. You still pay your share of premiums, and if you stop paying, the employer can drop coverage until you return and resume payments.¹⁰

Employers cannot fire, demote, or otherwise retaliate against you for exercising leave rights, filing a complaint, or cooperating with an investigation.¹¹

How to Request Leave

For foreseeable leave, such as a planned surgery or an expected due date, give your employer at least 30 days’ notice.¹² For an emergency or premature birth, give notice as soon as you reasonably can. Send the request to HR or your supervisor, specify whether you are requesting family or medical leave, and identify your anticipated start and return dates. Keep written records.

Your employer can require a medical certification from a healthcare provider to support family leave for a sick relative or medical leave for your own condition. It must include the date the condition started, its expected duration, relevant medical facts, and either a statement that you cannot perform your job or an estimate of how much time you need for caregiving. If the employer doubts the certification, they can require a second opinion from a provider of their choosing at their expense; if that conflicts with the first, a third provider agreed on by both sides is final and binding. Neither the second nor third provider can be someone the employer or employee regularly uses.¹³

Where DC FMLA and Federal FMLA Differ

If you qualify for both, the two generally run concurrently. A single absence draws from both banks at once rather than stacking them. In practice, you get whichever protection is more generous on any given point:

Employer coverage: federal requires 50 employees within 75 miles; DC has no size floor. Small D.C. employers are covered only by DC law.
Hours worked: federal requires 1,250 hours; DC requires 1,000.
Leave length: federal gives 12 weeks per 12 months; DC gives 16 weeks per 24 months on each of two tracks.
Family member: federal covers spouse, parent, or child. DC extends to anyone related by blood, marriage, or legal custody, plus committed partners who share your home.

One area where federal law goes further: military caregiver leave. Federal FMLA provides up to 26 workweeks in a single 12-month period to care for a covered service member with a serious injury or illness incurred in the line of duty.¹⁴ Eligible caregivers include the service member’s spouse, child, parent, or next of kin. Total FMLA leave in that 12-month period cannot exceed 26 weeks, with no more than 12 weeks for non-military-caregiver reasons. DC law has no equivalent provision.

If Your Rights Are Violated

If your employer denies leave you are entitled to, retaliates against you, or fails to restore your position, you can file a complaint with the DC Office of Human Rights within one year of the alleged violation.¹⁵ You can also file a private lawsuit, where remedies include reinstatement, back pay, compensatory damages, and attorney fees. Consulting an employment attorney early is often what keeps a small misunderstanding from turning into litigation.

1
D.C. Law Library. District of Columbia Code 32-502 – Family Leave Requirement
2
D.C. Law Library. District of Columbia Code 32-503 – Medical Leave Requirement
3
DC Paid Family Leave. Benefits Calculator
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D.C. Law Library. District of Columbia Code 32-501 – Definitions
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DC Paid Family Leave. PFL Tax Rate Change FAQ and Preparation Guidance
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District of Columbia – Paid Family Leave. District of Columbia – Paid Family Leave
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DC Paid Family Leave. Self-Employed
8
DC Paid Family Leave. How To Apply For Benefits
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D.C. Law Library. District of Columbia Code 32-505 – Employment and Benefits Protection
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D.C. Law Library. Subchapter I – Family and Medical Leave
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D.C. Law Library. District of Columbia Code 32-507 – Prohibited Acts
12
U.S. Department of Labor. Fact Sheet 28E – Employee Notice Requirements Under the Family and Medical Leave Act
13
Office of Human Rights. District of Columbia Code 32-504 – Certification
14
U.S. Department of Labor. Military Caregiver Leave for a Current Servicemember Under the Family and Medical Leave Act
15
Office of Human Rights. File a Discrimination Complaint