Policy Resource

District of Columbia Passes Progressive Paid Family and Medical Leave Law

Mar 10, 2017

The District of Columbia Council gave final approval for a Paid Family and Medical Leave law enacted in 2017 and effective July 2020.

The bill, which passed with a veto-proof majority of nine to four, provides private-sector employees with eight weeks of leave to bond with a new child, six weeks of leave to care for an ill or injured family member, and two weeks of leave to recover from a medical condition. The city will reimburse workers with 90 percent of the first $900 they earn in a week, and pay 50 percent of their remaining weekly pay, with a cap of $1,000 per week. The program will be paid for with a new 0.62 percent payroll tax on employers that is estimated to generate $250 million annually. The new law will not apply to federal government or D.C. government employees. D.C. joins California, Rhode Island, New Jersey, New York, Washington, Massachusetts, and several other municipalities in providing such a benefit.

Updated February 2019

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