June 2022: DC Workers Will Soon Receive More Paid Leave, Employers to Obtain Tax Cut

Update Applicable to:
All employers in Washington, D.C.

What happened?
On June 7, 2022, the District of Columbia Council passed the Fiscal Year 2023 Budget Support Act of 2022 (the Act), which includes statutory changes that are necessary to implement the budget and amends, among other items, the Universal Paid Leave Act (UPLA) to expand the amount of leave available to 12 weeks of parental, family, and medical leave.

What are the details?
Effective October 1, 2022, the number of weeks of paid leave available to eligible employees in the District of Columbia pursuant to the UPLA will significantly increase due to a surplus in the District of Columbia’s Universal Paid Leave Fund.

The maximum amount of leave that can be taken within a 52-workweek period will increase from eight weeks to 12 weeks, regardless of the number of qualifying leave events in that 52-week period, with an exception when an employee takes both prenatal and parental leave.  In that circumstance, the employee can “stack” leave and receive both prenatal and parental leave, i.e., for a total leave time of up to 14 weeks.  However, an employee may not receive any combination of prenatal leave and medical leave that exceeds the maximum allowed amount (to be set at 12 weeks).  

In addition, as of July 1, 2022, DC employers’ contributions to the Universal Paid Leave Fund will be reduced from 0.62% to 0.26% of an employee’s salary.  Under the Act, the council will also make the elimination of the one-week waiting period permanent.

For more information, please see the links below:

Universal Paid Leave Act (UPLA)

Article

What do employers need to do?
Employers should review the links provided above, prepare to implement the expanded leave provision in anticipation and make adjustments to their paid leave policies to ensure they are in compliance with the law.