FMLA in District of Columbia: Federal Rules, State Leave Laws, and an Eligibility Calculator (2026)

How does FMLA work in the District of Columbia?

The federal FMLA applies in the District of Columbia exactly as it does everywhere: up to 12 workweeks of unpaid, job-protected leave in a 12-month period for employees with 12 months of service, 1,250 hours worked in the prior 12 months, and 50 or more employees within 75 miles of their worksite, at a private employer with 50 or more employees or any public agency or school. The District of Columbia adds D.C. Family and Medical Leave Act (DCFMLA), which covers employers with 20 or more employees in the District and gives 16 weeks of family leave plus 16 weeks of medical leave in a 24-month period. DC Paid Family Leave (Universal Paid Leave) pays a benefit during the leave, paid sick leave is mandated by the Accrued Sick and Safe Leave Act, and there is no bereavement leave mandate. Where the state statute and the FMLA both apply they run at the same time. Checked September 15, 2026.

Does the federal FMLA apply in the District of Columbia?

Yes, and identically to every other state. The federal Family and Medical Leave Act gives an eligible employee up to 12 workweeks of unpaid, job-protected leave in a 12-month period for a serious health condition, a new child, care for a spouse, parent, or child with a serious health condition, or a military exigency, and up to 26 weeks to care for a seriously injured servicemember. To be eligible you need 12 months of service with the employer, 1,250 hours actually worked in the 12 months before the leave, and a worksite with 50 or more employees within 75 miles. Private employers are covered at 50 or more employees on the payroll in 20 or more workweeks; public agencies and schools are covered at any size.

The three employee tests are measured on the day the leave starts, and the third one is the one that surprises people in the District of Columbia: a covered employer with a small branch has a worksite where nobody is eligible if fewer than 50 employees work at that branch and at other sites within 75 road miles. Hours actually worked in the prior 12 months decide the 1,250-hour test; paid time off and holidays do not count. The calculator on this page runs all three tests and, when one fails, names the date or the hours that would satisfy it.

What District of Columbia leave laws add to the FMLA

One state statute sits on top of the FMLA in the District of Columbia. D.C. Family and Medical Leave Act (DCFMLA) (D.C. Code 32-501 ff.) applies to employers with 20 or more employees in the District and gives 16 weeks of family leave plus 16 weeks of medical leave in a 24-month period for own serious health condition, birth, adoption, foster placement, care for a family member. Eligibility: 12 months of employment and 1,000 hours in the prior 12 months. It widens the family circle beyond the FMLA's spouse, parent, and minor child to include anyone related by blood, legal custody, or marriage, a child who lives with the employee, and a person the employee shares a mutual residence with in a committed relationship. Runs concurrently with the federal FMLA for the first 12 weeks; the remaining DCFMLA weeks are state-only.

Is FMLA leave paid in the District of Columbia?

The FMLA itself pays nothing. Whether the 12 weeks are paid depends on the state program, any disability insurance, and the employer's own paid leave, which may be substituted for the unpaid leave under 29 CFR 825.207. District of Columbia runs DC Paid Family Leave (Universal Paid Leave): benefits since July 2020. Up to 12 weeks per year across parental, family, and medical leave, plus 2 weeks prenatal. It covers the employee's own serious health condition as well as bonding and family care, so there is no separate disability program. DC Paid Family Leave pays money only; the job is protected by DCFMLA or the federal FMLA when their tests are met.

While the state benefit is paid the leave is not unpaid, so an employer may not require PTO to run at the same time; several programs let the employee top up to full pay with PTO if the employer agrees. Paid sick leave is mandated statewide by the Accrued Sick and Safe Leave Act, accruing at 1 hour per 37 to 87 hours worked (tiered by employer size) up to 3 to 7 days/year (tiered by employer size). Those hours can be substituted for unpaid FMLA leave. The District of Columbia paid leave calculator linked below estimates the weekly benefit under the current formula and cap.

Bereavement, sick leave, and the smaller District of Columbia statutes

Bereavement: District of Columbia has no statewide bereavement leave mandate for private employers, and the federal FMLA does not cover bereavement either, so time off after a death comes from the employer's policy or from paid sick or PTO balances where the policy allows it.

The smaller statutes a multi-state employer has to carry in the District of Columbia, one line each.

How the 12-month period and the calculator work in the District of Columbia

The federal entitlement in the District of Columbia is 12 workweeks in the 12-month period the employer has chosen: calendar year, a fixed leave year, 12 months forward from first use, or a rolling 12 months measured backward from each day of leave. The method must be applied to everyone, disclosed in the rights and responsibilities notice, and changed only on 60 days' written notice. Under the rolling method every hour returns 12 months after the day it was taken; under the other three the full entitlement returns on one date. D.C. Family and Medical Leave Act (DCFMLA) runs on its own clock (16 weeks of family leave plus 16 weeks of medical leave in a 24-month period), which is not necessarily the employer's federal 12-month method, so District of Columbia employers keep two balances for an employee who qualifies under both, and the calculator below tracks the federal one.

The calculator on this page is preset to the District of Columbia. Run the eligibility panel as of the leave start date, convert the schedule into hours (480 for a 40-hour week), then enter the leave taken and the employer's method to see the hours available today, the hours available on a future date, and, under the rolling method, the dates on which used hours come back.

Sources and last check

This page was checked on September 15, 2026 against DC Office of Human Rights, DCFMLA; DC Department of Employment Services, Paid Family Leave; D.C. Code 32-501 ff. The federal rules are 29 U.S.C. 2601 ff. and 29 CFR Part 825. State thresholds and programs change, most often on January 1; the paid leave figures on the linked calculator carry their own effective dates.