District of Columbia Paid Leave Calculator: DC Paid Family Leave Benefits (2026)

How much does DC Paid Family Leave pay in District of Columbia?

DC Paid Family Leave (Universal Paid Leave) pays 90 percent of your average weekly wage up to 150 percent of the District minimum wage times 40 hours ($1,104 from July 1, 2026), plus 50 percent of the rest, capped at $1,190 a week for the benefit year that started October 1, 2025. A worker on $1,500 a week receives about $1,190, 79 percent of pay. Benefits run for up to 12 weeks in a benefit year for all reasons combined. Waiting period: none; the former one-week waiting period was removed in 2022. To qualify you need more than half your working time in the District for a covered private employer in the 52 weeks before the event, with no minimum tenure. The program is funded by a 0.75 percent employer-paid payroll tax; nothing is deducted from employees. The threshold moves with the District minimum wage every July 1 and the cap is indexed every October 1. Figures effective July 1, 2026, checked September 14, 2026.

How is the District of Columbia weekly benefit calculated?

DC Paid Family Leave (Universal Paid Leave) pays 90 percent of your average weekly wage up to 150 percent of the District minimum wage times 40 hours ($1,104 from July 1, 2026), plus 50 percent of the rest, capped at $1,190 a week for the benefit year that started October 1, 2025. The state works out your average weekly wage from the wages your employers reported for the base period, not from your current pay stub, so a recent raise or a change of hours may not be reflected yet.

Three examples with the current figures. A District of Columbia worker earning $800 a week receives about $720, which is 90 percent of pay. At $1,500 a week the benefit is $1,190, or 79 percent. At $3,000 a week it is $1,190, because the $1,190 weekly maximum applies, or 40 percent. Anyone earning about $1,500 a week or more in the District of Columbia receives the maximum, so the share of pay replaced keeps falling as wages rise above that. There is no weekly minimum.

How many weeks does DC Paid Family Leave pay?

Up to 12 weeks each of medical, family, and parental leave, plus 2 weeks of prenatal leave, but no more than 12 weeks of all types combined in a 52-week period (14 when parental and prenatal leave are combined). The calculator caps the weeks you enter at the limit for the leave type you choose and shows the total, so you can see at a glance what 12 weeks would be worth at your wage.

Waiting period: None; the former one-week waiting period was removed in 2022. Where a program has an unpaid first week, most employers let you cover it with sick leave or PTO, and several states require them to allow it if you ask.

Who qualifies for DC Paid Family Leave?

Spent more than half of your working time in the District for a covered private employer during some or all of the 52 weeks before the qualifying event. No minimum tenure or hours.

Who pays for it: Employers pay 0.75 percent of each covered employee's wages; nothing is deducted from employees. The benefit itself comes from the state fund or an approved private plan, not from your employer's payroll, which is why it continues if you change jobs during the base period and why it is separate from any company parental or sick leave you also have.

Is your job protected while you receive DC Paid Family Leave?

The benefit carries no job protection of its own. Protection comes from the DC Family and Medical Leave Act (employers with 20 or more employees, 12 months and 1,000 hours of service) and the federal FMLA.

The state job-protection law that applies in the District of Columbia: D.C. FMLA: 16 weeks family plus 16 weeks medical leave per 24 months, employers with 20 or more (D.C. Code 32-501 ff.). The federal FMLA adds 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave for employees with 12 months of service and 1,250 hours at an employer with 50 or more employees, and where both apply the paid benefit and the FMLA run at the same time rather than back to back.

When do the District of Columbia figures change?

The 90 percent threshold follows the District minimum wage, which rises every July 1 ($18.40 an hour from July 2026); the cap is indexed every October 1, so a new maximum applies to claims from October 1, 2026. The figures on this page took effect on July 1, 2026 and were checked on September 14, 2026 against the amounts published by DC Department of Employment Services, Office of Paid Family Leave. Statute: D.C. Code 32-541.01 ff. (Universal Paid Leave Amendment Act of 2016).