Paid Family Leave Planner · Paid leave by state
Paid leave in District of Columbia
Weeks, pay, and how to stack it - the District of Columbia programs below, with the official sources and the dates the rules were checked.
State rules checked 2026-11-10 (rules file v1.0.1).
The programs
Universal Paid Leave
90% of wages on the first $1,077/week, 50% above that, up to $1,100/week.
12 weeks parental and 10 weeks medical, but the combined maximum is 12 weeks of paid leave in a 52-week period.
Maximum $1,100/week. No waiting period.
Changed Oct 1, 2026: the weekly max dropped from $1,190 to $1,100, medical leave went from 12 to 10 weeks, and family caregiving from 12 to 6. Parental leave stayed at 12 weeks.
Rules effective October 1, 2026. Source: DC Office of Paid Family Leave - program updates (official), checked 2026-11-10.
How it stacks
One program - Universal Paid Leave - covers both recovery and bonding. Medical weeks and family weeks come out of one combined limit: 12 weeks.
One program covers recovery and parental leave, up to a combined maximum. File through the DC Office of Paid Family Leave.
Federal FMLA job protection, if you qualify, runs at the same time as the paid weeks. It does not add paid weeks after them. Employer paid leave, a short-term disability policy, and PTO can fill the unpaid gaps - the calculator stacks all of it on one timeline.
Job protection
DC's Universal Paid Leave pays money; it does not itself protect your job. Job protection comes from the DC Family and Medical Leave Act and federal FMLA, if you qualify.
Federal FMLA gives up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave if you qualify: employer with 50+ employees within 75 miles, 12+ months on the job, and 1,250+ hours worked in the last year. It pays nothing. It runs at the same time as paid leave, not after it.
Questions
- How much does paid leave pay in District of Columbia?
- Universal Paid Leave: 90% of wages on the first $1,077/week, 50% above that, up to $1,100/week.
- How many weeks of paid leave do you get in District of Columbia?
- Universal Paid Leave: 12 weeks parental and 10 weeks medical, but the combined maximum is 12 weeks of paid leave in a 52-week period.
- When do these rates apply from?
- Universal Paid Leave rates apply from October 1, 2026. Figures checked 2026-11-10.
- Does District of Columbia paid leave protect your job?
- DC's Universal Paid Leave pays money; it does not itself protect your job. Job protection comes from the DC Family and Medical Leave Act and federal FMLA, if you qualify.
- How do you file, and in what order?
- One program covers recovery and parental leave, up to a combined maximum. File through the DC Office of Paid Family Leave.