District of Columbia program
Your job held while you care for your child
DC family leave protects eligible workers' jobs while they care for a family member.
What it is
DC family leave protects eligible workers' jobs while they care for a family member.
District family leave can protect your job during a child's serious illness. It requires enough service and hours at a covered employer. The leave itself is unpaid, and any wage replacement needs its own check.
Eligibility rules
- Twelve months with the same employer, consecutive or not, in the last seven years, and at least 1,000 hours in the preceding 12 months. The employer must have 20 or more people in the District. The employer definition includes the District government.
- Work in the District.
What you get
- Up to 16 workweeks of protected family leave within 24 months.
Service and other leave
- The law includes the District government. A separate 16 workweeks of medical leave can cover the employee’s own serious health condition.
If you decide to apply
- Ask human resources for the DC family leave process and required medical certification.
- Have your employment dates, hours worked and proposed leave dates ready.
Your employer · Official page ↗
Good to know
District paid leave can run during the same absence. These weeks are not automatically added together.
Official sources
“Would DC family leave hold my job while I care for our child? How would it overlap with other leave, and could you help me ask HR for a written answer?”
Why I’m asking: I want to understand how long my job can be protected and what happens to our pay.
More background and detailed requirements
Additional program information and published rules
Who does what
The three parts, side by side. The agency decides; nobody on this page does.
You
Ask in writing, before you resign or cut hours, and keep the reply.
Your social worker
Human resources confirms your eligibility and the paperwork.
The care team
A clinician certifies the child's condition if the employer asks.
- Who decides
- Your employer applies the law; the District enforces it.
- Ask HR
- “I am requesting DC family leave to care for my child. Does this employer have 20 or more people in the District, and does this run at the same time as District paid leave?”
How to apply
First step: Write to human resources this week asking for DC family leave, and keep a copy.
- Ask human resources in writing for family leave before you change anything about your hours.
- Ask whether it runs at the same time as District paid leave, because it does.
- Get the answer in writing.
Official application / program page ↗
Where it starts: Ask human resources in writing for DC family leave, and ask what certification they need.
What to gather
The diagnosis letter, the child’s insurance card, and the last two pay stubs cover most applications. The official page lists the rest.
How long: Up to 16 workweeks in any 24-month period.
What a yes looks like
A written approval naming the dates and confirming your job is held.
What a no looks like, and the next move
Ask which test you failed, the 20 people, the 12 months or the 1,000 hours, then ask about federal family leave.
Watch out
- Ask before you resign; afterwards there is no job to hold.
- District paid leave runs at the same time as this, not on top of it.
If they say no, quote this: D.C. Code § 32-502: 16 workweeks of family leave in any 24-month period; § 32-516 applies it to an employer with 20 or more persons in the District.
The numbers and the rules
The arcane layer, kept on purpose. Checked September 11, 2026.
What it is worth
Sixteen workweeks of family leave in 24 months with your job held, at an employer with 20 or more people in DC.
- $16 — Workweeks of family leave in any 24-month period
- $20 — Employer size floor, people employed in the District
- $1,000 — Hours worked in the preceding 12 months
Legal protection: Your job and your place are held while you take the leave · A separate 16 workweeks of medical leave if the parent's own health fails
What it costs the family: The leave itself is unpaid; District paid leave is what pays you during it.
The eligibility facts, as published
- Other
- Twelve months with the same employer, consecutive or not, in the last seven years, and at least 1,000 hours in the preceding 12 months. The employer must have 20 or more people in the District. The employer definition includes the District government.
- Residency
- Work in the District
The trap: Ask before you resign. Once you have resigned there is no job to hold.
Where I read this
- D.C. Code § 32-502 — Family leave — Council of the District of Columbia, read September 10, 2026
- D.C. Code § 32-516 — Applicability — Council of the District of Columbia, read September 10, 2026
- D.C. Code § 32-501 — Definitions — Council of the District of Columbia, read September 10, 2026
- D.C. Code § 32-503 — Medical leave requirement — Council of the District of Columbia, read September 10, 2026
- D.C. Code § 32-541.07 — Coordination of benefits — Council of the District of Columbia, read September 10, 2026