Paid parental, family, and medical leave

*NOTE: This section includes amendments by emergency legislation that will expire on November 11, 2026. To view the text of this section after the expiration of all emergency and temporary legislation affecting this section, click this link: Permanent Version.* (a)(1) An eligible employee shall be entitled to receive leave with pay for not more than 8 workweeks total in a 12-month period for any combination of leave as follows: (A) Up to 8 workweeks for qualifying parental leave events; (B) Up to 2 workweeks for qualifying family leave events; and (C) Up to 2 workweeks for qualifying medical leave events. (2)(A) An employee who used unpaid leave or accrued sick or annual leave on or after October 1, 2022, and before January 1, 2023, for a qualifying medical leave event may receive up to 2 workweeks of retroactive paid medical leave; provided, that granting such leave does not cause the employee to exceed the total workweeks of paid leave available pursuant to paragraph (1) of this subsection. (B) To receive retroactive paid medical leave, an employee shall submit a request for such leave on or after January 1, 2023, and before February 28, 2023, to the employee's personnel authority. A request for retroactive paid medical leave shall state the number of workdays, not to exceed 10, for which the employee is seeking retroactive paid medical leave and whether the employee seeks: (i) Restoration of accrued sick leave; (ii) Restoration of accrued annual leave; (iii) Retroactive payment of salary for a period of unpaid leave; or (iv) A combination of restored accrued leave and retroactive payment of salary for a period of unpaid leave. (C) Within 20 business days after timely receipt of a request for retroactive paid medical leave, a personnel authority shall, consistent with the request and paragraph (1) of this subsection, restore the employee's accrued leave and, as appropriate, retroactively pay the employee's salary. (D) Retroactive paid medical leave granted under this paragraph shall count against the 2 workweeks of paid medical leave available under paragraph (1)(C) of this subsection. (b) Repealed. (c) For leave authorized by this section for a qualifying parental, family, medical or pre-natal leave event, the leave: (1) May be exercised by an eligible employee only within the 12-month period following the start of the qualifying leave event or a qualifying pre-natal leave event; (2) May be used in no less than one-hour increments, except that an agency may establish a policy to allow leave to be used in no less than one-day increments if such policy is necessary to avoid additional overtime costs; and (3) Shall count against the 16 workweeks of family leave or medical leave provided under §§ 32-502 and 32-503; and (4) When the leave is qualifying medical or pre-natal leave: (A) The leave shall be available in addition to accrued sick leave available pursuant to § 1-612.03; (B) An employee shall not be required to use or exhaust accrued sick leave prior to the use of medical leave available under this section; and (C) If the qualifying medical leave event is organ or bone marrow donation, the employee may exhaust donor leave available pursuant to § 1-612.03b before using leave under this section. (c-1)(1) To the extent practicable, an eligible employee shall, before using paid leave under this section, provide written notice to the employee's personnel authority or agency of the need for the use of paid leave and of the expected date or dates on which the employee intends to use paid leave. (2) If the employee plans to use paid leave on an intermittent basis, the written notice shall, to the extent practicable, include a schedule of the expected hours during which the employee intends to use paid leave. (3) The written notice shall include a reason for the use of paid leave. (4) If the use of paid leave is foreseeable, the employee shall provide the written notice at least 10 days, or as early as possible, in advance of the use of the paid leave. (5) If the use of paid leave is unforeseeable, the employee shall provide a notification, either oral or written, before the start of the work shift for which the paid leave is being used. (6) In the case of an emergency resulting in the use of paid leave without the opportunity to provide prior notification, the eligible employee, or another individual on behalf of the eligible employee, shall notify the Mayor, either orally or in writing, within 48 hours after the emergency occurs. (7) If the agency determines that the use of paid leave under this section for planned medical treatment, for intermittent leave, or for leave on a reduced leave schedule is likely to interfere with the operations of the agency, the agency and the eligible employee shall engage in good-faith negotiations regarding alternate dates or hours for the use of the paid leave. (d)(1) If an employee using leave under this section is serving in a probationary capacity, the employee shall enter into a one-year continuation of service of agreement, and the employee's probationary period shall be extended by the duration of the leave used. (2) If a probationary employee voluntarily separates in violation of the one-year continuation of service agreement, the individual shall be indebted to the District government for the salary paid during the leave period. Indebtedness incurred pursuant to this paragraph may be treated in whole or in part as an erroneous payment pursuant to subchapter XXIX of this chapter. (d-1)(1) An employee, other than an employee serving in a probationary capacity, using paid parental, family, or medical leave shall enter into a continuation of service agreement. The continuation of service agreement shall require the employee to continue to serve as a District employee for 8 weeks after the employee's return from an approved period of leave. (2) If the employee voluntarily separates in violation of the continuation of service agreement, the individual shall be indebted to the District government for the salary paid during the leave period. Indebtedness incurred pursuant to this paragraph may be treated in whole or in part as an erroneous payment pursuant to subchapter XXIX of this chapter. (e) An eligible employee using leave under this section shall enjoy the same employment and benefit protections afforded to an employee under § 32-505; except, that § 32-505(f) shall not apply to leave taken pursuant to this section. (f)(1) A personnel authority may require that a request for leave under this section be supported by appropriate certification or other supporting documentation. (2) The International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10), or subsequent revisions by the World Health Organization to the International Classification of Diseases, along with any health care provider or caretaker assessments, shall be used to determine the appropriate length of qualifying family leave to which an eligible employee is entitled, based on the serious health condition of the eligible employee's family member, or the appropriate length of qualifying medical leave to which an eligible employee is entitled, based on the serious health condition of the eligible employee, subject to the limits set forth in subsections (a) and (b) of this section. (3) Personnel authorities and agencies shall keep confidential any information regarding the nature of the serious health condition or the family relationship precipitating the request for leave. (g) Each agency shall maintain an accounting of leave used under this section and any records related to its use.