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The Fair Labor Standards Act does not require payment for time not worked. This type of benefit is generally a matter of agreement between an employer and an employee (or the employee’s representative). Employers, however, do need to comply with applicable state laws.
The District of Columbia requires that for grand jury or petit jury service of five days or less, employers with 10 or more employees must pay full-time employees their usual wage, minus any jury duty fees paid to that employee.
The District of Columbia law requires state government employees to be paid their normal wages while serving jury duty.
The District of Columbia does not have any laws requiring an employer to provide employees either paid or unpaid leave to vote.
In the District of Columbia, if employers allow employees up to 30 days paid leave to serve as organ donors and up to seven days paid leave to serve as bone marrow donors without loss or reduction in any medical, personal credit for time or service or other paid leave provided, the employer will be allowed a tax credit. The credit can be up to 25 percent of the regular salary paid during the taxable year for the leave of absence.
The D.C. Accrued Sick and Safe Leave Act of 2008 applies to legal entities that employ at least one employee. Employers include joint employers, such as those that use temporary staffing agencies.
D.C. employers need to provide paid sick leave to eligible employees. The term “employee” does not include independent contractors; students; health care workers who choose to participate in a premium pay program; volunteers with educational, charitable, religious, or nonprofit organizations; laypersons who work for religious organizations; or casual babysitters who work in an employer’s residence.
The term “employee” does include temporary employees as well as restaurant and bar employees who regularly receive tips.
Employees are generally those employed by you, including temporary employees. There are some exceptions, such as independent contractors; however, there is no real eligibility criteria. The employee must accrue leave before taking it.
Employees accrue paid leave according to your established pay period, and begin accruing upon employment. Employees may begin to access their accrued paid leave after 90 days of service. If an employee completes 90 days of service, is discharged, but then returns within 12 months, he or she may access paid leave immediately upon return.
If an employee does not use accrued paid leave during a 12-month period, it is carried over annually. Employees cannot use more than the maximum allowed in one year, unless the employer chooses otherwise.
Unused, accrued paid leave need not be reimbursed upon termination or resignation.
Employees may, if the employer agrees, choose to work additional hours or shifts during the same or next pay period in lieu of hours or shifts missed. In this situation, the employee may not use paid leave as long as the extra work was not required by the employer.
If an employee doesn't lose income because of an absence, you need not provide paid leave. For example, if an exempt employee takes time off but does not lose any wages because of the absence, he would not be able to take paid, accrued leave. The employee would need to suffer a loss of income in order to take advantage of paid leave under this law.
The amount of leave an employee may take depends upon how many employees are working for a particular company.
An employer with 100 or more employees must provide one hour of paid leave for every 37 hours worked, not to exceed seven days per calendar year.
An employer with at least 25 but not more than 99 employees must provide one hour of paid leave for every 43 hours worked, not to exceed five days per calendar year.
An employer with 24 or fewer employees must provide one hour of paid leave for every 87 hours worked, not to exceed three days per calendar year.
An employer with a paid leave policy, such as a paid time-off program or universal leave policy, is not required to modify the policy if it allows employees to accrue and use leave under terms and conditions that are at least equivalent to the paid leave prescribed in this act.
Determine the number of employees by looking at the average monthly number of full-time equivalent employees for the previous calendar year. Calculate the average monthly number by adding the total monthly full-time equivalent employees for each month and dividing by 12.
Leave taken under the DC Accrued Safe and Sick leave may run concurrently with other leaves, as long as all parameters are met for each law.
Paid leave may be used by an employee for an absence:
Paid leave shall be provided upon the written request of an employee upon notice. The request shall include a reason for the absence involved and the expected duration of the paid leave. If the paid leave is foreseeable, the request shall be provided at least 10 days, or as early as possible, in advance. If the paid leave is unforeseeable, an oral request for paid leave shall be provided prior to the start of the work shift for which the paid leave is requested. In the case of an emergency, the employer shall be notified prior to the start of the next work shift or within 24 hours of the onset of the emergency, whichever occurs sooner.
An employer may require that paid leave for three or more consecutive days be supported by reasonable certification. Reasonable certification may include:
If certification is required, the employee shall provide a copy of the certification to the employer upon the employee’s return to work.
Employers must post and maintain in a conspicuous place a notice that sets forth excerpts from or summarizes the pertinent provisions of the law and information that pertains to the filing of a complaint. The mayor is to provide this notice to employers. No liability for failure to post notice will arise if the mayor has failed to provide the notice.
Employers are to keep related records for at least three years.
Contacts
Jury duty
District of Columbia Department of Labor
Voting
None.
Organ and marrow donation
State regulations
Jury duty
Voting
The District of Columbia doesn’t have a time off for voting provision.
Organ and marrow donation
District of Columbia Code; Title 47 - Taxation, Licensing, Permits, Assessments, and Fees; Chapter 18 – Income and Franchise Taxes; Subchapter VII – Tax on Corporations and Financial Institutions; §-1807-08 (Lexis-Nexis)
Safe and Sick Leave
Title 7 of the DC Municipal Regulations, Chapter 32, Accrued Safe and Sick Leave
Contacts
None.
Statutes/Regulations
None.