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Last updated on: July 31st, 2024
Hours & Pay Regulations
Normal Working Hours
Normal working hours shall not exceed more than 40 hours a week.
Employers must pay employees for all time that they are required to be on the work premises, on duty, or at a prescribed location. Employees also must be paid for the time they are permitted to work, time spent traveling for work, and time spent waiting on the work premises for assignments.
District of Columbia minimum wage laws do not address what constitutes a workweek for purposes of its minimum wage and overtime requirements. The standards set forth by the federal Fair Labor Standards Act related to workweek provide reasonable guidance.
FLSA – A workweek consists of seven consecutive 24-hour periods that equal 168 total hours. An employer may choose to begin a workweek on any day of the week and there may be one defined workweek for all employees or different workweeks for different groups of employees or individual employees.
Stand By – District of Columbia minimum wage laws require employers to count time spent by employees waiting on their employer’s premises for work as hours worked for purposes of its minimum wage and overtime requirements.
Show up or Reporting Time – Employers must pay employees for at least 4 hours of work when they report as scheduled or directed by their employer. This rule applies regardless of whether the employee performs any work after reporting. If employees are scheduled to work fewer than 4 hours, employers are only required to pay for the scheduled hours. For show-up or reporting pay:
- Employers must pay the regular rate for time actually worked.
- Employers must pay the standard minimum wage for time not worked.
- The name, address, occupation, and classification of each employee or independent contractor;
- The rate of pay of each employee or method of payment for the independent contractor;
- The classification of each individual as an employee, exempt person, or an independent contractor;
- The amount that is paid each pay period to each employee, exempt person, or independent contractor;
- Other information that the Labor Authority requires by regulation, as necessary.
Split Shift Pay – Employers must pay employees an additional hour at the applicable minimum wage rate for each day they work a split shift. A split shift refers to a daily schedule where an employee’s work hours are not consecutive, excluding meal periods of one hour or less.
Recording Requirement – An employee shall maintain and keep recording for at least 3 years for all hours that each employee, exempt person, or independent contractor works each day and each work week :
Overtime
Any work performed beyond 40 hours in a work week is considered overtime work.
Pay – An employee is entitled to premium pay at the rate of 1.5 times their regular rate for all hours worked excess in a workweek.
Breaks
Under the FLSA, an employee who takes a break that is 20 minutes or less must be paid for their break time at their normal rate. This includes meal, religious, health, and most likely restroom breaks as long as the break is under 20 minutes. An employer does not have to pay an employee for a break if:
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- the break is longer than 20 minutes; and
- the employee is relieved of all work during the break.
Public Holidays
require private employers to provide employees with either paid or unpaid holiday leave. In the District of
Columbia, a private employer can require an employee to work holidays. If an employer chooses to provide
either paid or unpaid holiday leave, it must comply with the terms of its established policy or employment
contract.
Annual Leave
Special Leave
Duration of Sick Leave – All employers in Washington, D.C. must provide paid sick leave to their employees under certain conditions. The required amount of paid sick leave varies based on the size of the employer:
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- Employers with 100 or more employees: At least one hour of paid leave for every 37 hours worked, up to 7 working days per calendar year.
- Employers with 25-99 employees: At least one hour of paid leave for every 43 hours worked, up to 5 working days per calendar year.
- Employers with 24 or fewer employees: At least one hour of paid leave for every 87 hours worked, up to 3 working days per calendar year.
Restaurants or bars: Tipped employees must receive at least one hour of paid leave for every 43 hours worked, up to 5 working days per calendar year.
Usage of Leave: Employees start accruing paid sick leave from their date of hire according to the employer’s pay period. They can use accrued leave after 90 days of employment for:
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- Their own illness or injury,
- Caring for a family member with an illness or injury, or
- Obtaining social or legal services related to stalking, domestic violence, or sexual abuse involving the employee or their family member.
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Sick Leave Coincides with Other Leaves – An employee’s use of paid sick leave may not run concurrently with other leaves.
Notice Requirement – If an employee is absent for 3 or more consecutive days, an employer may require the employee to provide a reasonable certification, such as a signed document from a health care provider.
The maximum duration for each type of paid leave within a 52-workweek period is as follows:
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- 12 workweeks of qualifying parental leave
- 12 workweeks of qualifying family leave
- 12 workweeks of qualifying medical leave
- 2 work weeks of qualifying pre-natal leave.
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Employees have the option to combine prenatal and parental leave, allowing for a total leave period of up to 14 weeks. The employer contribution rate to fund leave benefits has been reduced from 0.62% to 0.26% of gross wages.
Duration of Leave- Employers with 20 or more employees must provide eligible employees with unpaid family and medical leave. Eligible employees are entitled to:
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- 16 weeks of unpaid family leave
- 16 weeks of unpaid medical leave
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The leave can be taken within 24 months.
Usage of Leave: Eligible employees can use their leave for:
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- The birth of the employee’s child
- The placement of a child with the employee for adoption or foster care
- The permanent placement of a child with the employee where the employee assumes and discharges parental responsibility
- The employee’s own serious health condition
- The care of a family member with a serious health condition.
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Eligibility Criteria: An employee must qualify for unpaid family and medical leave when they:
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- Have worked for the employer for at least one year, excluding regular holidays, sick, or personal leave granted by the employer.
- Have accumulated at least 1,000 hours of service with the same employer over 12 consecutive or non-consecutive months within the last 7 years.
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A “family member” includes –
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- Individuals related by blood, legal custody, or marriage
- Those who share a mutual residence and committed relationship with the employee
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Timing for Leave: Leave for the birth or placement of a child must be used within 12 months of the event.
Spouses Working for the Same Employer: Must share the leave if it is taken for the birth or placement of a child.
Intermittent Leave: Leave can be taken intermittently when dealing with a serious health condition of the employee or a family member.
Reduced Leave Schedule: With mutual agreement, family leave for the birth, adoption, foster care, or placement of a child can be taken on a reduced leave schedule over up to 24 consecutive weeks.
Substitution of Leave: Employees have the option to use their accrued paid family, vacation, personal, or compensatory leave to cover unpaid family and medical leave. Additionally, they may take advantage of an employer-run program that allows the use of paid leave donated by other employees, provided certain conditions are met.
Eligibility Criteria – A parent includes:
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- The natural mother or father
- A person with legal custody of the child
- A person acting as a guardian (regardless of legal appointment)
- An aunt, uncle, or grandparent of the child
- A person married to, or in a domestic partnership with, a qualifying parent.
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Eligible individuals can now take up to 2 workweeks of prenatal leave for new qualifying reasons, which is separate from and in addition to the parental leave already available under the program. The qualifying reasons for prenatal leave include:
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- routine and specialty appointments, exams, and treatments associated with a pregnancy provided by a health care provider, including pre-natal check-ups and ultrasounds;
- treatment for pregnancy complications;
- bedrest that is required or prescribed by a health care provider; and
- pre-natal physical therapy.
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Breastfeeding break- An employee is entitled to reasonable daily unpaid breaks, as needed, to express breast milk for her child. These breaks can be taken concurrently with any other break periods already provided. The law also requires that employers make reasonable efforts to provide a clean, private space for milk expression, separate from bathrooms or toilet stalls. This space may include a nearby childcare facility.
An employer shall not deprive an employee of employment, threaten, or otherwise coerce an employee with respect to employment because the employee receives a summons, responds to a summons, serves as a juror, or attends Court for prospective jury service.
City employees are allowed up to 30 days of paid leave for organ donation. (§1–612.03b).
If a private employer offers a donor paid leave, it may claim a tax credit equal to 25% of a donor’s salary during a period of up to 30 days for organ donation. (§47–1807.08).
