Once each month, 904 Millennials like you receive my free personal finance tips & links

Financial Planning for Millennials in Washington, DC

DC Parental Leave: Everything Parents Need to Know in 2024

Financial Education

March 28, 2024

Get to know DC Paid Family Leave, Washington, DC’s program for those who want to care for loved ones and protect their job security

The DC parental leave program is better than most options in the U.S. Let’s start there.

You’ve likely heard that the United States has one of the worst paid family leave policies in the entire world. Indeed, the U.S. is the only industrialized nation that doesn’t legally mandate some form of paid family leave. And within the United Nations, only seven countries, such as Micronesia and Papua New Guinea, can stake this claim.

American women lose approximately $274,044 in lifetime wages due to insufficient paid leave. Not to mention the benefits that paid family leave (for both men and women) offers. Parental leave supports physical health, mental well-being, and the stability of the entire family.

The good news is that where the federal government has failed, local governments have stepped in. At least in some places. Currently, 11 states and Washington, DC, have passed laws that mandate some paid family and medical leave.

If you work in Washington DC, you fall into this fortunate parental leave category.

Table of Contents: DC Parental Leave: Everything Parents Need to Know in 2024 hide

1 What is Family Leave?

2 What Does DC Paid Family Leave Include?

3 Who Qualifies for DC Paid Family Leave?

4 Who Does Not Qualify for DC Parental Leave?

5 When Should You Apply for DC Paid Family Leave?

6 What Do You Need to Apply for DC Parental Leave?

7 DC Paid Family Leave Benefits vs. Employer Benefits

8 Part-Time Work During DC Paid Family Leave

9 How Does DC Paid Family Leave Apply to Federal Employees?

10 Saving Money Before Taking DC Parental Leave

11 Recommended Reading

What is Family Leave?

Family leave is time off to care for yourself or a family member for the following reasons:

The birth or adoption of a child, or the placement of a child in foster care;
A serious health condition in a family member or yourself; or
The deployment of a family member that requires time off for legal and financial arrangements, as well as time spent with an active duty family member on leave

In the U.S., the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), passed in 1993, allows up to 12 weeks of unpaid family or medical leave. This pales in comparison to most countries around the world. Over 120 countries provide paid family leave and health benefits. Not the United States, though.

And the U.S. federal government has moved slowly to change this reality. President Joe Biden built four weeks of federally-mandated, paid parental leave into his Build Back Better Act. But the legislation ultimately failed to pass in the Senate in 2021.

In the void, local governments have stepped in. To date, Washington, DC, has one of the most generous family leave policies available, called DC Paid Family Leave.

What Does DC Paid Family Leave Include?

If you need to take advantage of the the DC parental leave program, you’re relatively lucky. Most states don’t offer a comparably generous benefit.

On July 1, 2020, the District of Columbia began taxing all private sector employers to cover the DC Paid Family Leave program. The benefit covers twelve weeks of paid leave off in a calendar year. (Or 14 weeks if you also need prenatal care.)

To break it down, the benefit covers up to:

2 weeks of prenatal leave
12 weeks to care for a new child
12 weeks to care for a family member with a serious health condition
12 weeks to care for your own serious health condition

You can receive family leave benefits for multiple types of events in a calendar year. (For example, a sick grandmother and a new baby.) You just can’t receive more than the allotted 12 weeks off.

The maximum amount you can receive from the benefit is $1,049 a week. Your average weekly wage determines your payment. The city averages 4 of your 5 highest-paid financial quarters immediately preceding the family leave event. They then divide that amount by 52.

To estimate your specific payment, you can use this DC Paid Family Leave benefits calculator.

Who Qualifies for DC Paid Family Leave?

The qualifying requirements for DC Paid Family Leave are straightforward. But the rules differ depending on your employment status.

W-2 Employees

You must be a worker who spends a majority of your time (over 50%) working in Washington, DC, during the 52 weeks preceding the family leave event;
You need to report your wages for the purpose of unemployment benefits; and
Your employer must pay taxes into the program at the time of your application.

Self-Employed Workers

You need to opt into the paid leave program (learn how to do so here);
You must earn self-employment income for work performed more than 50% of the time in DC for the 52 weeks preceding the event

Preparing for DC parental leave, but not sure about your qualifications? You can answer a questionnaire on the DC Paid Family Leave website. Alternatively, you can ask your employer. The law mandates that employers answer your parental leave questions.

People of all genders can apply for the program. Let’s say you’re a new parent raising a child with another person. In your case, both parents can apply for DC parental leave. Woman, man, non-binary, queer, it doesn’t matter. The benefits covers everyone.

Some parents prefer to take time off together. But others take their parental leave at different times in order to maximize savings on childcare. Washington, DC is the most expensive city in the U.S. for childcare. The average cost of a nanny in the District is $855 per week. So for some families, the latter option might be most financially prudent.

In the three years since the DC government enacted the program, DC Paid Family Leave has made an enormous impact on the lives of families in the area.

According to a DC Department of Employment Services (DOES) January 2021 report, more than 80% of applicants identify as Black, Hispanic, Asian or multi-racial. Additionally, over 40% of applications have incomes of less than $50.

Who Does Not Qualify for DC Parental Leave?

You don’t qualify for DC Paid Family Leave if you’re unemployed at the time of your family event. You also don’t qualify if you’re receiving long-term disability payments. Similarly, you don’t qualify if you’re receiving unemployment compensation benefits.

When Should You Apply for DC Paid Family Leave?

In short, as soon as possible.

You cannot apply for benefits until a family event has occurred. But if you wait more than 30 days after a qualifying event, then you will only qualify to request benefits for leave in the future. For example, you don’t want to wait more than 30 days after the birth of a child. Let’s say you file a claim within 30 days of the event, though. Then, you can request benefits for dates you were on leave in the past.

In other words, you can recover in the hospital and get your family home. Then, in the first few weeks with your newborn, request DC parental leave payment for the weeks that you were giving birth and adjusting.

Again, you can apply for multiple DC Paid Family Leave events in a single year. You just cannot exceed 12 weeks of benefits in any given year. The only exception occurs when DC grants you two weeks of prenatal leave, giving you 14 weeks of benefits in total. Keep in mind that only those who need medical care during pregnancy can receive prenatal leave.

Finally, parents have a full year to apply for DC parental leave benefits. So if your partner gave birth on August 1, 2024, you have until July 31, 2025 to take your leave. This rule also applies if you assumed guardianship for a sibling’s child or adopted or fostered a child. But if you don’t take parental leave within the year, you lose the benefit.

What Do You Need to Apply for DC Parental Leave?

To avoid unnecessary stress, you may want to organize your paperwork before your a family leave event, such as a birth, takes place.

Information You’ll Need

Your full name and date of birth
Your social security or individual taxpayer number
Contact information, including an email address
Your employer’s company name (unless self-employed)
Contact information for your employer (for example, a human resources officer)
The type of qualifying leave that you seek (DC parental leave, family leave, or medical leave)
The dates which you expect to be out of work
The type of leave you will be taking: intermittent or continuous (more on that below)

Supporting Documentation

A birth certificate
A hospital admission form
A document from a medical provider who provided care to your newborn child
A court document that shows the date you took custody of a child
A document from the foster or adoption agency showing the date of placement

Specific Prenatal Leave Requirements

You’ll need a Prenatal Leave Medical Certification Form. Your health care provider will fill out this form, which outlines the type of prenatal care you need. The form also confirms the dates you were pregnant.

Specific Family Leave Requirements

You’ll need a certification of the family relationship. If you don’t have a birth certificate or court documents that prove your relationship, your signature will suffice. You’ll also need a Family Leave Medical Certificate. Your health care provider will fill out this form to prove that a family member requires care.

Specific Medical Leave Requirements

You’ll need a Medical Leave Medical Certification Form. A doctor, nurse practitioner, or clinical psychologist must complete this form.

DC Paid Family Leave Benefits vs. Employer Benefits

Accordingly to DC parental leave rules, you can’t receive compensation at work while also collecting benefits from the DC Paid Family Leave program. You can’t say, for example, that you’re on paternity leave. Then get a check, but also still go into your job every day. Your employer reports the wages that you receive.

You may, however, receive parental leave payments from your employer or its insurance company, and then still also tap the benefits from DC Paid Family Leave. You also may collect pay outs from your employer for vacation or sick days.

An important rule to remember: you must give your employer 10 days’ notice that you’re taking DC Paid Family Leave.

Preferably, you do this in writing. In an e-mail, for instance, you can note how long you expect to be on leave. You also should detail the schedule, especially if you plan to take the leave in chunks. You would want to outline that you’re taking two weeks after your baby’s birth, and then another 10 weeks when your partner returns to work.

Part-Time Work During DC Paid Family Leave

Yes, you may work part-time while taking advantage of the DC parental leave program.

Perhaps you typically work two different jobs. Let’s say one of them is in DC, while your other job is based elsewhere. DC Paid Family Leave will compensate you for the days you normally work in the District. But less favorable policies in different jurisdictions may apply to you differently.

Or, maybe you went back to work soon after your child’s birth. But then you struggle to find full-time childcare. Assume your in-laws can watch your child three days a week, and you need to stay home the other two days.

DC refers to this as “intermittent leave,” which you should mark on your application. The District hasn’t paid you yet for a full 12 weeks of leave? Are you within a year of your child’s birth? Then you still should be able to claim benefits for those two days you cannot work.

The other type of DC parental leave, known as “continuous leave,” does not allow you to receive wages for work.

How Does DC Paid Family Leave Apply to Federal Employees?

Federal and District of Columbia government employees do not qualify for DC Paid Family Leave.

However, the Federal Employee Paid Leave Act (FEPLA) mandates that federal employees receive 12 weeks of paid parental leave following the birth or placement of a child. Like DC Paid Family Leave, you must take the leave within 12 months of your child’s birth. And before taking that leave, employees must sign a contract stating that they will return to work for at least 12 weeks when the leave ends.

So ultimately, federal employees can’t use DC Paid Family Leave, but they do have a comparable program available to them.

Saving Money Before Taking DC Parental Leave

Even if you have strong health insurance, you can expect to pay $2,167 for a c-section and $2,147 for a vaginal birth as a DC resident. Out of pocket.

And then, you potentially must deal with DC’s expensive childcare. You may find that you end up spending more than $2,000 each month on childcare when you go back to work.

On top of everything else – including a new 529 college savings plan – you may be thinking, “How will we survive financially, even with DC parental leave?”

You can start small. Even small amounts are a big win, especially over time. Adding extra savings to a high-yield savings account makes a big difference when unexpected child-related costs arise.

As a new, tired parent, your finances don’t need to be perfect. You just want to make sure you don’t miss any easy financial opportunities. And you want to feel the comfort of knowing that you have some extra money to tap as needed.

What Questions About DC Parental Leave Do You Have?

How can I help with your interest in the DC Paid Family Leave program? I encourage you to send me an e-mail at kevin@illumintfc.com with anything else you would like to know. You also can subscribe to my finance podcast for Millennials to learn more how you can maximize the time you have with your family.