Beginning July 1, 2019, and no later than July 31, 2019, all District of Columbia private employers must begin reporting and paying an employer assessment that will fund the District's universal paid family leave program. The employer assessment is equal to 0.62% of covered employees' gross wages for the quarter. Unlike other recently enacted state paid leave programs, the District's program is funded 100% by employers, and employers are not allowed to deduct any of the assessment from employee wages.

Note that the misleading effective date of July 1, 2019, does not mean that the third quarter 2019 is the first quarter of required reporting. Employers must report gross employee wages from April 1, 2019 through June 30, 2019 (second quarter 2019) and pay 0.62% of these gross wages beginning July 1, 2019. The final deadline for reporting and paying for the quarter is July 31, 2019.

Although the program bases the definition of employee wages on the state unemployment insurance (SUI) law, there is no wage limit, as is provided for under SUI law (i.e., the $9,000 taxable wage limit for SUI tax computation purposes). As a result, District employers will pay 0.62% of gross employee wages.

A covered employer is any individual, partnership, general contractor, subcontractor, association, corporation, business trust, or any group of persons who directly or indirectly or through an agent or any other person, including through the services of a temporary services or staffing agency or similar entity, employs or exercises control over the wages, hours, or working conditions of an employee and is required to pay SUI taxes to the District. This includes nonprofit employers, whether they choose to pay quarterly SUI taxes or reimburse the District for unemployment charges.

Covered employees are those part-time, full-time, temporary and seasonal workers who spend more than 50% of their time working in the District. Business owners who are on their company's payroll and pay themselves as workers, are considered covered workers. Also covered are those workers whose employment is based in the District and employees:

• Who regularly and customarily spend their work day at the District site of the covered employer and not more than 50% of their work time for that covered employer in another jurisdiction
• Whose work time spent at another worksite outside of the District is incidental in nature; is temporary or transitory in nature; or consists of isolated transactions

Employers should download the District's employer's toolkit for further information on determining which of their employees are covered under the program.

Covered employers are required to report and pay electronically using the same Employer Self-Service Portal (ESSP) that they use for filing and paying SUI taxes. However, reporting and paying for paid family leave is separate from SUI tax reporting and paying. Businesses with five workers or fewer that do not have computer access may request to file on paper.

Employers are required to post a notice about the paid family leave program at each worksite in a place that is accessible to all workers. Employers must also send a poster to covered workers who work remotely or predominately telework so that they can hang the posters at their individual worksites. Employers must also provide written or electronic notice to employees upon hiring, annually to all workers, and whenever an employer becomes aware that paid family leave is needed. See the employer's toolkit for examples of when and where employers should notify employees of the program. Violations of the notice requirements may result in a civil penalty of $100 for each covered worker who did not receive and individual notice and $100 for each day that a covered employer failed to post the notice in a conspicuous place at each worksite.

As for SUI, employers must keep employee records related to the paid family leave for three years and must allow access to these records by the District.

Beginning July 1, 2020, private sector employees in the District will have access to eight weeks of paid parental leave, six weeks of paid family leave and two weeks of paid medical leave. The weekly benefit amount will be 90% of the worker's average weekly wage, up to a maximum of $1,000 per week.

Self-employed individuals may opt into the paid leave program, paying 0.62% on their total gross earnings from all their self-employed business that is performed in the District at least 50% of their time. Specific requirements apply (see Chapter 2 of the employer toolkit.)

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