AbsentEase
District of Columbia sick leave law & call-off rules
Washington, D.C. layers three separate leave regimes on every employer: ASSLA sick-and-safe leave accruing on a size-tiered schedule, the Universal Paid Family Leave program (funded by a 0.75% employer payroll tax, paying up to $1,100/week under the benefit cuts that took effect October 1, 2026), and DC FMLA's 16+16 unpaid protected weeks at 20+ employees. ASSLA also says outright that counting protected leave under a no-fault points policy is retaliation. Here is what applies in 2026.
District of Columbia at a glance
| Paid sick leave mandate | Yes — ASSLA, every employer: 7 days (100+) / 5 days (25–99) / 3 days (≤24) per year |
|---|---|
| Attendance points on sick time | Expressly barred by § 32-531.11 |
| Paid Family Leave | 12 weeks parental / 6 family / 10 medical (+2 prenatal) at up to $1,100/week for claims filed Oct 1, 2026–Sept 30, 2030; funded by a 0.75% employer payroll tax |
| DC FMLA | 16 weeks medical + 16 family, unpaid, job-protected, at 20+ employees |
| Voting leave | 2 hours paid, on request |
| Jury duty | Employers with 10+ employees pay the first 5 days (full-time staff) |
| Final paycheck deadline | Fired: next working day · Quit: next payday or 7 days, whichever is earlier |
Is paid sick leave required in District of Columbia?
Yes. The Accrued Sick and Safe Leave Act (D.C. Code § 32-531.01 et seq.) covers every DC employer — size only sets the tier. 100+ employees: 1 hour per 37 worked, up to 7 days a year. 25–99: 1 per 43, up to 5 days. 24 or fewer: 1 per 87, up to 3 days. Tipped restaurant and bar workers accrue at 1 per 43 regardless of size, paid at the full DC minimum wage. Accrual starts at hire; use begins after 90 days.
How District of Columbia's sick leave law works
| Program | Who | What it provides |
|---|---|---|
| ASSLA sick & safe leave | All employers (tiered) | 3–7 paid days/year per the tiers above; carryover required; safe-leave uses included |
| Paid Family Leave | All private employers (0.75% payroll tax) | Up to 12 weeks parental / 6 family / 10 own-medical (12-week combined cap) + 2 prenatal, max $1,100/week for claims filed Oct 1, 2026 through Sept 30, 2030 (family and medical return to 12 weeks for claims filed on or after Oct 1, 2030) — benefits, not job protection |
| DC FMLA | 20+ employees; 1 year + 1,000 hours service | 16 weeks medical + 16 weeks family unpaid, job-protected, per 24 months — far past federal FMLA |
Notice and notes (ASSLA): written request 10 days ahead for foreseeable leave; an oral request before the shift for unforeseeable; emergencies covered by notice within 24 hours. Certification only for absences of 3+ consecutive days — and it must be accepted if provided on return or within one business day after.
The anti-retaliation rule: § 32-531.11 explicitly prohibits counting protected sick/safe leave as an absence that leads to discipline under a no-fault attendance policy — DC wrote the points ban into the statute, and the DOES Office of Wage-Hour enforces it with civil penalties.
The federal floor that still applies
FMLA
Employers with 50+ employees within 75 miles must give eligible employees (12+ months tenure, 1,250+ hours in the past year) up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave for a serious health condition — their own or a close family member's. FMLA-protected absences can't accrue attendance points, and a call-off that mentions an ongoing condition can be notice enough to trigger your FMLA obligations, even if the employee never says "FMLA."
ADA
For employers with 15+ employees, the ADA can require modified attendance expectations or unpaid leave as a reasonable accommodation for a disability. An attendance policy applied "no exceptions" is exactly the kind that loses ADA cases — build an accommodation carve-out into the policy itself.
FLSA overtime and attendance bonuses
A cash bonus promised in advance for good attendance counts as wages under federal overtime law. It has to be added into the regular rate for the weeks it covers, so any of those weeks over 40 hours owes extra overtime on the bonus, usually recalculated after the bonus is paid. State overtime law can add to this, but can't go below it. See how attendance bonuses change overtime pay.
Call-offs, no-call no-shows, and firing in District of Columbia
DC is at-will with a public-policy exception and the broadest human-rights act in the country (20+ protected traits) — but for attendance operations, the three-overlay structure is the real work. A single absence can implicate ASSLA (pointable? never, if protected), PFL (a wage-replacement claim to route), and DC FMLA (16+16 weeks of job protection that outlasts federal FMLA twice over). The classification burden lands at call-off time: which regime does this absence belong to, and which records does it need? Notes are off-limits until day three, and the points ban is statutory rather than interpretive. The DOES Office of Wage-Hour enforces. A call-off hotline or text-based call-off system that captures each report verbatim is the front door all three overlays share.
After a no call, no show termination in District of Columbia
| Does District of Columbia law define job abandonment? | No statute or regulation defines job abandonment; it is set by employer policy. (D.C. Code § 51-110(a)(1), (b)(1)-(2); 7 DCMR §§ 312.2, 312.3, 312.4(k), 312.5, 312.6(c)) |
|---|---|
| Final paycheck if you treat it as a discharge | When an employer discharges an employee, wages earned must be paid not later than the working day following the discharge; an employee responsible for the employer's money may be paid within four days after discharge to allow account verification. Unless the employer pays as required, it owes liquidated damages of 10% of the unpaid wages for each working day the failure continues, capped at an amount equal to treble the unpaid wages (§ 32-1303(4)). (D.C. Code § 32-1303(1); penalty § 32-1303(4)) |
| Final paycheck if you treat it as a resignation | When an employee without a written contract for a period longer than 30 days quits or resigns, wages are due on the next regular payday or within seven days of quitting, whichever is earlier; the statute does not distinguish a quit with notice from a quit without notice. (D.C. Code § 32-1303(2)) |
| Accrued PTO at separation | No state requirement; owed only if your written policy promises it. No D.C. statute requires vacation payout; 'wages' under § 32-1301(3) include other remuneration promised or owed under a written or oral employment contract, and the Office of Wage-Hour's FAQ states that employers need not provide paid vacation and that it will pursue vacation-pay claims only where the employer has a vacation policy, so payout depends on the employer's policy. (D.C. Code § 32-1301(3)(E); DOES Office of Wage-Hour FAQ, 'Vacation Pay') |
| Unemployment claims | D.C. Code § 51-110(a)(1) disqualifies a claimant who left the most recent work voluntarily without good cause connected with the work; § 51-110(b)(1) disqualifies for discharge for gross misconduct and § 51-110(b)(2) imposes a shorter disqualification for other misconduct; 7 DCMR § 312.4(k) lists 'repeated absence or tardiness following warning' as an example of gross misconduct, and 7 DCMR § 312.6(c) treats absence or tardiness whose number or proximity does not rise to gross misconduct as simple misconduct, with the burden on the employer under § 312.2. |
If a state agency later treats a "resignation" as a discharge, the discharge deadline governs, so pay by the earlier of the two when in doubt. Document each step with the no call, no show write-up and termination letter templates, which fill in District of Columbia's final-pay rule.
Write a no call, no show policy that fits District of Columbia
Start from our no call, no show policy guide and free template, or let the generator turn nine quick questions into a signature-ready policy with District of Columbia already selected so the protected-leave section names the state law described above.
PTO payout and final paychecks
| Scenario | Rule | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Employee is fired or laid off | Next working day (up to 4 days if the employee handled the employer's money) | D.C. Code § 32-1303 |
| Employee quits | The earlier of the next regular payday or 7 days | D.C. Code § 32-1303 |
| Unused vacation / PTO | No statute requires payout — vacation promised by a written or oral contract or policy is wages and must be paid; otherwise nothing is owed | D.C. Code § 32-1301(3); DOES Office of Wage-Hour FAQ |
| Late payment | Liquidated damages of 10% of unpaid wages per working day, capped at treble the wages | D.C. Code § 32-1303 |
The 10%-per-day escalator makes DC final checks urgent even though the base deadline sounds mild — and unwritten vacation practices default to payout. See how PTO accrual works.
Leave District of Columbia employers must (and must not) provide
| Leave type | Required? | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Sick & safe leave | Yes — paid | Per the ASSLA tiers; safe leave covers domestic violence, sexual abuse, and stalking needs |
| Paid Family Leave | Yes — benefits | Employer-funded via payroll tax; job protection comes from DC/federal FMLA running concurrently |
| Voting | Yes — paid | At least 2 hours on request; reasonable advance notice may be required (§ 1-1001.07a) |
| Jury duty | Yes — partly paid | 10+ employee firms pay full-time employees their usual compensation (less juror fees) for the first 5 days; retaliation barred |
| Meal & rest breaks | No | No DC break statute — only lactation breaks are mandated |
The District of Columbia employer's attendance playbook
- Put it in writing. A written policy — call-off deadline and channel, points or steps, the no-call no-show rule, and carve-outs for legally protected absences — is what makes discipline defensible. Our attendance policy guide walks through it.
- Give call-offs one channel. "Tell whoever answers" is how records get lost. One number every employee texts or calls makes the record automatic.
- Log everything with timestamps. Unemployment hearings and discrimination charges are won on contemporaneous records, not recollections.
- Enforce consistently. Uneven enforcement converts a lawful termination into a discrimination claim.
- Screen call-offs for protected reasons before applying points — sickness that could be state-protected sick time or FMLA/ADA territory gets a different track than an overslept alarm.
Comparing states? See all published guides on the state sick leave laws hub.