We have updated our sick leave toolkit based on additional guidance issued in the District of Columbia, which clarifies some issues that were ambiguous or not addressed in the underlying law. 

A new District of Columbia law will require employers to provide reasonable accommodations to employees affected by pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding, and related medical conditions and prohibit employers from requiring an employee to take leave if it is possible for the employee to continue working with reasonable accommodation. The law also requires employers to post and provide employees with a notice of rights. 

The District of Columbia Council has passed emergency and temporary amendments to the Wage Theft Prevention Amendment Act that, among other things, remove the requirements that employers keep time for exempt employees and that they pay exempt employees at least twice monthly.

The District of Columbia Department of Employment Services has announced the Wage Theft Prevention Amendment Act will become effective on February 26, 2015.

Creates the “Fair Criminal Records Screening Act” which amends the Re-entry Facilitation Amendment Act of 2012. The new law prohibits the consideration of a job applicant’s arrest records during the hiring process, restricts an employer’s inquiry into a job applicant’s prior convictions until after a conditional job offer, and establishes penalties for non-compliance of the law.

 The District's minimum wage has increased beginning July 1, 2014. Future federal minimum wage increases may affect the actual amount of the District's minimum wage, outlined below.