Thursday was the deadline for all Washington, D.C., employers to post the new paid family leave notice/poster, which was recently issued by the district’s Department of Employment Services (DOES). The notice must be posted in a “conspicuous place,” and must be provided to employees on or before Feb. 1, 2024. The new notice became effective last October and is identical to the previous notice in effect from October 2022, except the new notice increases the maximum weekly benefit from $1,049 to $1,118. DOES adjusts the maximum weekly benefit amount annually for inflation.

As a reminder, the district’s Universal Paid Leave Act provides employees with the following paid leave:

- Up to 2 weeks to care for a pregnancy

- 12 weeks to bond with a new child

- 12 weeks to care for a family member with a serious health condition

- 12 weeks to care for an employee’s own serious health condition.

All Washington employers that are subject to the district’s unemployment insurance tax must provide leave under the act, and employees are considered eligible for paid family leave if they spend more than 50% of their working time within Washington. Notably, district employers do not provide paid leave directly to the employee; instead, they must collect and pay contributions through quarterly payroll taxes on the DOES online portal.

In addition to providing the updated notice, district employers must also provide employees with information about their right to take leave upon hiring, annually and whenever an employer has notice that paid leave is needed.

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