The District of Columbia City Council has passed legislation, effective October 1, 2026, that reduces the number of weeks of paid leave available to workers in the District under the D.C. Universal Paid Leave Act (UPLA).
Before October 1, 2026, the UPLA provided the following for qualifying workers in D.C.:
- twelve weeks of paid parental leave,
- twelve weeks of paid family leave,
- twelve weeks of paid medical leave and
- two weeks of prenatal leave.
These benefit levels resulted from an increase effective July 1, 2022, following an unexpected surplus in the Universal Paid Leave Fund (the “Fund”), which funds UPLA benefits. The available leave is now being reduced, although the new amounts still exceed the amount of leave available when the law was first enacted.
Effective October 1, 2026, the available paid leave will be:
- twelve weeks of parental leave,
- six weeks of family leave,
- ten weeks of medical leave and
- two weeks of prenatal leave.
Under current law, these leave amounts will remain in effect through September 30, 2030. On October 1, 2030, they will return to the levels in effect before October 1, 2026.
In addition, the maximum weekly benefit available to claimants will decrease from $1,190 to $1,100. However, the amount will increase each October 1 based on the annual average increase in the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers for the Washington–Baltimore metropolitan area during the previous calendar year.
In her April 14, 2026, proposed budget, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser proposed even more substantial reductions in UPLA benefits. She proposed eliminating family- and medical-leave benefits entirely in FY 2027 (October 1, 2026, through September 30, 2027), while retaining 12 weeks of parental leave and two weeks of prenatal leave. She further proposed that these benefits would increase again on October 1, 2027, but not to the benefit levels in effect before October 1, 2026. Finally, Mayor Bowser proposed permanently reducing the maximum weekly benefit to $1,000 beginning October 1, 2026. In her April 14, 2026, transmittal letter, Mayor Bowser explained that reducing benefits—and therefore program costs—while maintaining the 0.75% employer contribution would allow additional money from the Fund to be deposited into the District’s General Fund for other programs. Mayor Bower’s proposals, however, were not adopted by the DC Council Fiscal Year 2027 Budget Support Act of 2026.
The legislation was passed on an emergency basis, took effect on August 13, 2026, and expires on November 11, 2026. Permanent legislation with identical provisions is undergoing congressional review and is expected to take effect on November 20, 2026. The Council is expected to pass gap-filling legislation as needed.
Employers should post the updated mandatory Notice to Employees.
We will continue to monitor these developments. If you have questions about how these changes impact your organization, please contact a Jackson Lewis attorney to discuss.