On March 17th, the DC City Council passed and Mayor Bowser signed the COVID-19 Response Emergency Amendment Act (the “Act”). Among other measures, the Act temporarily expands covered absences under the D.C. Family and Medical Leave Act (DCFMLA) and broadens unemployment insurance access for affected employees, which provisions will remain in effect no longer than ninety (90) days.
(1) Expansion of DCFMLA Leave Benefits
The Act expands DCFMLA by creating a new category of declaration of emergency (DOE) leave. Employees are entitled to DOE leave when an employee is unable to work during a period of time in which the Mayor has declared a public health emergency and the mayor, other federal or state official, or a medical professional, has ordered or recommended that the employee self-isolate or quarantine. Under these circumstances, the emergency law suspends the normal one-year-of-employment and 1,000-hours-of-work requirements for eligibility under the DCFMLA. The covered leave is indefinite during the period of the public health emergency and applies to all employers in the District regardless of size or how many persons it employs.
Based upon this expanded leave, employers in the District that either closed their businesses voluntarily or by order of the government should notify employees of coverage under the DCFMLA. Similarly, employees who, upon recommendations from government officials or medical professionals opt to quarantine or self-isolate, are also entitled to the protections of the DCFMLA. The declaration of the public health emergency serves as certification of the need for leave and additional documentation is not required.
(2) Expanded Unemployment Benefits
The emergency Act also expands DC Unemployment Insurance (UI) eligibility by covering employees who, following the mayor’s declaration of the public health emergency, have been (1) ordered to quarantine or self-isolate by a federal agency, District agency or medical professional; or (2) decided to quarantine or self-isolate in a manner consistent with recommendations from the Department of Health or similar federal agency. The Act also eliminates the need for employees to certify that they are actively searching for new work. The emergency law further permits UI benefits to be issued even if:
- The employer has no set return to work date for the employee; or
- Employees have don’t know if they will ever resume employment with the employer.
Under the Act, employees are entitled to collect unemployment benefits under relaxed requirements so long as the public health emergency remains in effect