Washington D.C. Labor Laws and Payroll Rules

Aileen · February 2003

We are a California based employer who has just opened an office in Washington DC. Can anyone advise me on any basic labor laws or payroll issues which may be unique to Washington DC employers?

For example, we have learned that payroll taxes are based on whichever state a staff member lives (and if they live in Maryland, some counties have local payroll taxes too!)

California labor laws tend to favor the employee. Are there any issues with applying a more employee-favorable CA law to DC empoloyees? It would be great not to have to write a whole new employee policy manual.

Thanks for ANY help or advice you can give.

kwelzel · February 2003

I moved here from FL, and was surprised as you are about the differences in labor laws in the District. You do know that minimum wage is $6.15, right? And that FMLA is different - DC adds an additional 4 weeks, but spreads it out over 2 years.

I believe there is also a law that allows a "childcare day" once a month for parents to attend to a childs school function.

The plus side is that we have so many different cultures represented in the employment sector. The down side is we have so many cultures represented in the employment sector!!! It can be a challenge, but I have learned soooo much in my tenure here. It's a great city.

DC courts and DC Human Rights Council are very employee-friendly, and this is a very litigous community. It seems like everyone "knows someone" who works for the government, city or otherwise...and they're all "legal experts!"

I have found the DC Employment Law Letter to be very valuable tool for me, as well as BLR's "What to do About Personnel Problems" specific to DC.

Good luck!

Tony Kessler · February 2003

Here is a response to your question from Elliot Shaller, editor of Washington, D.C., Employment Law Letter. His contact info is listed down below. tk
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Aileen,
I would be interested in finding out more about the specific employment issues you are interested in, but in the meantime, here is a quick and dirty list of some unique features of DC employment law:

 DC has a very extensive human rights act. It prohibits discrimination based on race, color, national origin, sex, religion, age (defined as 18 and older, unlike federal law which is limited to 40 and older), sources of income, disability, sexual orientation, marital status, personal appearance, matriculation, family responsibilities, political affiliation, place of residence or business. (Pending in the City Council is a bill to add discrimination based on genetic information to the list of protected categories.)

 A separate law prohibits discrimination against smokers and requires employers to maintain smoking policies and provide designated smoking areas.

 DC has its own FMLA, which in many ways is different and more extensive than the federal FMLA.

 DC has a parental leave law, entitling qualifying employee to take a total of 24 hours of leave during any 12-month period to attend or participate in school-related events for their children.

 DC follows the employment-at-will doctrine, although there is a narrow “public policy” exception. Beware that employee handbooks may create contracts, and disclaimers must be very explicit to ensure that they defeat such rights.

 For most employers, DC’s minimum wage rate is one dollar more than the federal rate.

 DC’s wage payment law requires employers to pay all wages earned at least twice each month and in intervals of not more than 10 working days apart between the pay period covered and the regular payday.

 I understand that California’s wage and hour law requires overtime pay for time worked in excess of 40 per week and in excess of eight hours in a day. Generally, DC requires overtime pay only for time worked in excess of 40 hours per week.

 With some exceptions, employers must pay wages owed to a terminated employee no later than the working day following termination.

 DC has a “mini-COBRA” law, extending some of the COBRA protections (although for a shorter period of time) to employers with relatively few employees.

 There are some unique laws applicable to employers in certain industries, such as hospitality and health care.

If you have more specific questions, I would be glad to discuss them with you.

Elliot H. Shaller, Esq.
Krukowski & Costello, P.C.
1875 Connecticut Avenue, N.W.
Suite 524
Washington, D.C. 20009
Tel: 202-898-1031
Fax: 202-898-1311
E mail: [email]ehs@kclegaldc.com[/email]
Web site: [url]www.krukowski.com[/url]
Washington, D.C., Employment Law Letter: [url]www.hrhero.com/dcemp.shtml[/url]

Washington D.C. Labor Laws and Payroll Rules

Comments