D.C. Issues Mandatory Poster under Accrued Sick and Safe Leave Act.
The District of Columbia Department of Employment Services (DOES) has issued its long-awaited poster under the D.C. Accrued Sick and Safe Leave Act (SSLA). The poster comes four months after the agency issued final rules under the D.C. paid leave law, which was passed in 2008.
District of Columbia Human Rights Act Held to Cover Non-D.C. Employees.
Washington D.C.’s highest local court has pushed application of the District of Columbia Human Rights Act (“DCHRA”) well beyond the District’s geographic borders by including under the Act’s protection employees who had never applied for a job or worked within the District. Monteilh v. AFSCME, AFL-CIO, No. 06-CV-1155 (D.C. Sept. 17, 2009). Additionally, the District of Columbia Court of Appeals has made District-based employer decisions, including recommendations and approvals, about employees outside the District, potential bases for extraterritorial application of DCHRA’s protections.
Court of Appeals Expands Reach of D.C. Anti-Discrimination Law to Applicants and Employees Outside of D.C.
The District of Columbia Court of Appeals, in Monteilh v. AFSCME, AFL-CIO, 107 FEP Cases 561 (D.C. 2009), recently held that employees located outside of the District may bring claims under the District of Columbia Human Rights Act (DCHRA). The court of appeals determined that, regardless of where the affected employee works, so long as the discriminatory decision is made in the District of Columbia, the DCHRA applies. The decision likewise applies to prospective employees.
Washington, D.C. Publishes Proposed Sick and Safe Leave Regulations.
Just before the holidays, the Washington, D.C. Department of Employment Services (“DOES”) quietly issued proposed regulations governing paid sick and safe leave for employees. When finalized, these long-awaited regulations will implement the controversial Accrued Sick and Safe Leave Act of 2008 (“ASSLA” or the “Act”), which requires all employers to provide paid sick leave to eligible employees working in the District for absences related to physical or mental illness, preventive medical care or family care, as well as “safe” leave associated with stalking, domestic violence or sexual abuse.
District of Columbia Employers Must Provide Paid Sick Leave Beginning November 13, 2008.
Beginning November 13, 2008, employers in the District of Columbia will be required to provide paid sick leave benefits to employees. The Accrued Sick and Safe Leave Act of 2008 requires employers to provide paid sick leave for illnesses and medical appointments and “safe leave” for absences related to incidents of domestic violence or sexual abuse.
Washington, D.C. Passes Law Making Paid Leave Mandatory.
Washington, D.C. recently became the second municipality in the nation to require employers to provide certain types of paid leave to employees. The Accrued Sick and Safe Leave Act of 2008 (“ASSLA” or the “Act”) becomes effective November 13, 2008, and requires all employers to provide paid sick leave to eligible employees working in the District for absences related to physical or mental illness, preventive medical care or family care. Additionally, ASSLA requires employers to provide paid “safe” leave for absences associated with stalking, domestic violence or sexual abuse. Although all D.C. employers – regardless of size – are covered by the Act, some businesses may be excused pursuant to the Act’s “hardship exemption.”
D.C. Passes the Accrued Sick and Safe Leave Act of 2008.
Washington, D.C. has become the second city, after San Francisco, to pass a law that requires employers to provide paid sick leave to all employees. After significant amendment including input from the employer community, the Accrued Sick and Safe Leave Act of 2008 was passed by the D.C. Council in March. Following approval by Mayor Adrian Fenty and a 30-day review process by Congress, the Act was approved on May 13, 2008. Effective November 13, 2008, mandatory sick leave provisions will apply to even the smallest employers.
Washington, D.C.'s Paid Sick Leave Law Advances.
New Washington, D.C., legislation providing mandatory sick leave to all employees in the District has passed Congressional review. The D.C. Council, which transmitted the Act to Congress on April 1, 2008, expects the “Accrued Sick and Safe Leave Act of 2008” to become law on May 13, 2008, and its provision to go into effect six months later.
District of Columbia Mandates Higher Minimum Wage for Security Guards.
The District of Columbia Minimum Wage Act has been amended by the “Enhanced Professional Security Amendment of 2008” (EPSA) to establish a higher minimum wage for security guards working in office buildings in the District of Columbia. The EPSA mandates a minimum level of benefits as well. The minimum wage is $11.51 per hour, plus $3.16 in fringe benefits. The new wage and benefits rates are effective March 17, 2008.
Nursing Women Now Protected Under D.C. Human Right Law.
As a result of a recent amendment to the D.C. Human Rights Act, women in the District of Columbia now have the right to breastfeed anywhere they have the right to be with their children, regardless of whether that location is public or private. The “Child’s Right to Nurse Human Rights Amendment Act of 2007” amends the D.C. Human Rights Act of 1977 to prohibit discrimination against breastfeeding women, including it as a form of “discrimination on the basis of sex.”
