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District of Columbia Labor Laws

August 15th, 2006 Posted by Sarah

Employers and Employees alike are often interested to know what labor laws apply to them. The legal code of the District of Columbia contains a number of provisions that regulate work situations. Today I’ll give a few highlights of these laws.

Child Labor: The District of Columbia requires work permits for minors under 18 to be employed in any job that is not agricultural or housework-related in nature. The code of the District also regulates the hours of employment for workers under 18, and the types of jobs that minors of various ages may hold.

Family Leave and Medical Leave: If you work in the District of Columbia, you are covered by a Family Leave provision that is more generous than that of the Federal law. Under the District’s code, employees are entitled to 16 weeks of unpaid leave within a 24 month period for such situations as the birth or adoption of a child, or to care for a family member with a serious illness. An unpaid medical leave of 16 weeks is also required to be available to employees who personally have a serious health condition. These regulations apply to any employers with 20 or more employees in the District.

Minimum Wage: In the District there is currently a minimum wage of $6.60 per hour. This will increase to $7 per hour after January 1^stof 2007. If the national minimum wage should be increased, District residents may be in for an additional increase. Under the District code, if the Federal Minimum wage plus one dollar is greater than the set District wage, District employees would receive that higher wage instead.

Payment of Wages: Employers in the District of Columbia must pay their employees at least twice per month. An interval of not more than 10 working days are allowed to elapse between the end of the pay period covered and the next pay day. If there is a contract between an employer and a labor organization representing employees, or if by “custom or contract” an employer has always paid employees less frequently, then employees may be paid as infrequently as once per month.

The District of Columbia also has statutes applying to workers’ compensation, industrial safety, unemployment compensation, lie detector tests, occupational safety and health, the licensing of employment services, and more. For a complete listing of applicable District and Federal labor laws, please see the District of Columbia Complete Labor Law Poster.