UPDATED--Important notice to all businesses with any offices or employees in Washington, D.C.

The District of Columbia Accrued Sick and Safe Leave Act of 2008 becomes effective on November 13, 2008. To be a covered employee under the Sick Leave Act, an individual must be employed by the same employer for 1 year without a break in service except for regular holiday, sick, or personal leave granted by the employer and have worked at least 1000 hours during the 12-month period immediately preceding the request for family or medical leave either for an employer located in the District of Columbia.

The Sick Leave Act will require employers with:

(1) 100 or more employees to provide at least one hour of paid sick leave for every 37 hours worked, up to a cap of seven days per calendar year;
(2) 25 to 99 employees will be required to provide at least one hour of paid sick leave for every 43 hours worked, up to a cap of five days per calendar year; and
(3) with fewer than 25 employees to provide at least one hour of paid sick leave for every 87 hours worked, up to a cap of three days per calendar year.

Here are some of the important details about the new Sick Leave Act, although you should seek specific advice for your particular company to ensure compliance with the law, and to understand some important exemptions that might apply to your business or certain employees.

- Employees can use paid sick leave for absences relating to their own physical or mental illness or injury or preventative medical care; to care for a sick child, parent, spouse, domestic partner or any other family member, and to take leave when they are a victim of of stalking, domestic violence, or sexual abuse, for the purpose of obtaining psychological or other counseling or taking legal or some other action associated with these offenses.

- Requests to use sick leave under the Sick Leave Act must be made in writing and in advance if the leave is foreseeable, but employers can request reasonable verification of the legitimacy of the request.

- Upon termination of employment, employers are not required to cash out accrued but unused sick leave.

- Employers cannot retaliate against an employee who takes leave pursuant to the new law.

- Employers will be required to conspicuously post a notice summarizing the Sick Leave Act in several languages once such a notice is prepared by the Mayor.

Again, there are important exemptions to the Sick Leave Act that might apply to your business or certain employees, such as exemptions for certain restaurant staff, independent contractors, exempt employees under the Fair Labor Standards Act, and other categories of employees.

It is important to have, by November 13, completed a review of your company’s existing practices and policies that to ensure that they comply with the Sick Leave Act’s requirements, make any changes to your company’s policies (and notify employees of these changes) before the Sick Leave Act takes effect, and put into place a compliance and monitoring plan. Please contact Nicole Windsor at (410) 583-2400, or by email her at windsor@bowie-jensen.com, for this useful advice.