The Latest

D.C. to Lower Tax AND Expand Universal Paid Leave Benefits

Due to a surplus in the District of Columbia’s Paid Family Leave Program, the amount of paid parental, family, and medical leave available to eligible employees in D.C. will be increased to 12 weeks as early as July 1, 2022.  Currently, eligible employees can take up to 8 weeks of parental leave, 6 weeks of family leave, and 6 weeks of personal leave, for a maximum of 8 weeks per year.  Eligible employees are also entitled to take up to 2 weeks pre-natal leave, which will not be changed.

At the same time, D.C. will reduce the payroll tax rate for employers from 0.62% to 0.26%, which is used to fund the Paid Family Leave Program.  Our previous Alert detailing the Paid Family Leave Program can be found here.

Virginia Moves to Revoke Permanent COVID-19 Standard

Pursuant to Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin’s January 15, 2022 Executive Order, on February 16, 2022, the Virginia Safety and Health Codes Board decided that there is no continued need for the state’s Permanent COVID-19 Employee Health and Safety Requirements (the “Permanent Standard”), which established requirements for protecting workers from COVID-19.  The Board’s decision is now subject to a 30-day Notice and Comment period, and then the Board must hold a public hearing before a final vote on revocation.  Our previous Alert detailing the Permanent Standard can be found here.

We will continue to monitor these developments and provide updates.  If you have any questions about this Alert, please contact the Shulman Rogers attorney with whom you regularly work.