What benefits can servers get in Washington, DC?
The short answer
The rule in District of Columbia
| DC Paid Family Leave | 12 weeks to bond with a new child, 12 to care for a family member with a serious health condition, 12 for your own serious health condition, and 2 of prenatal leave. Medical and family leave limits change on October 1, 2026. |
|---|---|
| Weekly maximum | $1,153 now; $1,100 for all claim types from October 1, 2026. |
| Who qualifies | You must be employed when you apply, your employer must report your wages to DC for unemployment insurance, and the qualifying event must already have happened. |
| Sick and safe leave for tipped staff | Tipped restaurant and bar employees earn at least 1 hour per 43 worked, up to 5 days a year, at any size employer. Usable after 90 days; unused leave carries over. |
| DC EITC, tax year 2025 | 100% of your federal EITC, refundable. ITIN filers may qualify. A refund of $1,200 or more can be taken as 12 monthly payments. |
“For tipped employees of restaurants or bars, regardless of the number of employees the employer has, each tipped employee must accrue at least one (1) hour per 43 hours worked, up to five (5) days per calendar year.” (DC DOES: Accrued Sick and Safe Leave Act notice (revised 2014))
What’s different in District of Columbia
DC wrote a sick leave line just for restaurant and bar tipped staff. Everywhere else in the District, how fast you earn sick time depends on how many people your employer has; for tipped servers and bartenders it doesn’t, so even a small bar owes the 43-hour rate.
The tax credit is the other standout: 100% of the federal EITC for 2025, so whatever the federal credit pays you, DC pays the same amount again. Paid Family Leave is changing within days, with a lower weekly cap and new limits on medical and family leave, so check the current numbers before you file. Plus the federal programs.
Official sources
Last verified
. Checked the agency pages linked above.
Still open: DOES says medical and family leave limits change on October 1, 2026, but the page we read didn’t give the new durations. It also doesn’t say how tips count in the wages used for your benefit.