D.C. Mun. Regs. r. 4-1620
Both DCFMLA and federal FMLA apply to employers who have at least fifty (50) employees within the District of Columbia provided an exception does not apply.
For leave which qualifies under both DCFMLA and federal FMLA, the leave shall count against an employee's entitlement for both laws and shall be counted or applied concurrently under both laws.
Nothing in the DCFMLA shall modify or affect any federal or District law prohibiting discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, age, marital status, personal appearance, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, family responsibilities, genetic information, disability, matriculation, or political affiliation, including the District of Columbia Human Rights Act (D.C. Official Code §§ 2-1401.01et seq.) (DCHRA) and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 ( 42 U.S.C. §§ 2000(e)et. seq.).
The DCFMLA is not intended to modify or affect the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 ( 29 U.S.C. §§ 701et seq.), the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 ( 42 U.S.C.A. §§ 12101 to 12213 ) (ADA), or the disability provisions of the DCHRA or the regulations issued under those Acts.
The leave provisions of the DCFMLA are wholly distinct from the reasonable accommodation obligations of employers covered under the ADA and the DCHRA. The purpose of the DCFMLA and federal FMLA is to make leave available to eligible employees and employers within its coverage, and not to limit already existing rights and protections. An employer shall therefore provide leave under whichever statutory provision provides the greater rights to employees.
When an employer violates both the DCFMLA or federal FMLA and a discrimination law, an employee may recover under either or both statutes, if not otherwise prohibited by law. Double relief, however, shall not be awarded for the same loss. When remedies coincide, a claimant may utilize whichever avenue of relief is desired, if not otherwise restricted by law.
If an employee is a qualified individual with a disability within the meaning of the ADA, the employer must make reasonable accommodations, barring undue hardship, in accordance with the ADA. At the same time, the employer must afford an employee his or her DCFMLA and federal FMLA rights. The ADA's "disability" and DCFMLA and federal FMLA's "serious health condition" are different concepts, and must be analyzed separately. DCFMLA entitles eligible employees to sixteen (16) weeks of medical leave in any twenty-four (24)-month period due to their own serious health condition, whereas the ADA allows an indeterminate amount of medical leave, barring undue hardship, as a reasonable accommodation.
The DCFMLA and federal FMLA require employers to maintain employees' group health plan coverage during DCFMLA and FMLA leave on the same conditions as coverage would have been provided if the employee had been continuously employed during the leave period. However, ADA does not require maintenance of health insurance unless other employees receive health insurance during leave under the same circumstances. When evaluating a situation where both the DCFMLA or federal FMLA and the ADA apply to an individual, the law that provides the greater right or benefit to the individual shall be applied. (See29 CFR § 825.702 for specific examples of the interaction of the federal FMLA with the ADA.)
Under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the DCHRA, an employer shall provide the same benefits for women who are pregnant as the employer provides to other employees with short-term disabilities. Because Title VII does not require employees to be employed for a certain period of time to be protected, an employee employed for less than twelve (12) months by the employer (and, therefore, not an "eligible" employee under DCFMLA) may not be denied maternity leave if the employer normally provides short-term disability benefits or the ability to take similar periods of medical leave to employees with the same tenure who are experiencing other short-term disabilities.
Under the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994 ( 38 U.S.C. §§ 4301et seq.) (USERRA), veterans are entitled to receive all rights and benefits of employment that they would have obtained if they had been continuously employed. Therefore, under USERRA, a returning service member would be eligible for DCFMLA or federal FMLA leave if the months and hours that he or she would have worked for the civilian employer during the period of military service, combined with the months employed and the hours actually worked, meet the DCFMLA or federal FMLA eligibility thresholds.
D.C. Mun. Regs. r. 4-1620