D.C. Mun. Regs. r. 7-3402
Current through Register Vol. 71, No. 33, August 16, 2024
Rule 7-3402 - OPT-OUT OF SELF-EMPLOYED INDIVIDUALS3402.1A self-employed individual who previously opted into the paid-leave program may elect to opt out of the paid-leave program through the online portal or through an electronic or non-electronic format approved by DOES.
3402.2Aself-employed individual may opt out of the program only during an open enrollment period. Any election made during an open enrollment period shall take effect beginning on the first day of the following calendar quarter.
3402.3Opting out of the program, removal from the program, and withdrawing from the program are distinguished as follows:
(a) A self-employed individual shall be considered to have opted out of the paid-leave program if the self-employed individual had previously opted into the program and makes an election during an open enrollment period to no longer participate in the program while still earning self-employment income in the District of Columbia.(b) A self-employed individual may request that DOES remove him or her from the paid-leave program by notifying DOES that: (1) The individual has moved the primary place of business for all of the individual's self-employed businesses out of the District of Columbia and intends to earn no self-employment income for any self-employed business in the District of Columbia within the next fifty-two (52) weeks;(2) The individual has accepted employment by a covered or non-covered employer and intends to earn no self-employment income in the District of Columbia within the next fifty-two (52) weeks;(3) In the next fifty-two (52) weeks, the individual intends to continue earning self-employment income, but not for work that is performed more than fifty percent (50%) of the time in the District of Columbia; or(4) The individual intends to earn no income within the next fifty-two (52) weeks.(c) "Withdrawal" from the program, as referred to in section 105 of the Act, is a term encompassing acts of both omission (failing to opt in) and commission (opting out) that result in an individual's non-participation in the program. As applied to acts of omission, no more than one (1) act of withdrawing by an individual shall be counted by DOES prior to an individual's first act of opting into the program and no more than one (1) act of withdrawing by any individual shall be counted by DOES between an individual's act of opting out of the program and the individual's subsequent act to opt back into the program. No act of omission or commission taken by a self-employed individual who is currently opted into the program shall be considered an act of withdrawal from the program, except for a valid request to opt out.3402.4The decision to remove a self-employed individual per Subsection 3402.3(b) rests solely with DOES.
(a) DOES may request additional documentation from the self-employed individual to support his or her request for removal from the program.(b) If DOES determines that a self-employed individual should be removed, it shall inform the self-employed individual that he or she has been removed from the program by sending electronic notice via both the online portal and email to the self-employed individual's last known email address, and by physical mail to the individual last known mailing address.3402.5As provided in section 105(b) and (c) of the Universal Paid Leave Amendment Act of 2016 (D.C. Law 21-264), a self-employed individual who previously opted out of or withdrew from the paid-leave program may opt into the program during an open enrollment period, provided that:
(a) Beginning on January 1, 2020, the self-employed individual shall not be eligible to receive benefits pursuant to Chapter 35 (Paid-Leave Program Benefits) for the first year after enrolling (opting in for the first time) or reenrolling (opting in for a subsequent time) in the program; and(b) If a self-employed individual withdraws from the paid-leave program two (2) or more times, the individual shall be barred from reenrolling (opting in for a subsequent time) in the program for a period of five (5) years from the date of their second or any subsequent act of withdrawal from the program.3402.6A self-employed individual who was removed from the program for a reason set forth in Subsection 3402.3(b) may re-enroll in the program during an open enrollment period if he or she resumes self-employment in the District of Columbia as described in Section 3401. DOES reserves the right to request additional documentation from an individual applying for re-enrollment in the program.
3402.7A self-employed individual who did not opt into the program during the first open enrollment period for which the individual was eligible to opt into the program, may opt into the program during an open enrollment period, but shall not be eligible to opt out of the program for three (3) years following the election to opt in.
D.C. Mun. Regs. r. 7-3402
Final Rulemaking published at 65 DCR 7396 (6/21/2019); amended by Final Rulemaking published at 70 DCR 1101 (1/27/2023)