The District of Columbia Parental Leave Act of 1994, D.C. Law 10-146, D.C. Code §36-1601 et seq., requires effective August 17, 1994, all employers located in the District of Columbia to provide an eligible employee, with up to 24 hours of leave during a 12 month period for the following purposes: to attend or participate in a school-related event for his or her child in which the child is a participant or a subject.
The Act applies to all employees who are parents. The term “parent” means any of the following: (1) the biological parents of a child; (2) a person who has legal custody of a child; (3) a person who acts as a guardian of a child regardless of whether he or she had been appointed legally; (4) an aunt, uncle, or grandparent of a child; or (5) the spouse of any of the foregoing persons.

The employee must, when possible, provide the employer with notice of a request for leave within 10 calendar days from the day of the event.
During the period of leave, an employee shall not lose any employment benefit or seniority accrued before or during the time of leave.
The leave provided by the act may be unpaid leave unless the employee elects to use any paid family, vacation, personal, compensatory, or leave bank leave provided by the employer.
The leave requested may only be denied if it would disrupt the employer’s business and make achievement of production or service delivery unusually difficult.
A COMPLAINT CONCERNING A DENIAL OF RIGHTS UNDER THIS MUST BE FILED WITH THE DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN RIGHTS AND LOCAL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT OR A COURT OF COMPETENT JURISDICTION WITHIN ONE YEAR OF THE OCCURRENCE OR DISCOVERY OF THE VIOLATION.
For answers to questions concerning the Act or to file a complaint under the Act, contact:
Government of the District of Columbia
Office of Human Rights