Overview
- DCWP released proposed rules to implement ESSTA amendments taking effect Feb. 22, with a public hearing and comment deadline set for March 2.
- The amendments add a 32-hour front‑loaded unpaid leave bank each year, broaden covered uses to caregiving, housing or subsistence proceedings, public disasters, and workplace violence, and shift temporary schedule changes to a right to request.
- Draft rules rename the benefit as “protected time off,” require updated written policies, and mandate pay‑period disclosures that show amounts used and accrued, separate paid versus unpaid balances, and total available time.
- Employers may satisfy the new 32-hour unpaid requirement by providing an equivalent paid bank that is immediately available on hire and each January 1, with no carryover required for the unpaid bank and paid time used first unless the employee opts for unpaid time.
- Unlimited PTO does not remove ESSTA tracking, pay‑stub, or recordkeeping obligations, and questions remain on treatment of existing employees as of Feb. 22 and whether unlimited PTO can satisfy the separate paid prenatal leave requirement.