Workers' comp · DC
District of Columbia workers' comp calculator
The District runs its own private-sector workers’ compensation act, separate from the federal program that covers federal employees working in the same buildings.
Rules read on official District of Columbia pages on · Checked by Radif Partners · How we calculate
- Benefit rate
- 66.67%
- Gross average weekly wage before taxes
- Weekly maximum
- $1,852.07
- from January 1, 2026
- Weekly minimum
- $463.02
- floor
- Waiting period
- 3 days
- paid back past 14 days
A private-sector employee hurt in the District of Columbia in 2026 receives temporary total disability of 66.67% of the average weekly wage, between $463.02 and $1,852.07 a week, under the District of Columbia Workers' Compensation Act of 1979 (D.C. Code § 32-1508(2)). The Office of Workers' Compensation in the Department of Employment Services publishes the band each January; for 2026 the maximum rose 2.40% over $1,808.66. The minimum is one quarter of the maximum. No compensation is paid for the first 3 days unless the disability lasts more than 14 days, in which case it runs from the start (§ 32-1505). An aide earning $1,500 a week who is out 20 days receives $2,857. TTD has no week cap, temporary partial disability ends after five years, and scheduled losses pay for long periods: 312 weeks for an arm, 288 for a leg.
Weekly temporary total disability benefit in District of Columbia
$733
$3,178 a month · 66.67% of the wage, tax-free
| 66.67% of $1,100 | $733 |
| Weekly maximum / minimum | $1,852.07 / $463.02 |
| Days paid / unpaid waiting days | 30 / 0 |
| Total for the time off | $3,143 |
Estimate of wage-loss benefits for a total disability, from the Office of Workers' Compensation, Department of Employment Services (DOES) rates. Medical care is paid separately; partial disability, permanent impairment ratings and settlements follow other rules. How this is calculated.
Two systems in one city
In Washington, the worker next to you may be under a different law. Federal civilian employees are covered by the federal program run by the U.S. Department of Labor; everyone else, from a hotel housekeeper to a law-firm associate, falls under the District's own Act, administered by the Office of Workers' Compensation, Department of Employment Services (DOES). This page and its calculator apply the District Act only.
The band DOES has published since 1982
The DOES compensation rate table lists every maximum and minimum since 1982, when the ceiling was $396.78. For calendar year 2026 it prints $1,852.07 and $463.02; the minimum has been exactly a quarter of the maximum in every year of the table. Annual supplemental allowances (cost-of-living increases) for long-term disability recipients are capped at 5% (D.C. Code § 32-1506(d)).
The ceiling applies from about $2,778 of weekly pay. A K Street associate earning $4,000 computes to $2,667 and is paid $1,852. At the other end, a part-time museum guard at $520 a week computes below the floor and is raised to $463 by the calculator, which applies the DOES minimum as printed; whether a worker paid less than the minimum receives the full wage instead is a rule of the Act that we could not confirm on the Council's code site when we checked in October 2026.
Three days, then fourteen
Section 32-1505 allows no compensation for the first 3 days of disability, apart from medical care under § 32-1507; when the disability lasts more than 14 days, compensation is allowed from the date of disability. A legislative aide on Capitol Hill earning $1,500 who is back after 10 days is paid $1,000 for 7 days; out 20 days, the full $2,857.
Long schedules for lost limbs
The District's schedule in § 32-1508(3) is generous in weeks: 312 for an arm, 288 for a leg, 244 for a hand, each at two thirds of the average weekly wage, and proportionally less for a partial loss of use. The aide earning $1,500 who lost an arm would be owed about $312,016 over 312 weeks. Temporary partial disability benefits (66 2/3% of wage loss) cannot be paid for more than 5 years (D.C. Code § 32-1508(5)).
The District of Columbia rules this calculator applies
| Rule | District of Columbia |
|---|---|
| Temporary total disability rate | 66.67% of gross average weekly wage before taxes |
| Weekly maximum | $1,852.07 |
| Weekly minimum | $463.02 |
| Applies to | calendar year 2026 (from January 1, 2026; +2.40% over 2025) |
| Waiting period | 3 days, paid back when the disability lasts more than 14 days |
| Limit on temporary total benefits | no fixed number of weeks |
Rate. 66 2/3% of the employee's average weekly wages during the continuance of temporary total disability (D.C. Code § 32-1508(2)). source
Waiting period. No compensation is allowed for the first 3 days of disability, except medical benefits under § 32-1507; if the injury results in disability of more than 14 days, compensation is allowed from the date of disability (D.C. Code § 32-1505). source
Duration. TTD is paid during the continuance of total disability, with no fixed week cap; temporary partial disability is limited to 5 years (D.C. Code § 32-1508(2), (5)). source
Permanent disability. Scheduled permanent partial disability pays 66 2/3% of average weekly wages for a fixed number of weeks (e.g. arm 312 weeks, leg 288, hand 244), proportionally for partial loss of use (D.C. Code § 32-1508(3)). source
Worth knowing in District of Columbia
- DC's 2026 weekly maximum is $1,852.07, up 2.40% from $1,808.66 in 2025; the DOES table goes back to $396.78 in 1982. source
- The DOES minimum rate is set at one-quarter of the maximum ($463.02 vs. $1,852.07 in 2026), as in every year of its table since 1982. source
- Annual supplemental allowances (cost-of-living increases) for long-term disability recipients are capped at 5% (D.C. Code § 32-1506(d)). source
- Temporary partial disability benefits (66 2/3% of wage loss) cannot be paid for more than 5 years (D.C. Code § 32-1508(5)). source