Hurt at work in the District of Columbia? Deadlines, weekly benefit and how to file
Tell your employer in writing within 30 days. File your claim within 1 year.
Temporary total disability (TTD) benefits can pay two-thirds of your gross (before-tax) wages, up to $1,852.07 a week in 2026.
Your employer's insurer, not the state, usually decides first. If they deny or delay, the free help listed here can explain your options.
In the District of Columbia, TTD pays part of your lost wages while you are totally unable to work for a time because of a work injury. Your employer's insurance carrier (or an approved self-insured employer) pays benefits; the Office of Workers' Compensation handles claims and informal conferences, and disputes are decided by an administrative law judge of the DOES Administrative Hearings Division.
Checked against official sources: October 31, 2026.
Deadlines are strict. If you are near one, call the state agency or free help today.
Free tools for the District of Columbia
Free tools that run in your browser. Nothing you enter is saved or sent until you download, copy or print a document.
Deadline helper
Benefit estimate calculator
This estimate uses the rule in the District of Columbia's data: a share of your average weekly wage, up to the state maximum.
Written notice to your employer
A letter that tells your employer, in writing, that you were hurt or made sick by your work.
Claim checklist: what to gather and do
A printable list of papers to keep and steps to take.
Deadlines in the District of Columbia
- Tell your employer
- 30 days
- File your claim
- 1 year
- Waiting period
No compensation is paid for the first 3 days of disability unless the disability lasts more than 14 days.
Weekly benefit in the District of Columbia
- What it pays
- Two-thirds of your gross (before-tax) wages
- Maximum
- $1,852.07 a week in 2026
- Minimum
- $463.02 a week in 2026
- Minimum rule
The minimum weekly benefit for total disability in 2026 is $463.02 (25% of the maximum).
- Applies to
- Calendar year 2026 (rates set each January 1)
Law: D.C. Code 32-1505(b)-(d), 32-1508(2), 32-1511
Source: does.dc.gov
Who is your doctor in the District of Columbia?
- Who chooses
- You choose
You may choose your own attending physician. If you were badly injured or unconscious and your employer sent you to a doctor or emergency room, you may still choose your own doctor after you are released.
Once you choose a treating physician, you may not change doctors without approval from your employer's insurance company or the Office of Workers' Compensation.
Law: D.C. Code 32-1507(b)
Source: does.dc.gov
Who is covered in the District of Columbia
- Size of employer
Every private employer in D.C. with one or more employees must have workers' compensation insurance or be approved to self-insure. Coverage begins the first minute you start work.
- Special rules
- Domestic (household) workers: A household must provide coverage if one or more domestic workers are employed 240 hours or more in any calendar quarter of the same or previous year.
- Not covered
- Independent contractors
- Unpaid volunteers
- Casual employees
- Domestic workers employed less than 240 hours in a calendar quarter
- D.C. government employees and federal employees (covered by federal law)
- Contractors
Independent contractors are not covered. If a subcontractor has no coverage, the general contractor is responsible for workers' compensation for the subcontractor's employees.
- If your employer has no insurance
If your employer has no workers' compensation insurance, contact the Office of Workers' Compensation. The Special Fund administered by OWC pays benefits in cases of uninsured employers.
Law: D.C. Code 32-1501, 32-1503, 32-1540
Source: does.dc.gov
If your claim is denied or delayed in the District of Columbia
- First step
If your claim is denied or benefits stop, you can ask the Office of Workers' Compensation for a free informal conference with a claims examiner, who issues a recommendation within 30 days of the conference.
Fired or punished for filing in the District of Columbia
It is unlawful for an employer to fire or otherwise discriminate against you because you claimed or tried to claim workers' compensation, or because you testified or are about to testify in a workers' compensation proceeding.
- The law
- D.C. Code 32-1542
- What you may get
You are to be restored to your job and paid for lost wages (unless you are no longer qualified to do the job). The employer must also pay a penalty of $100 to $1,000.
- Where to file
D.C. Department of Employment Services (the Mayor's workers' compensation process).
Law: D.C. Code 32-1542
Source: code.dccouncil.gov
Lawyers' fees and other benefits in the District of Columbia
If the employer or carrier refuses to pay within 30 days after OWC notifies it of your claim and you win with an attorney's help, a reasonable attorney fee approved by DOES or the court is awarded against the employer or carrier in addition to your compensation. DOES publishes an OWC Attorney Fees Schedule.
D.C. also provides full medical care (including keeping your employer health insurance for up to 52 weeks while you receive or are eligible for benefits), temporary partial, permanent partial (schedule awards) and permanent total disability, disfigurement awards up to $7,500, vocational rehabilitation with up to $50 a week maintenance, and death benefits with burial expenses up to $5,000.
Free help in the District of Columbia
State agency
- Phone
- (202) 671-1000
- Address
- 4058 Minnesota Avenue NE, Third Floor, Washington, DC 20019
Free help
Good to know in the District of Columbia
- In D.C. the notice must go to the Office of Workers' Compensation as well as to your employer.
- An employer that provides health insurance must keep providing equivalent coverage, at its own cost, for up to 52 weeks while you receive or are eligible for workers' compensation.
- A medical provider cannot collect from you for disputed medical bills on a compensable claim.
Changes in 2024–2026
For 2026 the maximum weekly benefit is $1,852.07 and the minimum $463.02. D.C. Law 26-42 (effective October 1, 2025) amended D.C. Code 32-1503; under 32-1503(a-1), receiving workers' compensation from another state does not bar a D.C. claim for the same injury (any D.C. award is reduced by the other state's compensation).
Law: 2025: $1,808.66 and $452.17
Questions about workers' comp in the District of Columbia
How long do I have to tell my employer about a work injury in the District of Columbia?
Report the injury to your employer promptly. Within 30 days you must give written notice to BOTH your employer and the Office of Workers' Compensation, using DCWC Form 7 (Employee's Notice of Accidental Injury or Occupational Disease).
How long do I have to file a workers' comp claim in the District of Columbia?
To preserve your rights to current and future benefits, file a written claim on DCWC Form 7A with the Office of Workers' Compensation within 1 year after the injury, or within 1 year after the last payment of benefits if the employer paid without an award.
How much does workers' comp pay in the District of Columbia?
Temporary total disability (TTD) benefits can pay two-thirds of your gross (before-tax) wages, up to $1,852.07 a week in 2026.
Can I choose my own doctor for a work injury in the District of Columbia?
You may choose your own attending physician. If you were badly injured or unconscious and your employer sent you to a doctor or emergency room, you may still choose your own doctor after you are released.
Can my employer fire me for filing a workers' comp claim in the District of Columbia?
It is unlawful for an employer to fire or otherwise discriminate against you because you claimed or tried to claim workers' compensation, or because you testified or are about to testify in a workers' compensation proceeding.
What if my workers' comp claim is denied in the District of Columbia?
If your claim is denied or benefits stop, you can ask the Office of Workers' Compensation for a free informal conference with a claims examiner, who issues a recommendation within 30 days of the conference.
Not about a work injury?
Not about a work injury? Unpaid wages → Wage Claim Map · Hurt in a car crash → Accident Claim Map · A medical bill → Medical Bill Map · Unemployment benefits → Unemployment Claim Map · Other problems → robinclaim.com