TAKEAWAYS
New DC legislation mandates that employers adopt COVID-19 workplace safety policies and issue a notice of employee rights.
The legislation prohibits retaliation against employees who raise workplace safety concerns.
The DC Attorney General may enforce the new law, or aggrieved employees can sue and seek attorney’s fees, lost wages, injunctive relief, and punitive damages.
On February 1, 2021, DC Mayor Bowser signed emergency legislation passed by the DC Council, requiring DC employers to “adopt and implement social distancing and worker protection policies to prevent transmission of COVID-19 in the workplace” and that adhere to all applicable Mayor’s Orders related to the COVID-19 public health emergency. Titled the “Protecting Businesses and Workers from COVID-19 Congressional Review Emergency Amendment Act of 2021,” the Act was published in the