District of Columbia legislation · 26th Council
District of Columbia B181: Short-Term Disability Insurance Benefit Protection Clarification Amendment Act of 2025
Status: Chaptered, October 21, 2026
As introduced, Bill 26-181 would prohibit private disability insurance providers from reducing short-term disability benefits based on actual or estimated paid leave benefits an eligible individual may be entitled to from the District, regardless of the jurisdiction in which the insurance policy was issued. It would also make offsetting or reducing benefits under a short-term disability insurance policy based on estimated or actual benefits received under the Universal Paid Leave Amendment Act of 2016 enforceable under the law.
What the bill says
To amend the Universal Paid Leave AmendmentActof2016 to prohibitprivate disability insuranceproviders fromreducing short-term disability benefits based onactual or estimated paid leavebenefitsto which an eligible individual may be entitledto from the District, regardlessofthejurisdiction inwhich the insurance policy was issued or written; and to amend the Insurance Tradeand EconomicDevelopment AmendmentAct of2000 to make the prohibition on offsettingorreducing benefits under aprivatemarket shortterm disability insurance policy basedon estimated oractual benefitsreceived underthe Universal Paid.
From the enrolled text, October 21, 2026:
To amend the Universal Paid Leave AmendmentActof2016 to prohibitprivate disability insuranceproviders fromreducing short-term disability benefits based onactual or estimated paid leavebenefitsto which an eligible individual may be entitledto from the District, regardlessofthejurisdiction inwhich the insurance policy was issued or written; and to amend the Insurance Tradeand EconomicDevelopment AmendmentAct of2000 to make the prohibition on offsettingorreducing benefits under aprivatemarket shortterm disability insurance policy basedon estimated oractual benefitsreceived underthe Universal Paid Leave Amendment Actof2016 enforceableunderthat law, regardless of the jurisdiction in which the insurance policy wasissued or written. BEITENACTED BY THE COUNCIL OFTHE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA,Thatthis act may be cited as the "Short-Term Disability Insurance BenefitProtection Clarification Amendment Act of2026". Sec. 2. Section 107()(1)ofthe Universal Paid Leave Amendment Actof2016, effective April 7, 2017 (D.C. Law 21-264;D.C. Official Code § 32-541.07()(1)), is amended to readas follows: "(j)(1) No insurermay offset orreduce benefitsorincomeavailableto an eligible individual underan individual orgroup policy for temporary or short-term disability insurance basedonestimated oractual benefitstheeligible individual may ordoes receive underthis act, regardless ofthejurisdiction inwhichsuchpolicy was issued, executed, written, ordelivered.". Sec. 3. Section 120aofthe Insurance Trade and Economic DevelopmentAmendmentAct of2000, effectiveNovember 13, 2021 (D.C. Law24-45;D.C. Official Code § 31-2231.204), is amended as follows: (a) Subsection (a) isamended to read as follows: (a) No insurer may offsetorreducebenefits or income availableto an eligible individual under a temporary or short-termdisability insurancepolicy, based on estimated …