Am I Eligible for Unemployment Benefits in Washington D.C.?

To qualify for unemployment benefits in Washington D.C., you must meet two basic requirements:

• you must have earned at least a minimum amount (and/or worked a certain amount of time) before you lost your job, and
• you must be out of work through no fault of your own.

If you meet these two qualifications when you apply, you will likely be eligible to receive unemployment benefits. (To keep receiving benefits after you are found eligible, you will also have to meet your state’s job search requirements; to learn more, see What Do I Have to Do to Keep Receiving Unemployment Benefits in Washington D.C.?)

Gig workers, freelancers, and contractors are no longer eligible for benefits. In response to the COVID-19 public health emergency, Congress greatly expanded eligibility for unemployment. Among other things, these programs provided benefits to gig workers and other contract workers who are not eligible for traditional unemployment benefits. However, these programs expired in every state on September 6, 2021; about half the states cut off these benefits even earlier. 

Eligibility Requirement 1: Minimum Earnings

Unemployment benefits are available only to those who are temporarily out of work. If you apply after being out of the workforce for years, for example, you won’t qualify for benefits. You must have been employed relatively recently, and earned at least a minimum amount, to be eligible.

States look at an applicant’s work history during a stretch of time called the “base period.”

In Washington D.C., the base period is the first four of the five complete calendar quarters immediately before you filed for benefits. For example, if you file for benefits on March 15, 2024, your base period will be from October 1, 2022 through September 30, 2023. It would not include the most recent complete calendar quarter before you filed (October 1, 2023 through December 31, 2023) or the first two-and-a-half months of 2024.

Some states require only that you earn a minimum amount of money during the base period; other states require, either in addition or instead, that you have done some work in more than one quarter of the base period.

In the District of Columbia, you must meet all of these earnings requirements to qualify for benefits: 

• Wages must have been reported to you in at least two quarters of the base period. 
• You must have earned at least $1,300 in the highest paid quarter of the base period. 
• You must have earned at least $1,950 during the entire base period. 
• Your earnings during the entire base period must be at least 1.5 times your earnings in the highest paid quarter, or within $70 of that amount. 

If you did not earn enough to qualify for benefits during the regular base period, you may be able to use an alternate base period that counts more recent earnings. In the District of Columbia, the alternate base period is the last four complete calendar quarters before you file for unemployment. 

Eligibility Requirement 2: Reasons for Unemployment

To qualify for unemployment benefits, you must be out of work through no fault of your own. If you lose your job in a layoff, reduction-in-force (RIF), downsizing, or similar job action in which positions are cut for financial or strategic reasons, you will be eligible for benefits.

However, you don’t have to be laid off to collect unemployment. You may still be eligible even if you quit your job or you were fired, depending on the circumstances.

If You Quit Your Job

You will be disqualified from receiving unemployment benefits in DC if you quit your job voluntarily, without a good reason related to the job. Good reasons include racial or sexual harassment or discrimination; your employer's failure to pay you for services rendered; unsafe working conditions; illness or disability aggravated or caused by your job; or transportation problems caused by your transfer or your employer's relocation. On the other hand, if you quit because you are dissatisfied with your job, you want to attend school, you are moving because of marriage or divorce, or you have had a minor change in your job (such as a reasonable and necessary transfer or a minor reduction in wages), you will be disqualified from receiving benefits.

In some states, you will be disqualified from receiving benefits for a certain number of weeks. In other states, you may be disqualified until you get another job and earn a minimum amount (typically, this amount is less than you would have to earn to qualify for benefits in the first place). Check the District of Columbia Unemployment Insurance: Claimant's Rights and Responsibilities for more information about disqualification based on why you quit your job. 

If You Were Fired

You will be disqualified from receiving benefits if you were fired for gross misconduct, such as theft, arson, intoxication, dishonesty, or repeated absences after being warned. You will be disqualified for a shorter period if you are fired for misconduct that breaches your employment contract or your duties or obligations to the employer, or that adversely affects your employer's interests. This includes violations of work rules, but only if you knew of the rule, it was reasonable, and the employer consistently enforced the rule. 

You may be disqualified either for a set number of weeks or until you get another job and earn a minimum amount, depending on state law. In some states, the length of the disqualification period depends on why you were fired. You can learn more about disqualification based on the reason you were fired in the District of Columbia Unemployment Insurance: Claimant's Rights and Responsibilities. 

If You Are Still Employed

If you are still working but need time off for reasons relating to COVID-19 or other health issues, you may be eligible for paid sick leave under your state's law. See Am I Entitled to Paid Sick Leave, Family Leave, or Vacation Time in Washington D.C. to learn more.