If you have even one employee in Washington, D.C., yes, you need workers compensation insurance. The District of Columbia Workers' Compensation Act requires nearly every private employer to carry it once they have one or more employees, with no minimum headcount, no payroll minimum, and no exception for part-time, seasonal, or family workers. The real questions are how owners are treated and how to buy it, not whether the rule reaches an ordinary employer.
Who this is for: Any D.C. employer, from a brand-new business making its first hire to an established company double-checking the rules for its mix of staff.
The short version
- Coverage is required once you have employees; there is no headcount trigger and no payroll minimum.
- Part-time, seasonal, and temporary workers all count, and there is no general family-member exception.
- D.C. has no farm or agriculture exemption, so an agricultural worker counts like anyone else.
- Owners are handled by business type: a sole proprietor or partner is out unless they opt in, while a paid corporate officer is in unless the company opts them out.
- D.C. has no government fund, so you buy from a private insurer, with an assigned risk pool as the backstop.
Who counts as an employee
D.C. defines an employee broadly: almost anyone in the service of another under a contract of hire, written or spoken, is an employee, and coverage attaches once you have one. Hours, season, and family relationship do not change that. There are only a few narrow carve-outs, and they are smaller than owners usually expect.
| Worker type | Counts toward the mandate? | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Full-time W-2 employee | Yes | Coverage required from day one |
| Part-time or seasonal worker | Yes | No hours or headcount exception |
| Family member you employ | Yes | No general family carve-out in the Act |
| Agricultural worker | Yes | D.C. has no separate farm exemption |
| A truly casual helper outside your trade | No | Only if the work is both casual and not part of your regular business |
| Household worker under 240 hours a quarter | Usually no | A home employer must cover a domestic worker at 240 hours or more in a calendar quarter |
The narrow exceptions
D.C.'s exemptions are short. So-called casual work is exempt only if it is both casual and outside your regular trade or business, so a helper doing your normal work does not qualify. A private household that hires a domestic worker, such as a nanny or housekeeper, only owes coverage once that worker hits 240 hours or more in a single calendar quarter. A licensed real-estate agent who meets a strict independent-contractor test is carved out, and workers already covered by a federal system, such as federal employees, are outside the Act. Beyond those and the owner elections below, the first-employee rule reaches almost everyone, including construction crews.
How D.C. treats business owners
Owners are the one place the answer changes with your structure, and D.C. splits the rules in two directions. A sole proprietor and a partner are not treated as their own employees, so they are left off coverage unless they opt in. A paid corporate officer is the opposite: an officer who draws a wage is an employee of the corporation and is covered by default, and the company must opt them out if that is the goal. All of these choices are made by an endorsement your insurance carrier adds to the policy, not a form filed with the District. Whatever the owners choose, every non-owner employee must be covered from day one.
A Shaw example
Illustrative, not a quote. A Shaw cafe owner hires two counter staff and one part-time weekend baker and assumes part-timers might not count until she has more of them. In D.C. they count from the first one, so she needs a policy right away. She puts coverage in place before anyone starts, and when the weekend baker burns a hand on a hot tray, comp pays the medical bills and part of the lost wages. Because she was insured, the injury is handled as a comp claim rather than a lawsuit, and we make sure her cafe payroll is priced on the right kind of work. See our workers comp for restaurants page.
Real questions District of Columbia owners ask
Is workers comp legally required for my D.C. business?
If you have any employees, yes. D.C. requires coverage once you have one or more employees. There is no minimum headcount, no payroll minimum, and no part-time or seasonal exception.
How many employees before I need workers comp in D.C.?
One employee is enough. D.C. attaches the requirement to your first employee, so there is no number you can stay under. A single part-time or seasonal hire makes coverage mandatory.
Do part-time or seasonal workers count in D.C.?
Yes. Part-time, seasonal, and temporary workers are all employees for coverage. D.C. does not exempt them, so you cannot avoid the requirement by keeping people part-time.
Does D.C. exempt farm or agricultural workers?
No. The District has no separate agriculture carve-out, so an agricultural worker who meets the employee definition counts the same as any other employee and must be covered.
Do I have to cover a nanny or housekeeper at home?
Only past a point. A private household must carry coverage for a domestic worker once that worker reaches 240 hours or more in a single calendar quarter. Below that, a casual household helper is usually exempt.
Do I have to cover myself as the owner?
It depends on your business type. A sole proprietor or partner is off by default and opts in by a carrier endorsement. A paid corporate officer is covered by default and can be opted out. Your employees are always covered.
What if my workers are independent contractors?
A label does not settle it. D.C. uses the relative-nature-of-the-work test, not the simpler ABC test, to decide who is really an employee. A misclassified worker who gets hurt can leave you exposed.
Why District of Columbia owners choose Morrow
- We shop the right market for you. In Washington, D.C. you buy workers' comp on the open, competitive private market from any insurer licensed in the District, because there is no government fund, and if no carrier will take you the NCCI-run assigned risk plan is the guaranteed backstop, so we can shop your rate freely and still have a fallback for hard-to-place work.
- We catch pricing mistakes. Your price depends heavily on the category your work falls into for pricing (the class code). Put people in the wrong category and you overpay for years. We review your payroll and classifications before you buy.
- Proof of coverage, fast. Need a certificate (proof of coverage) for a general contractor or a landlord before Monday? We turn those around the same business day for most carriers.
- We help lower the score that drives your price. Insurers give you a score based on your past claims that raises or lowers your cost (the experience modification rate). We review it each year, flag errors, and connect you with return-to-work and safety resources that bring it down.
- Real people when a claim happens. When someone gets hurt, we stay involved through the life of the claim, not just at renewal.
Related District of Columbia guides
Every District of Columbia business is set up a little differently. These companion guides answer the same question for other situations, plus the national explainers behind the terms used here.
- Business insurance in District of Columbia (start here)
- I own an LLC: do I need workers comp?
- I'm a sole proprietor: do I need workers comp?
- I own a corporation (C-corp or S-corp): do I need it?
- We're a partnership: do we need workers comp?
- We're a nonprofit: do we need workers comp?
- My workers are 1099: do I still need it?
- Only part-time or seasonal staff: do I need it?
- I only employ family: do I need workers comp?
- Remote or out-of-state staff: do I need coverage?
- What happens if I don't carry workers comp?
- How much does workers comp cost?
- How do I get workers comp (even if turned down)?
- What insurance do I need for a contractor license?
- Workers compensation insurance, explained
- What workers comp costs (national guide)
- Hiring your first employee: what changes
- What workers comp does not cover
- DC restaurant workers comp
This guide is general information, not legal advice. District of Columbia rules and penalty amounts can change, so verify current requirements with the D.C. Office of Workers' Compensation or a licensed advisor before you rely on them. Last updated: July 2026.