District of Columbia lawmakers have approved a new tax on businesses that would fund up to eight weeks of paid time off from work—a proposal opposed by ASAE and other business groups in D.C.

D.C. Council voted 9 to 4 Tuesday for the new policy, the Washington Post reported. The margin of approval makes the new law likely to survive a potential veto by D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser.

The ordinance guarantees employees in the District up to eight weeks of paid leave to care for a new child and six weeks of paid leave to look after a sick family member. All employees are also guaranteed two weeks of personal time.

To pay for the new benefit, the District will create a new 0.62 percent payroll tax on employers. The tax is forecast to generate $250 million annually, the Post reported. Employees would be reimbursed 90 percent for their first $900 of weekly pay and 50 percent of their remaining pay, with a cap of $1,000 a week.

ASAE and other D.C. business groups lobbied against the tax, calling it an undue burden on employers. They instead proposed alternative "employer mandate" that gave employers much more flexibility in determining how they wanted to provide paid time off. http://wapo.st/2h1P8hE

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