Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority

Washington, DC

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documented benefits (5)

Paid training	Metrobus Operator: WMATA pays a training wage of up to $20/hr, rising to $30.62/hr on graduation, and advertises training 'in as little as six weeks' (its own careers FAQ says the Student Metrobus Operator programme is ten weeks). No repayment or clawback agreement is published. But the CDL is NOT free: WMATA's careers FAQ states it does not provide assistance in obtaining the CDL learner's permit or the passenger and air brake endorsements, and does not reimburse the cost of the permit test or renewal - the applicant pays.
No experience needed	Metrobus Operator is advertised as requiring no prior commercial driving experience: WMATA recruits people who have never driven a commercial vehicle and trains them to CDL standard, with a starting package advertised at over $50k including overtime.
Union contract	Bus operators become union-represented on graduation from training: union seniority and the 90-day probationary period both start the Sunday after the graduation date. WMATA's operating and maintenance workforce is represented by ATU Local 689.
Schedule protection	Honest negative at entry: during training, assignments include day and night, weekday and weekend. On graduation you are placed at whichever garage has the greatest need and your shift is assigned then - the only division a new operator may choose is Landover. Work location, shifts and scheduled days off are explained during training, i.e. after you have committed.
Promoted from within	Entry route: you join as a Student Metrobus Operator on a ten-week training programme (the recruitment page advertises 'as little as six weeks'). Absences in the first four weeks are prohibited and unapproved absence can get you released from the programme. On graduation your 90-day probationary period and your union seniority both begin the following Sunday, and seniority is what governs shifts and days off from then on.

the legal floor where they are

Set by law, not by Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority. It applies to every employer in Washington, DC.

IVF cycles the state covers	THERE IS NO FEDERAL MANDATE. No US law requires an employer health plan to cover IVF or any infertility treatment, so coverage comes either from the insurance mandate in the state where the plan is written or from the employer's own choice. And the state mandates reach less far than they look: they bind fully insured plans bought from a state-regulated carrier, while a self-funded employer plan is governed federally under ERISA and is preempted from state insurance regulation. KFF's 2025 employer survey puts 67% of covered workers in a self-funded plan, and 80% of those at firms of 200 or more — so at the size of employer this site mostly covers, the state mandate usually does not apply, and any fertility benefit is a genuine company choice rather than a restatement of law. That is precisely why it belongs on a benefits page here. Perks has not yet read this employer's own state insurance mandate from an official source; the states that have been read carry their own entry. (No federal statute requires an employer health plan to cover infertility treatment or IVF. The Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) preempts state insurance regulation as applied to self-funded employer plans, which is why a state mandate does not reach them.)
Adoption leave the law gives	12 workweeks of UNPAID job-protected leave in any 12-month period on the placement of a child for adoption or foster care, and only for employees who meet the FMLA eligibility test. There is no federal paid adoption leave. (Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993, 29 U.S.C. 2612(a)(1)(B) and 2612(c); eligibility at 29 U.S.C. 2611(2) and (4). Quoted from the 2023 edition of the US Code.)
Pay when you are ill	No federal law requires any paid sick leave. The FLSA does not require payment for time not worked, and the FMLA gives 12 workweeks of UNPAID job-protected leave in any 12-month period for a serious health condition, and only for employees who meet the FMLA eligibility test. Any paid sick time comes from a state or city law, or from the employer's own choice. (Fair Labor Standards Act, per the Department of Labor's statement on payment for time not worked; Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993, 29 U.S.C. 2612(a)(1)(D) and 2612(c). Quoted from the 2023 edition of the US Code on govinfo.gov.)

Every claim above is sourced and dated. See sources on the full page.

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