Paid Leave under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act
On April 1, 2020, the U.S. Department of Labor announced new action regarding how American workers and employers will benefit from the protections and relief offered by the Emergency Paid Sick Leave Act (EPSLA) and Emergency Family and Medical Leave Expansion Act (EFMLEA), both part of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA). The DOL’s Wage and Hour Division posted a temporary rule issuing regulations pursuant to this new law, effective April 1, 2020. This rule affects all employers with fewer than 500 employees, including not-for-profit organizations, with certain exceptions for organizations with less than 50 employees. The paid leave provisions are in effect through December 31, 2020.
A few of the key highlights include:
- Two weeks (up to 80 hours) of paid sick leave at the employee’s regular rate of pay due to the employee being quarantined, and/or experiencing COVID-19 symptoms and seeking a diagnosis. The maximum payments are $511 per day and $5,110 in aggregate.
- Two weeks (up to 80 hours) of paid sick leave at two-thirds the employee’s regular rate of pay because the employee is unable to work because of a need to care for an individual subject to quarantine, or to care for a child (under 18 years of age) whose school or child care provider is closed or unavailable for reasons related to COVID-19. The maximum payments are $200 per day and $2,000 in aggregate.
- Up to an additional 10 weeks of paid expanded family and medical leave at two-thirds the employee’s regular rate of pay where an employee is unable to work due to a need for leave to care for a child whose school or child care provider is closed or unavailable for reasons related to COVID-19. The maximum payments are $200 per day and $12,000 in aggregate.
Employers are explicitly required to post these employee rights in the workplace and have them readily available on employer internal websites. For additional resources, see the following links:
- https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/pandemic/ffcra-employee-paid-leave
- https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/pandemic/ffcra-employer-paid-leave
- https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/pandemic/ffcra-poster-questions
If you have any questions regarding this information, please reach out to Janice Snyder, Partner at McKonly & Asbury at jsnyder@macpas.com. You can also visit our COVID-19 Resource Center for up-to-date news and upcoming webinars on COVID-19 matters by visiting macpas.com/covid-19.
This communication is intended to provide general information on legislative COVID-19 relief measures as of the date of this communication and may reference information from reputable sources. Although McKonly & Asbury has made every reasonable effort to ensure that the information provided is accurate, we make no warranties, expressed or implied, on the information provided. As legislative efforts are still ongoing, we expect that there may be additional guidance and clarification from regulators that may modify some of the provisions in this communication. Some of those modifications may be significant. As such, be aware that this is not a comprehensive analysis of the subject matter covered and is not intended to provide specific recommendations to you or your business with respect to the matters addressed.
