Families First Coronavirus Response Act, Emergency Paid Sick Leave Act and Emergency Family and Medical Leave Expansion Act

Overview

The Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) includes Emergency Paid Sick Leave Act (EPSLA) and Emergency Family Medical Leave Expansion Act or Expanded Family and Medical Leave (EFMLA).

FFCRA went into effect on April 1, 2020 and will be in effect through December 31, 2020. FFCRA covers employers who have less than 500 employees. FFCRA requires that covered employers provide paid sick leave or expanded family medical leave to employees. There are some exemptions available for employers with under 50 employees (detailed below under EFMLA).

Employee Eligibility

All part-time and full-time employees are eligible for 80 hours of emergency paid sick leave. Part-time and full-time employees who have been employed for more than 30 calendar days may be eligible for an additional ten weeks of expanded family and medical leave to provide care for a dependent child whose school or childcare provider closed.

Reasons for Leave

Under the FFCRA, an employee qualifies for paid sick time if the employee is unable to work (or unable to telework) due to a need for leave because:

1. The employee is subject to a Federal, State, or local quarantine or isolation order related to COVID-19.
2. The employee has been advised by a health care provider to self-quarantine related to COVID-19.
3. The employee is experiencing COVID-19 symptoms and is seeking a medical diagnosis.
4. The employee is caring for an individual subject to an order described in (1) or self-quarantine as described in (2).
5. The employee is caring for a child whose school or place of care is closed (or childcare provider is unavailable) for reasons related to COVID-19.*
6. The employee is experiencing any other substantially similar condition specified by the Secretary of Health and Human Services, in consultation with the Secretaries of Labor and Treasury.

For reasons 1-3 above the employee is entitled to the following provisions:

1. A full-time employee is eligible for 80 hours of leave, and a part-time employee is eligible for the number of hours of leave that the employee works on average over a two-week period.
   1. Employees taking leave are entitled to pay at either their regular rate or the applicable minimum wage, whichever is higher, up to $511 per day and $5,110 in the aggregate (over a 2-week period).

For reasons 4 and 6 the employee is entitled to the following provisions:

1. A full-time employee is eligible for 80 hours of leave, and a part-time employee is eligible for the number of hours of leave that the employee works on average over a two-week period.
   1. Employees taking leave are entitled to pay at 2/3 their regular rate or 2/3 the applicable minimum wage, whichever is higher, up to $200 per day and $2,000 in the aggregate (over a 2-week period).

For reason 5 the employee is entitled to the following provisions:

1. A full-time employee is eligible for up to 12 weeks of leave (two weeks of paid sick leave followed by up to 10 weeks of paid expanded family & medical leave) at 40 hours a week, and a part-time employee is eligible for leave for the number of hours that the employee is normally scheduled to work over that period.
   1. Employees taking leave are entitled to pay at 2/3 their regular rate or 2/3 the applicable minimum wage, whichever is higher, up to $200 per day and $12,000 in the aggregate (over a 12-week period)

Under 50 Employees?

Employers with under 50 employees are mandated by FFCRA to provide emergency paid sick leave to employees for reasons 1-4 and 6. The only exemption that small businesses may claim is for reason number 5 and expanded family and medical leave. The employer may be exempt from providing an employee leave under 5 and expanded family and medical leave for childcare if granting the leave to an employee would jeopardize the viability of the business as a going concern. The Families First Coronavirus Response Act: Questions and Answers link below helps answer specific questions and can help you navigate if your business would qualify for this exemption. Look at numbers 58 and 59 for additional assistance.

Important Resources

The following poster must be displayed with other workplace posters. Ensure to include this electronically for all employees with other workplace posters for remote workers. This poster must remain in place until December 31, 2020.

Employee Rights Paid Sick Leave and Expanded Family And Medical Leave Under The Families First Coronavirus Response Act Workplace Poster (make the last line of text the hyperlink) https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/WHD/posters/FFCRA_Poster_WH1422_Non-Federal.pdf

The link below is updated by the Department of Labor and has 75+ questions and answers for business owners and human resources professionals to help navigate FFCRA.

Families First Coronavirus Response Act: Questions and Answers (make the last line of text the hyperlink) https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/pandemic/ffcra-questions

The link below outlines the tax credits for FFCRA, paid sick leave, and expanded family and medical leave.

COVID-19-Related Tax Credits for Required Paid Leave Provided by Small and Midsize Businesses FAQs (make the last line of text the hyperlink) https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/covid-19-related-tax-credits-for-required-paid-leave-provided-by-small-and-midsize-businesses-faqs

Definitions

*Child and School provisions related to reason 5

"Child" means a biological, adopted, or foster child, a stepchild, a legal ward, or a child of a person standing in loco parentis, who is-

(A) under 18 years of age; or

(B) 18 years of age or older and incapable of self-care because of a mental or physical disability.

"Childcare provider" means a provider who receives compensation for providing childcare services on a regular basis, including:

• a center-based childcare provider
• a group home childcare provider
• a family childcare provider (one individual who provides childcare services for fewer than 24 hours per day, as the sole caregiver, and in a private residence)
• other licensed provider of childcare services for compensation
• a childcare provider that is 18 years of age or older who provides childcare services to children who are either the grandchild, great grandchild, sibling (if such provider lives in a separate residence), niece, or nephew of such provider, at the direction of the parent.

"School" means an elementary or secondary school.