Families First Coronavirus Response Act
Emergency Family & Medical Leave Expansion
Effective April 2, 2020-December 31, 2020
- Employers with fewer than 500 employees
- Employees must be employed 40 days prior to leave
- Excludes healthcare providers and emergency responders
- Small businesses with fewer than 50 employees may be exempt if required leave would jeopardize the viability of the business
- Various levels of leave
Emergency Family Leave:
- ONLY reason for emergency leave of up to 12 weeks of job-protected leave is to care for employee’s child (under 18 years of age) if the child’s school or place of care is closed or the childcare provider is unavailable due to public health emergency.
Paid Leave:
- First 10 days must be unpaid
- Employee may elect to use available PTO to cover some or all of 10-day unpaid leave
- Employer must pay full-time employees 2/3 of the regular rate of pay for the # of hours employee would normally be scheduled to work
- Part-Time employees are eligible based on the average hours per week in the 6-month period prior to leave or the expected hours to work per week if employed less than 6 months
- Reasonable attempts should be made to return employee to equivalent work for up to a year following leave
Emergency Paid Sick Leave
Effective April 2, 2020- December 21, 2020
Reasons for Paid Sick Leave
Employee’s regular rate of pay:
- Subject to federal, state or local quarantine or isolation order related to COVID-19
- Advised by physician to self-quarantine due to COVID-19
- Experiencing COVID-19 symptoms and seeking medical diagnosis