The Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) was signed into law on March 18, 2020.
For small businesses with hourly workers, the most pressing sections are the new emergency paid sick leave and paid family leave requirements that go into effect on April 1, 2020, and last until December 31, 2020.
New paid leave benefits
The FFCRA introduced two new paid leave benefits: Emergency Paid Sick Leave and Emergency Paid Family Leave.
Emergency Paid Sick Leave
Full-time employees: receive up to two weeks of paid sick leave that’s paid at their regular rate of pay. The regular rate of pay is calculated by dividing the total wages your employee earned (including tips, commissions, or piece rate work) in any workweek by the total hours they worked.
Part-time employees are eligible to receive paid sick leave that’s equal to the average number of hours they work over a two-week period. You can calculate that two-week number by looking at the average hours they worked over the previous six months.
WHAT QUALIFIES AS SICK LEAVE SUBJECT TO THE FFCRA?
- Employee has to quarantine or isolate because of a local, state, or federal COVID-19 order;
- Employee has been told by a health care provider to quarantine; or
- Employee has COVID-19 symptoms and is seeking testing (even if test has not been completed).
HOW MUCH PAY WHERE SICK LEAVE IS FOR EMPLOYEE?
The employee must be paid whatever amount is greatest:
- Employee’s regular rate of pay; or
- Federal, State or City minimum wage
WHAT ABOUT WHEN AN EMPLOYEE TAKES LEAVE FOR A FAMILY MEMBER?
The FFCRA allows employees to take leave if they’re caring for a family member because of COVID-19 and they can’t work (including remotely). They include these two situations:
- Caring for a family member who is quarantined or self-quarantined; or
- Caring of a child whose school or daycare is closed or unavailable because of coronavirus orders.
HOW MUCH TO PAY WHEN SICK LEAVE IS TO CARE FOR FAMILY MEMBER?
The employee must be paid two-thirds (66.67%) of their regular rate.
WHICH EMPLOYERS MUST PROVIDE PAID LEAVE?
Employers with 500 or fewer employees.
Exemptions:
- Employers with fewer than 50 employees, where paid leave would “jeopardize the viability of the business.”
- Emergency responders and health care provider who wish to exclude certain employees from these provisions.[1]
All types of employees who work at eligible businesses are covered under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act—exempt and nonexempt and hourly and salaried.
Expanded family and medical leave
Under the FFCRA small employers are also required to give eligible employees up to 12 weeks of paid family leave if they can’t work (including remotely) because their kids’ school or daycare is closed or unavailable because of this public health emergency. This is the paid leave defined in the Emergency Family and Medical Leave Expansion Act.
The first 10 days of the family leave can be unpaid, and employees may choose to use their accrued paid time off (“PTO,” e.g. vacation, personal, or sick leave) during this time. Employers may also require employees to use their PTO during the 10-day period.
WHICH EMPLOYEES ARE ELIGIBLE FOR EMERGENCY PAID FAMILY LEAVE?
Eligible employees need to have worked at least 30 calendar days and have a child that’s under 18 years of age.
IS THE LEAVE JOB PROTECTED
For companies with 25 or more employees – both types of emergency paid leave are job-protected, meaning an employee has to get the same or similar position when they return. That typically means they have to receive the same pay, benefits, and other conditions.
For companies with fewer than 25 employees there is no job protection if an employee’s position is obsolete because of operational changes caused by coronavirus.
WHAT ELSE DO EMPLOYERS NEED TO DO?
There are a few important details to remember:
- Poster: Employers are required to post a physical notice about the FFCRA in the workplace or distribute it electronically. The poster can be downloaded here.
- For more details about this requirement, check out the DOL’s FAQ page.
REFERENCES:
[1] The Department of Labor has not yet explained these exemptions. We will update this article as information becomes available.