Riddle & Riddle Injury Lawyers | April 2, 2020 | Personal Injury
In the wake of the coronavirus outbreak, the federal government has passed the first-ever paid sick leave law in United States history. But as employers and workers scramble to adapt to life in the age of COVID-19, the question remains: who is covered by the new paid sick leave law?
The Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA)
Signed into law on March 18, 2020, the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) requires that many workers be provided paid sick leave if they need to take time off due to the coronavirus / COVID-19 outbreak. It also expands unemployment benefits and provides for free coronavirus testing. There are two types of paid leave provided for in the FFCRA:- An expansion of the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA)
- New emergency paid sick leave
FMLA Expansion
Under its expansion of the Family Medical Leave Act, the new law waives the requirement that an employee needs to have been employed for at least a year and worked at least 1250 hours in the last 12 months in order to qualify for federally mandated family medical leave. Instead, employees are now eligible for family medical leave after just 30 days of employment.
The FMLA expansion included in the new coronavirus-related sick leave law also allows employees to take up to 12 weeks of “job-protected” leave if they are unable to work due to school closures associated with the COVID-19 pandemic.
Many US workers have been forced to stay home in order to care for children for whom school has been cancelled due to the coronavirus.
According to the new law, the first 10 days of this job-protected leave can be unpaid, but after that employers must pay employees at least two-thirds of their regular pay, up to $200 per day.
Unlike the rest of the Family Medical Leave Act, this new provision does apply to companies with fewer than 500 employees (although certain exemptions are available from the Department of Labor). While the new paid leave rule represents a significant expense for employers, it is important to note that under the law, businesses are eligible for tax credits totaling 100 percent of the cost of providing this paid leave.
Emergency Paid Sick Leave
The second component of the FFCRA covers paid sick leave. Under the new legislation, private employers with less than 500 employees (and certain public sector employers) must provide paid sick leave to any employee unable to work because they:- Are under government-mandated quarantine or isolation related to the coronavirus
- Have been told by a health care provider that they should self-isolate due to the coronavirus
- Are experiencing COVID-19 symptoms and seeking diagnosis
- Are caring for a child because the child’s school or daycare has closed (or because the provider is no longer available due to coronavirus-related precautions)
- Are experiencing a “substantially similar” condition defined by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
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