In response to the COVID-19 outbreak, the federal government passed the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA). This serves to expand paid sick leave as well as family and medical leave for employees impacted by COVID-19. The new regulations take effect on April 1, 2020 and last through December 31, 2020.
Covered Employers and Employees
The law applies to businesses with less than 500 employees, although certain businesses--including those with fewer than 50 employees--are exempt. Some healthcare and emergency response organizations also may be exempt.
To get an exemption, you must prove that you do not have the financial resources to provide the required leave, and complying with the law would mean you would go out of business. If your business has fewer than 25 employees, you are not required to reinstate employees after they are on leave. If you have 25 or more employees, you must reinstate employees after a leave.
As with other employee protections, this law only applies to those who are actually employees, and not independent contractors. Both part-time and full-time employees benefit under the law, but employees do not have protection until 30 days after their start date.
Qualifying Reasons for Paid Leave
For an employee to take paid leave under FFCRA, the person must have a qualifying reason related to COVID-19, as specified in the statute. In addition, the employee must in fact be unable to work. If the person is able to work remotely, the employer is not required to provide paid leave. The qualifying reasons include:
- the employee is subject to a government-mandated quarantine or social isolation related to the Coronavirus
- a healthcare worker has advised the employee to self-quarantine
- the employee is experiencing symptoms of COVID-19, has been diagnosed, or is seeking a diagnosis
- the employee is caring for another individual with COVID-19 symptoms
- the employee is responsible for a child whose school or daycare has been closed due to COVID-19
- the employee is experiencing symptoms of any other substantially-related health condition.
Increased Paid Sick Leave Requirements
The new law provides that all covered employees must be provided with up to two weeks of paid sick leave for a qualified reason related to COVID-19. For hourly employees, this must amount to 80 hours of leave. If the employee is part-time, the amount of leave is whatever the part-time equivalent for that employee would be. For instance, if the employee typically works 20 hours per week, the employer must provide 40 hours of paid leave.
However, the amount paid out may not be as much as the employee’s salary. If the employee is experiencing COVID-19 symptoms, has been advised to self-quarantine, or is subject to a government quarantine order, they may be entitled to 100% of their salary, but only up to $511 a day and $5,110 total over the two weeks. In contrast, if the employee is experiencing a similar health condition that is not the coronavirus, or is caring for someone else with COVID-19 symptoms, the compensation is more limited. In that case, the employee must receive â…” of their regular pay, up to $200 daily and $2,000 total.
Increased Family Medical Leave Act Coverage
FFCRA also expands Family Medical Leave Act coverage under limited circumstances. If the employee must care for a child because the school or child care provider is closed due to COVID-19, the employee is entitled up to 12 weeks of paid leave. The 12 weeks include two weeks of paid sick leave, followed by 10 weeks of family medical leave. The amount paid is â…” of the employee’s salary, for a maximum of $200 a day and $12,000 total over the 12 weeks.
What Happens After The Required Leave?
After the amount of money is maxed out or the required time has passed, the employer is no longer required to provide compensation to the employee. However, these are only minimum requirements, and the employer can provide more than what the law requires.
In addition, the mandated leave is intended to supplement the existing leave policies of the employer. This means that if an employee took paid leave under the employer’s pre-existing policy, they would be entitled to additional leave under the FFCRA. For example, if the business provided for two weeks of paid sick time, the employee could first take this time, and then would be entitled to an additional two weeks under the FFCRA.
Tax Credits Available
To offset the increased costs to business, payroll tax credits are available. This credit can be used to offset payroll taxes that the employer is typically responsible for, including Social Security, Medicare, and federal income tax. Employers can receive a credit for 100% of the paid leave provided under the FFCRA. However, credit is not available for paid leave the employer would have otherwise provided under pre-existing policies.
