Understanding Employee Paid Sick Leave Under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act

The COVID-19 pandemic has made a major impact on our personal lives and professional livelihoods. As schools and businesses close to prevent further contamination, the number of cases continues to grow. To help those who have lost work due to illness, the Families First Coronavirus Response Act was passed in mid-March, which requires certain employers to provide their employees with paid sick leave or expanded medical leave for specified reasons related to COVID-19. FFCRA will go into effect April 1 through December 31, 2020.

This article shines a small light on some of the common questions employees have about paid sick leave under FFCRA. To learn more about what employers need to know about the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, sign up for the one-hour premium webcast. 

 

What are employees are eligible for?

Under FFCRA, employees working for covered employers are eligible for: 

• Up to 80 hours (two weeks) of paid sick leave at the employee’s regular rate of pay, should that employee be unable to work because he or she is quarantined and/or experiencing COVID-19 symptoms and seeking a medical diagnosis; or
• Up to 80 hours (two weeks) of paid sick leave at two-thirds of the employee’s regular rate of pay because he or she is unable to work because of a bona fide need to care for an individual subject to quarantine or care for a child under the age of 18 whose school or childcare provider is closed or unavailable for reasons related to COVID-19.
• Up to an additional 10 weeks of paid expanded family and medical leave at two-thirds the employee’s regular rate of pay, where an employee who has been employed for at least 30 calendar days, is unable to work due to a bona fide need for leave to care for a child whose school or child care provider is closed or unavailable for reasons related to COVID-19.
• Note that employers of health care providers or emergency responders may elect to exclude such employees from eligibility for the leave provided under the Act.

 

What employers are covered under the FFCRA?

The paid sick leave and expanded family and medical leave provisions of the FFCRA apply to certain public employers and private employers with fewer than 500 employees.

Note that most employees of the federal government are covered by Title II of the Family and Medical Leave Act, which was not amended by this Act, and are therefore not covered by the expanded family and medical leave provisions of the FFCRA. However, federal employees covered by Title II of the Family and Medical Leave Act are covered by the paid sick leave provision. 

Also, small businesses with fewer than 50 employees may qualify for exemption from the requirement to provide leave, due to school closings or childcare unavailability, if the leave requirements would jeopardize the viability of the business as a going concern.

 

What are the qualifying 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 the employee:

• Is subject to a federal, state, or local quarantine or isolation order related to COVID-19.
• Has been advised by a health care provider to self-quarantine related to COVID-19.
• Is experiencing COVID-19 symptoms and is seeking a medical diagnosis.
• Is caring for an individual subject to a federal state or local quarantine or isolation order or advised to self-quarantine by a health care advisor.
• Is caring for a child whose school or place of care is closed (or childcare provider is unavailable) for reasons related to COVID-19.
• 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.

Under the FFCRA, an employee qualifies for expanded family leave if the employee is caring for a child whose school or place of care is closed (or child are provider is unavailable) for reasons related to COVID-19.

 

How long is my qualified leave?

If you are caring for a child whose school or place of care is closed (or childcare provider is unavailable) for reasons related to COVID-19, a full-time employee is eligible for up to 12 weeks of 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.

For all other qualifying reasons for leave, a full-time employee is eligible for up to 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.

 

How much will I be paid during my qualified leave?

If employees are subject to a federal, state or local quarantine or isolation order related to COVID-19, have been advised by a health care provider to self quarantine, or they are experiencing COVID-19 symptoms and seeking a medical diagnosis, they shall be paid 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 two-week period).

If caring for an individual subject to a federal, state or local quarantine or isolation order or advised to self-quarantine by a health care advisor or experiencing any other substantially similar condition specified by the Secretary of Health and Human Services, in consultation with the Secretaries of Labor and Treasury, employees taking leave shall be paid two-thirds their regular rate or two-thirds the applicable minimum wage, whichever is higher, up to $200 per day and $2,000 in the aggregate (over two weeks).

If employees are caring for a child whose school or place of care is closed (or childcare provider is unavailable) for reasons related to COVID-19, employees taking leave shall be paid at two-thirds their regular rate or two-thirds the applicable minimum wage, whichever is higher, up to $200 per day and $12,000 in the aggregate (over a 12-week period). This includes two weeks of paid sick leave followed by up to 10 weeks of paid expanded family and medical leave.

Other commonly asked questions can be found on the Department of Labor’s page on COVID-19 and the American Workplace.