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Coronavirus response act takes effect April 2, expands FMLA and paid sick leave requirements
March 23, 2020 News and Announcements
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The Families First Coronavirus Response Act, phase II, which will provide paid leave, food assistance and tax credits to individuals in the U.S. affected by the novel coronavirus, passed the Senate March 18 and was signed into law the same day by President Trump.
Beginning April 2, H.R. 6201 will require employers with fewer than 500 employees, with some exceptions, to provide 12 weeks of protected leave to eligible employees who are unable to work, including telework, because their child’s school or place of care has been closed or their child care provider is unavailable due to a public health emergency. The new requirement, which amends the Family and Medical Leave Act, will expire Dec. 31. The 500-employee threshold under the emergency FMLA is a significant change from the current FMLA threshold of 50 or more employees.
Health care providers, which may include dentists, and small businesses with fewer than 50 employees, may be exempt from the new provision. Exemptions would be granted by the Secretary of Labor, who will likely communicate those guidelines, and how businesses may request an exemption, prior to the law taking effect on April 2.
Covered employees and pay calculation under emergency FMLA
Any employee who has been employed for at least 30 days is eligible for the new leave entitlement under the Act ― a significant change from the required 12 months and minimum 1,250 aggregate hours under the current law.
The first two weeks of the employee’s “emergency” FMLA leave may consist of unpaid leave, but the employee may choose to substitute any accrued, unused vacation, PTO or paid sick leave benefits for the unpaid leave. The remainder of emergency FMLA pay must be provided by the employer. Therefore, a covered employer must provide at least 10 weeks of qualifying paid emergency FMLA leave to a covered employee.
The remaining 10 weeks of paid leave must be at least two-thirds of an employee’s regular rate of pay of the last six months and reflect the number of hours an employee would otherwise be normally scheduled to work. The paid leave is capped, however, at $200 per day and $10,000 in the aggregate.
Emergency paid sick leave
Also beginning April 2, all employees are eligible for paid sick leave under the Emergency Paid Sick Leave Act, regardless of the length of time they have been employed. Employees are not required to first use other available paid leave before using paid sick leave under the Act. This leave is in addition to any paid sick leave, vacation or PTO currently provided by employers. An eligible employee may take paid sick leave if they are unable to work (including telework) due to one of the following six reasons:
The employee is subject to a federal, state or local quarantine or isolation order related to COVID-19.
The employee has been advised by a health care provider to self-quarantine due to concerns related to COVID-19.
The employee is experiencing symptoms of COVID-19 and seeking a medical diagnosis.
The employee is caring for an individual who is subject to an order or quarantine;
The employee is caring for a son or daughter of such employee if the school or place of care of the son or daughter has been closed or the childcare provider of such son or daughter is unavailable due to COVID-19 precautions.
The employee is experiencing any other substantially similar condition specified by the Secretary of Health and Human Services in consultation with the Secretary of the Treasury and the Secretary of Labor.
https://www.cda.org/Home/News-and-E...expands-fmla-and-paid-sick-leave-requirements