Selected Highlights of Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) (March 19, 2020)

On March 18, 2020, President Trump signed the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) into law. Here are some highlights of the Act for employers:

FFCRA

• takes effect: April 1, 2020
• three major provisions for employers:
  • amends FMLA
  • establishes paid sick leave requirement
  • provides for tax credits for employers

Emergency Family and Medical Leave Expansion Act

• Employers covered:
  • if have less than 500 employees
• Employees covered:
  • if employed at least 30 days
• Triggering Event for Benefit:
  • unable to work or telework due to need to care for employee’s child (under 18 years old) because child’s school or place of care is closed due to a public health emergency
• Benefit:
  • 12 weeks of job-protected leave
  • 1^st 10 days of leave may be unpaid
  • remainder of leave must be paid at two-thirds the employee’s regular rate
  • however, paid leave is capped at $200/day and $10,000 aggregate per employee
  • job restoration entitlement may not apply to small employers (less than 25 employees) under some circumstances

Emergency Paid Sick Leave Act

• Employers covered:
  • if have less than 500 employees
• Employees covered:
  • all full-time and part-time employees (regardless of length of employment)
• Triggering events:
  1. Employee is subject to a federal, state or local quarantine or isolation order related to COVID-19;
  2. Employee has been advised by a health care provider to self-quarantine due to COVID-19 concerns;
  3. Employee is experiencing COVID-19 symptoms and seeking medical diagnosis;
  4. Employee is caring for an individual subject to a quarantine or isolation order or who was advised by a health care provider to self-quarantine due to COVID-19 concerns;
  5. Employee is caring for a son or daughter because the child’s school or place of care is closed or unavailable due to COVID-19; or
  6. 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.
• Benefit:
  • Full time employees entitled to:
    • 80 hours of paid sick leave at employee’s regular rate – for reasons 1, 2 and 3
    • 80 hours of paid sick leave at two-thirds of the regular rate – for reasons 4, 5 and 6
  • Part-time employees entitled to:
    • Paid sick leave based on average number of hours worked during the prior 6 months
• Caps on paid sick leave:
  • Capped at $511/day and $5,110 total per employee for reasons 1, 2 and 3
  • Capped at $200/day and $2,000 total per employee for reasons 4, 5 and 6
• Other provisions:
  • Sick leave does not carry over to following year

Tax Credits for Paid Sick and Paid Family and Medical Leave

• Employers entitled to payroll tax credits for payments made to employees

The foregoing is merely a summary of some of the primary provisions of the Act which apply to employers generally. There are many other detailed provisions that are not set forth here. If you have a particular question regarding how the FFCRA applies to you and your employees in particular, you should contact your legal counsel for advice.

For more information, contact:

James J. Dean, Esq.

[email protected]

850-222-0720