Families First Coronavirus Response Act
This Act applies to employers with greater than 50 but fewer than 500 employees and to all government employers. The legislation further gives the Secretary of Labor the authority to exempt small businesses with fewer than 50 employees from the bill’s paid leave requirements if those requirements would jeopardize the viability of the business.
Yesterday the U.S. Senate passed the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, H.R. 6201 and President Trump signed the bill into law. The bill’s provisions become effective within 15 days, which means employers must act swiftly to amend policies and train employees to ensure that employee leaves are administered in accordance with the new law. Below is a summary of the key provisions of the legislation that may impact your company.
Effective for one year after April 3, 2020. |
Emergency Paid Sick Leave (two weeks) | Employers must pay $511.00 per day (not to exceed $5,110 per week) to employee who takes sick leave for the following reasons:
(1) The employee is subject to a Federal, State, or local quarantine or isolation order related to COVID-19;
Employers must pay $200.00 per day (not to exceed $2,000 per week) to employee who takes sick leave for the following reasons: |
Emergency Family and Medical Leave Expansion Act | First 10 days of Public Health Emergency Leave must be
1) paid at $200 per day (not to exceed $2,000 per week); or, NOTE: The employer may not require an employee to take unpaid leave or to substitute vacation leave for these first 10 days.
After 10 days of Public Health Emergency Leave, the paid Public Health Emergency Leave continues at a rate of no less than 2/3 of the employee’s usual rate of pay but no more than $200 per day and $10,000 in total. |
Tax Credit | A refundable tax credit equal to 100 percent of all qualified paid sick and Public Health Emergency leave wages paid by an employer for each calendar quarter is allowed against the tax imposed by Internal Revenue Code section 3111(a) (the employer portion of Social Security taxes). |
The intent of this article is to provide general information on employee benefit issues. It should not be construed as legal advice and, as with any interpretation of law. Employers should seek individual legal advice for application of these rules to their company circumstances.
The information in this article is current through March 19. However, due to the changing nature o the COVID-19 pandemic, the facts stated in this article may change.
©2020 FILIPPOV LAW GROUP, PLLC All rights reserved.