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; (2) The employee has been advised by a health care provider to self-quarantine due to concerns related to COVID-19; or, (3) The employee is experiencing symptoms of COVID-19 and seeking a medical diagnosis. Employers must pay $200.00 per day (not to exceed $2,000 per week) to employee who takes sick leave for the following reasons: (4) The employee is caring for an individual who is subject to a quarantine or isolation order as described in (1), left, or has been advised as described in (2), left; (5) The employee is caring for a son or daughter whose school or place of care has been closed, or the child care provider is unavailable, due to COVID-19 precautions; or, (6) 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. |
| Emergency Family and Medical Leave Expansion Act | First 10 days of Public Health Emergency Leave must be1) paid at $200 per day (not to exceed $2,000 per week); or, 2) an employee may VOLUNTARILY choose to: (a) substitute accrued vacation leave, personal leave, or other medical leave during this period; or, (b) take unpaid leave for the first ten days.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.