Member Article

On March 18, 2020, Congress passed H.R. 6201, the Families First Coronavirus Response Act. The Act, which is on its way to the President’s desk for immediate signature, includes many emergency measures to address COVID-19. The provisions with the greatest potential to impact employers and employees nation-wide are the Emergency Family and Medical Leave Expansion Act of 2020 and the Emergency Paid Sick Leave Act.

NEW: What employers need to know about the Families First Coronavirus Act: FAQ

The final Act varies slightly from the bill originally passed by the House. The original bill required covered employers to provide eligible employees with 2 weeks of emergency paid sick leave for COVID-19 related reasons and up to 12 weeks of paid leave for employees who went on leave for COVID-19 related reasons, including COVID-19 exposure, quarantine, or due to a school closing. The amended version lessens this burden; only employees who are unable to work or telework due to a school closing would be entitled to the 12 weeks of paid leave under the amended version of the bill. Employees will be paid two-thirds their typical earnings with a cap of $200 per day. The updated bill also exempts healthcare personnel and emergency responders.

Below are the highlights of the paid leave portions of the Act, as amended, followed by a “heads up” on what’s next. Please check back soon for more information and a Q&A on the final Act:

Emergency Paid Sick Leave Act

This portion of the bill requires employers with fewer than 500 employees to provideup to80 hours of paid sick leave to all employees for certain covered purposes related to COVID-19. Here are the key components of the paid sick leave mandate:

• Full-time employees are entitled to 80 hours of paid sick leave, while part-time employees are entitled to the number of hours equal to the hours the employee works over a 2-week period (i.e., a part-time employee who works 20 hours per week would receive 40 hours in paid sick leave).
  
  
• The paid sick leave may be used by employees immediately with no minimum employment period for eligibility.
  
  
• The paid sick leave may be used when an employee is unable to work (or telework) because:
  
  
  • The employee is subject to a Federal, State, or local quarantine/isolation order;
    
    
  • The employee has been advised by a health care provider to self-quarantine due to COVID-19-related concerns;
    
    
  • The employee is experiencing COVID-19 symptoms and seeking a medical diagnosis;
    
    
  • The employee is caring for an individual who is subject to an order as described in subparagraph (1) or has been advised as described in paragraph (2);
    
    
  • The employee is caring for a son or daughter because their school or place of care has been closed, or their child care provider is unavailable, due to COVID-19 precautions; or
    
    
  • For other substantially similar conditions that may be later specified by the Secretary of Health and Human Services.
    
    
• If an employee uses paid sick leave for reasons 1, 2, or 3, then the employer must pay the employee their full earnings, with a cap of $511 per day ($5,110 total). If the employee uses paid sick leave for reasons 4, 5, or 6, then the employee must be paid in an amount not less than two-thirds of the employee’s earnings, with a cap of $200 per day ($2,000 total).
  
  
• Employers with existing paid sick leave policies should note that the paid leave provided by this Emergency Paid Sick Leave Act would bein addition totheir own policy’s paid leave, and employers would be prohibited from changing their existing leave policy to avoid this new requirement. Employers would also be required to post a notice regarding employees’ rights under the law (a model notice will be made available for this purpose).
  
  
• An employer may not require an employee to use other paid leave provided by the employer to the employee before the employee uses the paid sick time.
  
  
• An employer of an employee who is a healthcare provider or an emergency responder may elect to exclude such employee from this Emergency Paid Sick Leave Act.
  
  
• The Department of Labor may promulgate regulations allowing hardship exemptions for employers with fewer than 50 employees “when the imposition of such requirements would jeopardize the viability of the business as a going concern.”
  
  
• If enacted, the Emergency Paid Sick Leave Act would take effect no later than 15 days after the enactment of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act.
  
  
• The Act would expire on December 31, 2020.
  
  

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