New Sick Leave Requirments

New sick leave requirements under the FFCRA

New sick leave requirements from the Department of Labor (DOL) may impact small businesses. In short, the new rules require certain employers to provide to their employees expanded family and medical leave for reasons related to COVID-19. It affects small businesses who now have to implement this change.

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) published implementation guidance pursuant to the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA). The guidance addresses critical questions such as:

  • How does an employer count its number of employees to determine coverage?
  • How can small businesses obtain an exemption?
  • How does an employer count hours for part-time employees?
  • How does an employer calculate wages employees are entitled to under the FFCRA?
 
The WHD guidance is available in three-parts:

More info:
 
The bill includes a 100 percent refundable tax credit to employers with regards to the following two categories of paid sick and family leave that employers must grant to employees under the bill to address employment interruptions related to COVID-19. 
  1. Certain employers would be required to provide 80 hours (or 2 weeks) of fully paid leave to full-time employees (pro-rata rules would apply to part-time employees) on top of any other existing paid leave program of the employer to cover employees not working for the following uses: 
    • (1) the employee is subject to a Federal, State, or local quarantine or isolation order related to coronavirus; 
    • (2) the employee has been advised by health care provider to self-quarantine due to coronavirus; 
    • (3) the employee is experiencing symptoms of coronavirus; 
    • (4) the employee is caring for an individual who is subject to an order described in (1) or has been advised as described in (2); 
    • (5) the employee is caring for their child because the school is closed or their child care provider is unavailable due to coronavirus; or 
    • (6) the employee is experiencing a similar condition specified by the Secretary of HHS. 
  2. Employers would be required to pay employees their full wages, not to exceed $511 per day and $5,110 in the aggregate, for a use described in (1), (2), or (3) above. 
  3. Employers would be required to pay employees two-thirds of their wages, not to exceed $200 per day and $2,000 in the aggregate, for a use described in (4), (5), or (6) above. 
  4. The requirement to provide the paid leave would apply to all public sector employers and those private-sector employers with less than 500 employees. The tax credit eligibility would only apply to those private-sector employers with less than 500 employees. 
  5. The Secretary of Labor has authority to issue regulations to exempt small businesses with fewer than 50 employees if the above requirements would jeopardize the going concern of the business. 
     
  6. Employers would also generally be required to provide ten weeks of paid leave to employees who are not working because the employee is caring for their child because the school is closed or child care provider is unavailable due to a public health emergency. 
    • Employers would be required to pay employees two-thirds of their wages, not to exceed $200 per day and $10,000 in the aggregate. 
    • The requirement to provide the paid leave would apply to all employers with less than 500 employees. 
    • The Secretary of Labor has authority to issue regulations to: (1) exclude certain health care providers and emergency responders from the definition of eligible employee; and (2) exempt small businesses with fewer than 50 employees if the above requirements would jeopardize the going concern of the business.