03/27/2020
To all employers and employees:
The Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) goes into effect April 1, 2020 and will remain in effect until December 31, 2020.
The FFCRA applies to employers with fewer than 500 employees, although some small businesses with fewer than 50 employees may qualify for exemption to provide leave due to school closings or child care unavailability if those requirements would jeopardize the viability of the business as a going concern.
In sum, the FFCRA requires those covered employers to provide ALL employees the following:
Two weeks (eighty hours) of paid sick leave at the employee's regular rate of pay where the employee is unable to work because he/she is quarantined (under a government order or advice of a health care provider), and/or experiencing COVID-19 symptoms and seeking a medical diagnosis; or
Two weeks (eighty hours) of paid sick leave at 2/3 the employee's regular rate of pay if the employee is unable to work because of a bona fide need to care for an individual subject to quarantine, or care for a child (under 18) whose school or child care provider is closed for reasons related to COVID-19.
Part time employees are eligible for the number of hours of leave that the employee works on average over a two-week period.
Additionally, a covered employer must provide an additional 10 weeks of paid expanded family and medical leave at 2/3 the employee's regular rate of pay to an employee who has been employed for at least 30 days and who is unable to work because of a bona fide need to care for an individual subject to quarantine, or care for a child (under 18) whose school or child care provider is closed for reasons related to COVID-19. A part time employee who has been employed for at least 30 days is eligible for leave for the number of hours that the employee is normally scheduled to work over that same 10 week period.
Employers qualify for dollar-for-dollar reimbursement through tax credits for all qualifying wages paid under the FFCRA.
Finally, employers are required to post in a conspicuous place on its premises a notice of FFCRA requirements. Here is a link to the recommended poster provided by the Department of labor:
https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/WHD/posters/FFCRA_Poster_WH1422_Non-Federal.pdf
Should you have any questions regarding the applicability of the CCFRA or whether you are eligible as an employee, please do not hesitate to contact me at 843-225-3607 or [email protected].
Thanks,
Brett
