Families First Coronavirus Response Act: Employer Paid Sick Leave & Expanded Family/Medical Leave — Do I Qualify for Relief?

On March 18, 2020, President Trump signed into law, the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, which requires certain employers to provide their employees with paid sick leave or expanded family and medical leave for specified reasons related to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19). Unfortunately, this new law excludes at least half of private-sector workers, including those working at the country’s largest employers. More specifically, this law does not apply to private companies with more than 500 employees.

As for smaller businesses, workers at places with fewer than 50 employees are included; however, there is an exemption for small businesses, if providing leave would jeopardize the viability of the business. Most importantly, if you currently work at a small business, you must have been employed for at least 30 days to qualify for benefits.

For employees working in larger companies (500 or more people), although you do not qualify under this act, you can take any sick leave that your company already offers. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 89% of these companies currently offer sick leave to their employees. Also, while not the ideal set of circumstances, under the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993, you’re eligible for 12 weeks of unpaid family and medical leave, as long as your company has at least 50 employees; you’ve worked there for a year; and you meet other qualifications.

Here is a breakdown of some of the specifics of the Act:

Qualifying reasons for leave:

Under the Act, an employee qualifies for paid sick time if the employee is unable to work (or unable to telework) due to a need for leave because the employee:

is subject to a Federal, State, or local quarantine or isolation order related to COVID-19;
has been advised by a health care provider to self-quarantine related to COVID-19;
is experiencing COVID-19 symptoms and is seeking a medical diagnosis;
is caring for an individual subject to an order described in (1) or self-quarantine as described in (2);
is caring for a child whose school or place of care is closed (or child care provider is unavailable) for reasons related to COVID-19; or
is experiencing any other substantially-similar condition specified by the Secretary of Health and Human Services, in consultation with the Secretaries of Labor and Treasury.

Duration of Leave:

For reasons 1-4 and 6 above: A full-time employee is eligible for up to 80 hours of leave, and a part-time employee is eligible for the number of hours of leave that the employee works on average over a two-week period.
For reason 5: A full-time employee is eligible for up to 12 weeks of leave at 40 hours a week, and a part-time employee is eligible for leave for the number of hours that the employee is normally scheduled to work over that period.

Calculation of Pay:

For leave reasons 1, 2 and 3: Employees taking leave shall be paid at either their regular rate or the applicable minimum wage, whichever is higher, up to $511 per day, and $5,110 in the aggregate (over the 2-week period).
For leave reasons 4 or 6: Employees taking leave shall be paid at 2/3 their regular rate or 2/3 the applicable minimum wage, whichever is higher, up to $200 per day and $2,000 in the aggregate (over the 2-week period).
For leave reason (5): Employees taking leave shall be paid at 2/3 their regular rate or 2/3 the applicable minimum wage, whichever is higher, up to $200 per day and $12,000 in the aggregate (over the 12-week-period - two-weeks of paid sick leave followed by up to 10 weeks of paid expanded family and medical leave)

How Will Businesses and Non-profits afford to pay workers on leave?

Covered employers qualify for a dollar-for-dollar reimbursement through tax credits for all qualifying wages paid under the Act. Qualifying wages are those paid to any employee who takes leave under the Act for a qualifying reason, up to the appropriate per diem and aggregate payment caps. Applicable tax credits also extend to amounts paid or incurred to maintain health insurance coverage.

The Act will officially take effect on April 1, 2020, just six days from now and expire on December 31, 2020. So, if you believe that you have a qualifying reason for taking leave, and you also fall within the class of employees that are eligible, you will be able to notify your employer starting next week.

Disclaimer: This blog post and similar posts are not to be considered as providing legal advice. The discussion here is meant for educational and informational purposes only and shall not create an attorney-client relationship with the readers of this content.