On March 18, 2020, President Donald Trump signed into law the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (“FFCRA”), an emergency relief bill that aims to provide financial support to reduce the impact of the 2019 Novel Coronavirus (“COVID-19”) on American families.
The FFCRA provides for two sources of paid leave: the Emergency Family and Medical Leave Expansion Act and the Emergency Paid Sick Leave Act, Specifically, the FFCRA requires private employers with fewer than 500 employees and certain public employers, among other things, to:
provide 12 weeks of paid public health emergency leave to any employee who has worked 30 days or more for the employer for a qualifying need related to the COVID-19 emergency, i.e. a need for leave to care for a child (under 18 years of age) whose school or place of care is closed or child care provider is unavailable, due to a public health emergency, and
provide up to 80 hours of emergency paid sick leave to any employee, regardless of the length of employment, for a qualifying emergency related to the COVID-19, including
The employee is subject to a federal, state or local quarantine or isolation order related to COVID-19;
The employee has been advised by a health care provider to self-quarantine due to concerns related to COVID-19;
The employee is experiencing symptoms of COVID-19 and seeking a medical diagnosis;
The employee must care for an individual who is subject to a quarantine or isolation order or advised to self-quarantine by a health care provider;
The employee must care for leave to care for a child (under 18 years of age) whose school or place of care is closed or child care provider is unavailable, due to COVID-19 precautions.
The Secretary of Labor has the discretion to exempt small businesses with fewer than 50 employees if paid leave would jeopardize the viability of the business. Additionally, the Secretary of Labor may exclude certain health care providers and emergency responders from the FFCRA.
In an effort to offset the cost to employers of providing these benefits, employers covered by the FFCRA may receive certain refundable tax credits. These credits are allowed against the employer’s portion of Social Security taxes.
The FFCRA also serves to provides for coverage of coronavirus testing with no cost sharing for all individuals, bolsters unemployment insurance benefits, and increases funding for food assistance programs.
The FFCRA goes into effect April 2, 2020 and will remain in effect until December 31, 2020.