SimplyHR | Employment & Labor Blog 

As employers gear up for the coming workweek in which April 1 falls, now is a good time to highlight three U.S. Department of Labor publications issued last week regarding the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA).*  

The DOL’s second and third sets of FFCRA Q&As

Two days after issuing its first set of Q&As (#1-15) relating to the implementation of emergency paid sick leave and paid expanded FMLA leave (read more here), the DOL published its second set of Q&As (#16-37) on March 26. On March 28, the DOL published its third round of Q&As (#38-59). These most recent installments answer many questions that have been on the minds of employers (and their lawyers) since the FFCRA was signed into law March 18. The full text of the DOL’s Q&As can be found here. Condensed, significant highlights follow.

This post was updated on April 4, 2020.

The CARES Act tweaks the Emergency Paid Sick Leave Act and Emergency Family and Medical Leave Expansion Act and establishes Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation to supplement state unemployment. Employers should take note of these provisions.

President Trump signed the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (the “CARES Act”) on March 27, 2020. This extensive 880-page stimulus legislation is packed full of a variety of incentives for employers and their workers, which employers will want to consider as they decide how to manage their workforce in the coming days, weeks and even months. One important piece of the legislation is the Paycheck Protection Program discussed here. In this blog, we tackle the portions of the CARES Act that amend the Emergency Paid Sick Leave Act (“EPSLA”) and Emergency Family and Medical Leave Expansion Act (“EFMLEA”), which take effect on April 1, 2020 and were previously covered  here. We also discuss the enhanced unemployment benefits made available to workers by the CARES Act.

The Department of Labor (DOL) on March 24, 2020, released its first guidance explaining aspects of paid sick leave and expanded family and medical leave under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA). The DOL released fact sheets aimed at both employees and employers as well as a Q&A document and promised more guidance to come. The guidance discusses how employers and employees can “take advantage of the protections and relief” offered by the FFCRA’s Paid Sick Leave Act and Emergency Family and Medical Expanded Leave Act.

On March 18, 2020, President Trump signed legislation extending to certain employees paid sick time related to COVID-19 and paid leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). As part of the legislation, employers must display the Department of Labor (DOL) poster notifying employees of their rights under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA). On March 25, 2020, the DOL published two posters, for federal and non-federal employers.

The Families First Coronavirus Response Act (the “Act”) recently signed into law includes, among other things, provisions for required paid sick and paid family and medical leave (see our previous blog post here). The Act is intended to alleviate some of the economic burden the coronavirus has imposed on workers by mandating certain paid leave. The Act additionally alleviates the economic burdens being imposed on employers by providing certain tax benefits to employers making payments required under the Act. 

President Trump has signed legislation extending to certain employees paid sick time related to the coronavirus and paid leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act (“FMLA”). 

As covered in a previous post, the U.S. House of Representatives last weekend passed a previous version of the bill. In the days since, the House revised the legislation to update several of the provisions. The Senate passed the legislation on March 18 with a 90-8 vote. The President has now signed the legislation.

Congress has passed legislation on extending employees' paid leave related to the coronavirus and expanding the FMLA, sending the bill to President Trump for his signature. 

As covered in a previous post, the U.S. House of Representatives last weekend passed a previous version of the bill. In the days since, the House had revised the legislation to update several of the provisions. The Senate passed the legislation on March 18 on a 90-8 vote.

OSHA requires that covered employers record certain work-related illnesses on their OSHA 300 log. On March 10, 2020, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) provided guidance on the recording of COVID-19. However, this guidance did not consider three key issues:

The coronavirus outbreak known as COVID-19 has been spreading around the world, including the United States. Employers must respond in rapid fashion and face a series of questions regarding the impact the virus will have on the workplace. Below are answers to various questions all companies must know.

Over the Weekend: The U.S. House of Representatives (with President Trump’s “full support”) passed legislation that would:  (1) Extend paid leave related to the coronavirus, (2) Expand the FMLA to provide paid leave to employees for coronavirus-related reasons, and (3) Expand the availability of unemployment funds. This legislation still requires U.S. Senate approval.