
Emergency Paid Sick Leave and Family Medical Care Leave
(Families First Coronavirus Response Act – H.R. 6201)
The Families First Coronavirus Response Act (“FFCRA”) was signed into law on March 18, 2020. FFCRA has two primary measures to assist employees with additional leave during the COVID-19 pandemic. The first, Emergency Paid Sick Leave, provides a maximum of 80 hours paid emergency sick leave for illnesses related to COVID-19. The second, Emergency Family Medical Leave Expansion, provides 12 weeks of family and medical leave for eligible employees to care for themselves or a family member based on school or daycare closures due to COVID-19. The following is provided as a reference only to H.R. 6201, and does not declare any new or different policies than provided in H.R. 6201. For the FFCRA Poster please click here.
A. Emergency Paid Sick Leave (Division E of HR 6201)
1. Employees are entitled to Emergency Paid Sick Leave at their regular rate of pay if they are unable to work or telework for the following reasons:
a. The employee is subject to a Federal, State, or local quarantine or isolation order related to COVID-19.
b. The employee has been advised by a health care provider to self-quarantine due to concerns related to COVID-19.
c. The employee is experiencing symptoms of COVID-19 and seeking a medical diagnosis.
2. Employees are entitled to Emergency Paid Sick Leave at two-thirds of the employee’s regular rate of pay if they are unable to work or telework because:
a. The employee is caring for an individual who is subject to a Federal, State, or local quarantine or isolation order related to COVID-19 as described in paragraph 1(a), above, or is caring for such individual who was advised by a health care provider to self-quarantine due to concerns related to COVID-19 order as described in subparagraph (2)(b), above.
b. The employee is caring for a son or daughter of such employee if the school or place of care of the son or daughter has been closed, or the child care provider of such son or daughter is unavailable, due to COVID-19 precautions.
c. The employee is experiencing any other substantially similar condition specified by the Secretary of Health and Human Services in consultation with the Secretary of the Treasury and the Secretary of Labor.
3. Emergency Paid Sick Leave is subject to the following caps:
d. $511/Day and $5,110 in the Aggregate for the Following Employee-Related COVID-19 Absence Reasons:
i. The employee is subject to a Federal, State, or local quarantine or isolation order related to COVID-19.
ii. The employee has been advised by a health care provider to self-quarantine due to concerns related to COVID-19.
iii. The employee is experiencing symptoms of COVID-19 and seeking a medical diagnosis.
e. $200/Day and $2,000 in the Aggregate for the Following Reasons Related to the Employee Taking Leave to Care for an Individual or Son or Daughter:
iv. The employee is caring for an individual who is subject to an order as described in subparagraph (i) or has been advised as described in paragraph (ii).
v. The employee is caring for a son or daughter of such employee if the school or place of care of the son or daughter has been closed, or the child care provider of such son or daughter is unavailable, due to COVID-19 precautions.
vi. The employee is experiencing any other substantially similar condition specified by the Secretary of Health and Human Services in consultation with the Secretary of the Treasury and the Secretary of Labor.
4. Employees may supplement the two-thirds pay with their accrued leaves to achieve 100% of their regular rate of pay. Leave taken as Emergency Paid Leave is in addition to any other leave accrued and does not accrue beyond 80 hours. Unused leave does not carryover for any employees.
5. The County may deny this leave to any health care provider or emergency responder.
6. An employee using Emergency Paid Sick Leave must certify the reason for the leave.
7. The Emergency Paid Sick Leave is effective from April 1, 2020 to December 31, 2020 and cannot be applied retroactively. Unused Emergency Paid Sick Leave will not be reinstated after December 31, 2020.
B. Emergency Family and Medical Leave Expansion Act (Division C of HR 6201)
1. Employees are eligible for up to 12 weeks of job-protected Public Health Emergency Leave if the following requirements are met:
a. The employee has worked for the County for at least 30 calendar days,(FMLA Sec. 110(a)(1)(A);
b. The employee is unable to work (or telework) due to a need to care for child(ren),under 18 years of age, who’s school or place of care has been closed, or who’s child care provider is unavailable due to a COVID–19 emergency declared by either a Federal, State, or local authority, (FMLA Sec. 110(a)(2)(A) & (B)); and
c. The employee provided reasonable notice of the need for the leave.
d. The employee has not already exhausted their FMLA entitlement during the previous 12 month period. Protected Health Emergency Leave is a form of FMLA leave and is not in addition to any other FMLA leave.
2. The first 10 days of Emergency Family Medical Leave may consist of unpaid leave unless the employee elects to utilize accumulated leaves, including Emergency Paid Sick Leave in section A(2) above. For the remaining 10 weeks, an employee is entitled to paid leave at two-thirds of the employee’s regular rate of pay. (FMLA Sec. 110(b).) However, paid leave is subject to a cap of $200 per day and $10,000 total.
3. Restoration to Prior Position. Employees out on Emergency Family and Medical Leave are entitled to reinstatement to their prior position unless the position held by the employee does not exist due to economic conditions or other changes in operating conditions caused by a public health emergency during the period of leave. (FMLA Sec. 110(d).)
e. If the County is unable to restore the employee to an equivalent position to the employee’s prior position, the County will notify the employee if an equivalent position becomes available within 1-year of either, the date the public health emergency concludes or date which is 12 weeks after the employee started their Emergency Family and Medical Leave, (which ever date is earlier). Notification shall be by regular mail to the employees address on file.
4. Expiration - The provision of this section shall expire on December 31, 2020 or when the Emergency Family and Medical Leave Expansion Act is no longer effective.
5. Employees shall request leave as soon as practicable and shall certify the need for leave in writing at the time of the request.
6. The County may deny this leave to any employee who is a health care provider or emergency responder.
7. The Emergency Family and Medical Leave is effective from April 1, 2020 to December 31, 2020 and cannot be applied retroactively.
EPSL and FMCL Leave Request Form