The Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA or the Act) requires certain employers to provide employees with paid sick leave or expanded family and medical leave for specified reasons related to COVID-19. These provisions will apply from April 1, 2020 through December 31, 2020. The paid sick leave and expanded family and medical leave provisions of the FFCRA apply to certain public and private employers with fewer than 500 employees. Small businesses with fewer than 50 employees may qualify for exemption from the requirement to provide leave due to school closings or childcare unavailability if the leave requirements would jeopardize the viability of the business.

Generally, the Act provides that covered employers must provide all employees:

  • Two weeks (80 hours) of paid sick leave at the employee’s regular rate of pay where the employee is unable to work because the employee is quarantined and/or experiencing COVID-19 symptoms and seeking a medical diagnosis; or
  • Two weeks (80 hours) of paid sick leave at two-thirds the employee’s regular rate of pay because the employee is unable to work because of a bona fide need to care for an individual subject to quarantine, or to care for a child (under 18 years of age) whose school or child care provider is closed or unavailable for reasons related to COVID-19, and/or the employee is experiencing a substantially similar condition as specified by the Secretary of Health and Human Services, and

A covered employer must provide to employees that it has employed for at least 30 days:[3]

  • Up to an additional 10 weeks of paid expanded family and medical leave at two-thirds the employee’s regular rate of pay where an employee is unable to work due to a bona fide need for leave to care for a child whose school or child care provider is closed or unavailable for reasons related to COVID-19.

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

  1. is subject to a Federal, State, or local quarantine or isolation order related to COVID-19;
  2. has been advised by a health care provider to self-quarantine related to COVID-19;
  3. is experiencing COVID-19 symptoms and is seeking a medical diagnosis;
  4. is caring for an individual subject to an order described in (1) or self-quarantine as described in (2);
  5. is caring for a child whose school or place of care is closed for reasons related to COVID-19; or
  6. 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.

The amount of compensation paid has limits depending on which qualifying reason the leave is.

  • For leave reasons 1, 2, or 3, employees taking leave are entitled to pay at the high of their regular rate or the applicable minimum wage, up to $511 per day and $5,110 in the aggregate (over a 2-week period).
  • For leave reasons 4 or 6, employees taking leave are entitled to pay at the higher of 2/3 their regular rate or 2/3 the applicable minimum wage, up to $200 per day and $2,000 in the aggregate (over a 2-week period).
  • For leave reason 5, employees taking leave are entitled to pay 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 a 12-week period).

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

Each covered employer must post in a conspicuous place on its premises a notice of FFCRA requirements. Additionally, employers may not discharge, discipline, or otherwise discriminate against any employee who takes paid sick leave under the FFCRA and files a complaint or institutes a proceeding under or related to the FFCRA. Employers in violation of the first two weeks’ paid sick time, the additional 10 weeks of paid leave to care for a child whose school or place of care is closed, or unlawful termination provisions of the FFCRA will be subject to the penalties and enforcement by the Department of Labor.