Families First Coronavirus Response Act

The Families First Coronavirus Response Act (“FFCRA”) creates two new emergency paid leave requirements in response to the COVID-19 global pandemic.

Division E of the FFCRA, “The Emergency Paid Sick Leave Act” (EPSLA), entitles certain employees to take up to two weeks of paid sick leave.
Division C of the FFCRA, “The Emergency Family and Medical Leave Expansion Act” (EFMLEA), which amends Title I of the Family and Medical Leave Act, 29 U.S.C. 2601 et seq. (FMLA), permits certain employees to take up to twelve weeks of expanded family and medical leave, ten of which are paid, for specified reasons related to COVID-19.

Emergency Paid Sick Leave Act (EPSLA)

Requires employers to provide paid sick leave to employees who are unable to work for six reasons having to do with COVID-19 where 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 due to concerns related to COVID-19; (3) is experiencing symptoms of COVID-19 and is seeking a medical diagnosis; (4) is caring for an individual who is subject to an order as described in (1), or who has been advised as described in (2); (5) is caring for his or her son or daughter whose school or place of care has been closed or whose child care provider is unavailable due to COVID-19 related reasons; or (6) 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.

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Emergency Family and Medical Leave Expansion Act (EFMLEA)

The EFMLEA requires employers to provide expanded paid family and medical leave to eligible employees who are unable to work because the employee is caring for his or her son or daughter whose school or place of care is closed or whose child care provider is unavailable due to a public health emergency, defined as an emergency with respect to COVID-19, declared by a Federal, State, or local authority

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Information from the united states department of labor wage and hour Division

Employee Paid Leave Rights

The Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA or Act) requires certain employers to provide employees with paid sick leave or expanded family and medical leave for specified reasons related to COVID-19. The Department of Labor’s (Department) Wage and Hour Division (WHD) administers and enforces the new law’s paid leave requirements. These provisions will apply from the effective date through December 31, 2020.

COVID-19 and the Family and Medical Leave Act Questions and Answers

If you or your employees are out with the flu or are caring for ill family members, check with the Department of Labor (DOL) for information on whether such leave is covered under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). Under the FMLA, covered employers must provide employees job-protected, unpaid leave for specified family and medical reasons, which may include the flu where complications arise. Employees on FMLA leave are entitled to the continuation of group health insurance coverage under the same terms as existed before they took FMLA leave.