UPDATED 3/25 Paid Leave Laws Change in Response to Coronavirus

By: Allison B. Williams

Published: March 25, 2020

Click here to visit the COVID-19 Employment Resources page.

This alert was updated March 25, 8:35 AM (Updates appear in bold font below)

On the evening of March 18, 2020, President Trump signed into law the multiple-subject Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA).

The focus of this alert is to summarize the two portions of the FFCRA which provide eligible employees limited emergency paid leave and make certain coronavirus-related leave under the FMLA paid: the Emergency Paid Sick Leave Act (EPSLA) and the Emergency Family and Medical Leave Expansion Act (EFMLEA). Employers subject to these paid sick leave provisions will be provided with federal tax credits and/or other federal tax relief to reimburse them for payments made under the Act.

On Friday, March 20, 2020, The Department of Treasury, the I.R.S., and the Department of Labor (DOL) issued a joint press release (discussed in more detail below) providing more information to employers impacted by the new legislation and promising that guidance and/or regulations interpreting the legislation will be coming in the next week or so.

The third section of this alert features a few takeaways on this important news release by the federal agencies.​

On March 24, 2020, the Department of Labor issued the “Families First Coronavirus Response Act: Questions and Answers” located at: https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/pandemic/ffcra-questions, providing employers more guidance on how to apply the FFCRA’s paid leave provisions. Regulations and additional guidance are still to come.

EMERGENCY PAID SICK LEAVE ACT (EPSLA)

EMERGENCY FAMILY MEDICAL LEAVE ACT (EFMLEA)

Here is a link to last Friday’s joint federal news release.

Some Key Takeaways from the Federal Agencies’ Release:

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