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Families First Coronavirus response Act (FFCRA)

Mar. 2020

President Trump signed the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) into law on March 18, 2020.  This has the potential to significantly impact small and mid-size employers.  The FFCRA requires employers with less than 500 employees to provide sick benefits to employees affected by COVID-19.  It also expands FMLA, requiring covered employers to provide paid protected leave to employees impacted by school closures and interruptions in school care caused by the virus.  Combined paid leave is capped at 12 weeks under the FFCRA.  The changes listed below are effective April 1, 2020.

The FFCRA can be broken down into two parts: The Emergency Paid Sick Leave Act and the FMLA Expansion.  Here is a brief summary.

The Emergency Paid Sick Leave Act

  • Employers with 50 or less Employees can be exempted from coverage if they can show compliance would “jeopardize the viability of a business as a going concern”.
  • Requires employers with less than 500 employees to provide paid sick leave to employees who are unable to work or telework if the employee:
    • Is subject to a federal, state, or local quarantine or isolation order.
    • Was advised by a healthcare provider to self-quarantine due to COVID-19 concerns.
    • Is experiencing symptoms of COVID-19 and seeking a medical diagnosis.
    • Is caring for an individual who is subject to isolation or quarantine order or has been advised by a medical professional to self-quarantine.
    • Is caring for a child whose school or childcare center/provider has closed or is unavailable due to COVID-19 precaution.
    • Experienced a substantially similar condition specified by the Secretary of Health & Human services.
  • Full time employees are eligible for 80 hours of leave.
  • Part-time Employees are eligible for the average number of hours they work in the two-week period prior to work stoppage.
  • Leave is capped at $511/day for an employee’s own COVID-19 diagnosis and $211/day for taking care of a child.
  • Employees are eligible regardless of how long they have worked for the company.
  • Employers cannot require employees to use other paid time off benefits provided by the employer before using the FFCRA benefits.
  • Employers must post notice of the requirements in the workplace where notices are customarily posted.

Expansion of FMLA

  • Applies to employers with less than 500 employees.  However, Employers with 25 or less employees are exempt from the expanded FMLA coverage.
  • Employees must have worked for at least 30 calendar days prior to requesting leave.
  • Secretary of Labor may exempt employers with 50 or less employees where “the imposition of such requirements would jeopardize the viability of the business as a going concern”.
  • Secretary of Labor may also exempt healthcare providers and emergency responders.
  • Leave is unpaid for the first two weeks (10 business days).
  • After first two weeks, leave is paid at 2/3 of the employee’s usual pay and capped at $200/day.
    • Variable scheduled employees use a 6 month average to calculate number of hours to be paid.
  • This removes the exclusion that the employer must employ 50 employees within a 75-mile radius.  In other words, employers with 500 or fewer employees may now be required to provide FFCRA-protected leave.
  • It also removed the 12 month and 1,250 hour employee qualification and replaced it with the 30 day qualification stated above.

If the employee is laid off prior to these provisions take effect (i.e. prior to April 2, 2020), the only benefits they are eligible for are the expanded Unemployment Benefits outlined below.  That said, if an employee has returned to work with restrictions from a prior work related injury, carriers/employers may owe a renewed period of TTD based on the employer’s inability to accommodate those restrictions.

Expanded Unemployment Benefits

  • Secretary of Labor provides emergency funding to the state unemployment trust funds.
  • Eligibility requirements are relaxed, to include work search requirements and waiting a week in Wisconsin.
  • Increased access to unemployment compensation for those directly impacted by COVID-19 due to illness or direction from a public health official to isolate or quarantine workers.

Tax Credits for Employers

  • Employers will receive a dollar-for-dollar payroll tax offset and the IRS will provide a refund for any amount paid that the payroll tax reimbursement would not cover

If you have any question on how to navigate this, please contact our office to discuss.

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