The Families First Coronavirus (COVID-19) Response Act
The Families First Coronavirus (COVID-19) Response Act was approved by the U.S. Senate on March 18, 2020, and has now been signed into law. This bill will provide paid leave under the Family Medical Leave Act, as well as paid sick leave for absences for certain people who have been impacted by the Coronavirus. The law went into effect on April 2, 2020, and will end on December 31, 2020. It applies to all employers with 50 employees or less. You have to be employed for 30 days to be eligible for these benefits. The Families First Coronavirus Response Act provides the following benefits:
Emergency FMLA
Job-protected family leave is provided to employees to take care of a child under 18 years of age who is home because their school or daycare has been closed because of COVID-19.
The first 10 days of this FMLA leave is unpaid. Thereafter, employees must be paid up to two-thirds of their salary, and benefits will vary between full-time and part-time employees. This number is capped at $200.00 per day and $10,000.00 in total for each employee.
Paid Sick Leave
The law provides 80 hours of paid sick leave to full-time employees. Paid sick leave is also available for part-time employees on a pro-rata basis.
The leave can be used because an employee has been ordered by the government or a health care provider to quarantine, if they are seeking medical assistance because of COVID-19 symptoms, if they are taking care of an individual who has been quarantined or ordered to self-quarantine, or if they are taking care of a child whose school or daycare has closed because of COVID-19.
Paid sick leave is to be paid at the employee's salary with the following caps: $200.00 per day and $2,000.00 total per employee to care for a child or family member; $511.00 per day and a total of $5,110.00 total per employee to care for themselves.
If you have any questions regarding your employment or termination, please contact us at mschley@schleylaw.com or at 732-325-0318.