Emergency Paid Sick Leave

Who is eligible for paid sick leave under the Emergency Paid Sick Leave Act?

Employees of private-sector employers with less than 500 employees as well as public sector employers with one or more employees, regardless of how long they have been employed, are eligible for emergency paid sick leave. Employees are eligible if they are unable to work (or telework) because:

• The employee is subject to a federal, state, or local quarantine or isolation order related to COVID-19 has limited the employee's ability to travel;
• The employee has been advised by a health-care provider to self-quarantine due to concerns related to COVID-19;
• The employee is experiencing symptoms associated with COVID-19 and is in the process of determining whether he or she has contracted the virus;
• The employee is caring for an individual who is subject to a governmental quarantine or isolation order for COVID-19 or whose health-care provider advised that person to self-quarantine because of COVID-19;
• The employee needs to care for his or her child because of the closure of the child's school or child-care facility, or the unavailability of a child-care provider, because of COVID-19 considerations;
• The employee is experiencing a situation that was specified by the Department of Health and Human Services as substantially similar to any of the five aforementioned situations.

Can an employer require employees to use other paid leave before using the emergency paid sick leave

No. Emergency paid sick leave under this Act must be available immediately.

Will the emergency paid sick leave time carry over if not used in 2020?

No.

How much paid leave am I entitled to under the Emergency Paid Sick Leave Act?

Full-time employees are allowed up to 75 hours / 80 hours of paid sick leave. Part-time employees' paid sick time will be based upon the average number of hours they are ordinarily scheduled to work in a 2-week period.  

How do I calculate emergency paid sick leave for employees whose hours vary from week to week?

In the case of an employee whose schedule varies from week to week to such an extent that an employer is unable to determine with certainty the number of hours the employee would have worked if such employee had not taken emergency paid sick time, the employer shall use a number equal to the average number of hours that the employee was scheduled per day over the 6-month period ending on the date on which the employee takes such paid sick time, including hours for which the employee took leave of any type. If the employee did not work over such period, the employer may calculate the rate by using the reasonable expectation of the employee at the time of hiring of the average number of hours per day that the employee would normally be scheduled to work.

At what rate of pay must an employer provide paid sick leave under the Emergency Paid Sick Leave Act?

If an employee is unable to work  for one of the following reasons, paid sick leave must be paid at the employee's required compensation (as defined below), but is capped at $511/day and $5,110 in the aggregate per employee:

• The employee is subject to a federal, state, or local quarantine or isolation order related to COVID-19 has limited the employee's ability to travel;
• The employee has been advised by a health-care provider to self-quarantine due to concerns related to COVID-19;
• The employee is experiencing symptoms associated with COVID-19 and is in the process of determining whether he or she has contracted the virus;

If an employee is unable to work for one of the following reasons, paid sick time must be paid at 2/3 the employee's required pay, and is capped at $200/day and $2,000 in the aggregated per employee:

• The employee is caring for an individual who is subject to a governmental quarantine or isolation order for COVID-19 or whose health-care provider advised that person to self-quarantine because of COVID-19;
• The employee needs to care for his or her child because of the closure of the child's school or child-care facility, or the unavailability of a child-care provider, because of COVID-19 considerations;
• The employee is experiencing a situation that was specified by the Department of Health and Human Services as substantially similar to any of the five aforementioned situations.

The Emergency Paid Sick Leave payment is currently calculated at the regular hourly rate exceeds the minimum requirement as outline in the FFRCA which is two-thirds of the employee regular pay. The University has decided to increase the minimum at this time, but reserve the right to revert back to the minimum requirement as specified by FFRCA guidelines.

If the employee's employment is terminated, does the employer have to pay them out for the emergency paid sick time that is unused?

No. This Act does not require financial or other reimbursements to an employee upon the employee's termination, resignation, retirement, or other separation from employment for unused paid sick time under this Act.

May I take 80 hours of paid sick leave for my self-quarantine and then another amount of paid sick leave for another reason provided under the Emergency Paid Sick Leave Act? 

No. You may take up to two weeks - or ten days - (75 hours / 80 hours for a full-time employee, or for a part-time employee, the number of hours equal to the average number of hours that the employee works over a typical two-week period) of emergency paid sick leave for any combination of qualifying reasons. However, the total number of hours for which you receive paid sick leave is capped at 75 hours / 80 hours under the Emergency Paid Sick Leave Act. 

May I take emergency paid sick leave or expanded family and medical leave intermittently? 

Requests for intermittent leave will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis.

Expanded Family and Medical Leave Act 

Who is eligible for FMLA leave under this amendment? 

All employees (full- or part-time) who have been employed for 30 calendar days who have a qualifying need related to the COVID-19 public health emergency.  The employee would need to show that they are unable to work in-person or telework due to the need to care for a dependent son or daughter under 18 years old due to coronavirus-related loss of access to educational or childcare facilities.

How many weeks of FMLA leave is an employee eligible due to the COVID-19 public health emergency? 

Expanded FMLA requires employers to provide up to 12 weeks of FMLA leave for employees that have been employed for 30 days.

Is the expanded FMLA a paid leave?  

There is a 10 day waiting period before an employee is eligible for the FMLA paid-leave component. Employees may choose to use accrued sick, vacation or personal leave during the 10 day waiting period or they can elect to use the Emergency Paid Sick Leave.  The remaining time will be paid at 2/3 the employee's regular rate of hourly pay.  The maximum amount payable per day would be $200 and the total amount payable to an employee for public health emergency leave cannot exceed $10,000

The Expanded Family Medical Leave payment at the regular hourly rate exceeds the minimum requirement as outline in the FFRCA which is two-thirds of the employee regular pay. The University has decided to increase the minimum at this time, but reserve the right to revert back to the minimum requirement as specified by FFRCA guidelines.

Can the Expanded FMLA Leave run concurrently with the emergency paid sick leave?

Yes. The emergency paid sick leave may be used to cover the first 10 days of FMLA leave due to the COVID-19 public health emergency.

Are employees that are on an FMLA leave for non-COVID-19 reasons eligible for the paid FMLA leave?

No. The two-thirds payment requirements only applies to FMLA leave related to COVID-19 in which the employee needs to care for their own son or daughter under 18 years old due to coronavirus-related loss of access to educational or childcare facilities and is unable to work in-person or telework.

What is the duration of the amended Family and Medical Leave Act?

The law takes effect on April 2, 2020, and expires on December 31, 2020.

Scenarios

Scenario 1

A custodian that is employed full time has not worked since March 26, 2020, due to needing to care for her 10-year-old daughter as a result of school closure. At that time, she had exhausted all leave banks and was charging Approved Absence with pay. How should her time be coded as a result of the FFCRA?

Answer: The custodian should contact FMLASource to request both the Emergency Paid Sick Leave and Expanded Family Medical Leave dating back to April 1, 2020. If approved, the custodian should submit a revised timesheet and future timesheet to include: 

• Two weeks (80 hours) of Paid Sick Leave
• Up to 10 weeks of Expanded Family Medical Leave

Scenario 2

I am a full-time employee and have used 80 hours of paid sick leave to care for a family member that was subject to quarantine at the request of a health-care provider due to COVID-19. Now I am experiencing symptoms associated with COVID-19 and my healthcare provider has advised me to self-quarantine. May I take an additional 80 hours of paid sick leave?

Answer: No, You may take up to two weeks or ten days of Paid Sick Leave. The total number of hours for which a full-time employee can receive paid sick leave under the Emergency Paid Sick Leave Act is capped at 80 hours.