Is experiencing \u201cany 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.\u201d (While the Secretary of Health and Human Services has not yet specified conditions it considers \u201csubstantially similar,\u201d the FFCRA empowers the Secretary to do so in the near future.)<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\nThe amount of emergency paid sick leave you must pay an employee depends on the employee\u2019s reason for leave. If the employee is entitled to leave under reasons 1 through 3 above, the employee must receive his or her regular pay rate, capped at $511 per day (and $5,110 in the aggregate). On the other hand, if the employee is entitled to leave under reasons 4 through 6 above, you are only required to pay the employee two-thirds of his or her regular rate of pay, capped at $200 per day (or $2,000 in the aggregate).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Full-time employees are entitled to up to 80 hours of emergency paid sick leave, while part-time employees are entitled to the equivalent of the average hours they work during a two-week period.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Employers may not require an employee use any accrued sick leave or paid time off in lieu of, or before, using the paid sick leave to which an employee is entitled under the Emergency Paid Sick Leave Act. Employers must also post in a \u201cconspicuous\u201d workplace location a notice containing information regarding the requirements of the Emergency Paid Sick Leave Act. Copies of the notice are available on the DOL\u2019s website.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Emergency Family Medical Leave Expansion Act<\/strong>:<\/strong> The Emergency Family Medical Leave Expansion Act (EFMLEA) amends the pre-existing Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) to add one new qualifying reason for job-protected leave: when employees are unable to work (or telework) because they must care for their child whose school or childcare is closed due to COVID-19 precautions. Generally, this new basis for family leave applies to all private employers with fewer than 500 employees and to any employee who has worked for the employer for at least 30 days.<\/p>\n\n\n\nAn employee receiving emergency family leave under this new law is entitled to up to 12 weeks of job-protected leave with continuing group health insurance coverage. The first two weeks of emergency family leave is unpaid, after which the employer must pay the employee two-thirds of the employee\u2019s regular pay rate, capped at $200 per day (or $10,000 in the aggregate), for any additional emergency family leave the employee takes.The employee\u2019s emergency family leave will end when the employee\u2019s need for leave ends or when the employee has exhausted his or her 12 weeks of leave. When the employee\u2019s emergency family leave ends, the employer generally must reinstate the employee to either his or her same position or an equivalent position.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Small Business Exemption:<\/strong> <\/em>Companies with fewer than 50 employees may be exempt from the requirement to provide paid leave to employees who seek leave to care for a child whose school or childcare is closed due to COVID-19 precautions. While this represents a limited exemption to the Emergency Paid Sick Leave Act (small businesses must still provide paid sick leave for the remaining five qualifying reasons), it represents a complete exemption to the Emergency Family Medical Leave Expansion Act. To qualify for the small business exemption, an authorized officer of the company must determine that one of the following is true about the employee\u2019s leave request: (1) payment of leave will cause the business\u2019 expenses\/liabilities to exceed available revenues; (2) the employee requesting leave has specialized skills, knowledge, or responsibilities, such that their absence would entail substantial risk to business operations; or (3) there are insufficient workers available to perform the work of the employee requesting leave and the work is essential to operations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n