Emergency Expansion of Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA)

• Applies to ALL employers with at least 1 employee and fewer than 500
• Employees unable to work or telework are entitled to 12 weeks of leave to care for a minor child in the event of the closure of the school or place of care
• Leave will be unpaid for the first 10 days
  • Employee may opt to use any accrued (vacation, personal, sick) leave during these 10 days
  • Employer cannot require the use of any paid leave during these 10 days
• Applies to all employees that have been employed for at least 30 days
  • Paid leave for Salaried Employees is based on number of hours employee is regularly scheduled to work
  • Paid leave for Hourly Employees is based on the average hours worked per day over a 6-month period, or if employee didn’t work over 6-month period, the reasonable expectation of hours worked on hire date
• Calculation of paid leave
  • Two-thirds of wages not to exceed $200 per day and $10,000 in aggregate
• Employers with 25 or more employees must maintain job status
  • Employers with fewer than 25 employees may not be required to maintain the job if the position no longer exists due to economic conditions (proceed cautiously)
• Employers with fewer than 50 employees may apply for a hardship exemption with the Department of Labor but no current guidance on how to apply for the exemption (likely will be difficult to obtain)

Emergency Paid Sick Leave

• Applies to ALL employers with at least 1 employee and fewer than 500
• Employees are entitled to 2 weeks of paid leave
• Applies to all employees
  • Paid leave for Full-Time Employees is based on 80 hours
  • Paid leave for Part-Time Employees is based on the average hours worked over a 2-week period
• Provides for leave related to the following when unable to work or telework:
  • Employee is subject to a government-issued quarantine or isolation
  • Employee is advised by a medical professional to self-quarantine
  • Employee is experiencing symptoms of COVID-19 and seeking a diagnosis
  • Employee is caring for a family member who:
    • Is subject to a government-issued quarantine or isolation
    • Is advised by a medical professional to self-quarantine
• Calculation for an employee’s quarantine/isolation/symptoms/diagnosis
  • 100% of wages not to exceed $511 per day and $5,110 in aggregate
• Calculation for an employee to care for family member under quarantine/isolation/symptoms/diagnosis
  • Two-thirds of wages not to exceed $200 per day and $2,000 in aggregate
• Employers may qualify for payroll tax credits, but no guidance on how to apply yet

Notification to Employees

• Secretary of Labor must provide a model notice within 7 days (we will distribute when available)
• Must be posted conspicuously at employer’s premises or distributed via email/company intranet