The Families First Coronavirus
Response Act (FFCRA) includes provisions that help employers provide paid sick
leave to employees.
Starting 4/2/20, and subject to
some limitations and exceptions, employers with fewer than 500 employees must
provide both paid and unpaid public health agency emergency leave to certain
employees through December 31, 2020. Many
of these payments will be eligible for payroll tax credits to offset the
costs.
Some important points:
- This leave takes precedence over existing sick
leave policies, and may be used in addition to any paid sick leave currently
provided.
- All employees are covered with no eligibility
period.
- Employers must pay an employee his or her
regular pay rate for 80 hours over a two week period subject to maximums. The following categories are included:
- Employee is subject to a federal, state, or
local quarantine or isolation order related to COVID-19.
- 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 of
COVID-19 and seeking a medical diagnosis.
- Employees falling under any of the 3 categories
below are eligible for a reduced benefit of up 2/3 of their regular pay up to
$200 per day ($2,000 in total) in sick leave for 80 hours over a two week
period:
- The employee is caring for an individual meeting
the criteria in the previous section.
- The employee is caring for a son or daughter of
such employee if the school or daycare is closed or unavailable due to COVID-19
precautions.
- The employee is experiencing any substantially
similar condition as may outlined later.
- This applies to full and part time employees.
- Full time employees are entitled to take up to
80 hours of leave.
- Part time employees are entitled to leave based
on average number of hours worked in a given 2 week period.
- Employer credits- Employers may take a
refundable tax credit equal to the amount of qualifying sick leave paid.
- This credit is claimed against the employer’s
portion of social security taxes.
The U.S. Department of Labor has released a fact sheet for employees, a fact sheet for employers, and FAQs related to this bill.
Bill Krizner from The Krizner Group has provided a
template to document employees requesting leave under the sick pay portion
of this statute.
Further guidance will be forthcoming. If you have any questions about qualifying
for the tax credit, please don’t hesitate to contact our office.
