Authors:
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On March 28, 2020, the Department of Labor (“DOL”) published further guidance on certain provisions of the paid sick leave and expanded FMLA provisions of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (“FFCRA”), which goes into effect on April 1, 2020. Wharton Aldhizer & Weaver’s prior blog posts on the FFCRA and earlier DOL guidance may be found at our Resources Tab.
Under the FFCRA, employers with fewer than 50 employees may be exempt from the requirements to provide paid sick leave and expanded FMLA leave to employees requesting leave because a child’s school or place of care is closed, or child care provider is unavailable due to COVID-19, if to do so would jeopardize the viability of the business as a going concern. Please note that an employer with fewer than 50 employees may not claim the small business exemption for paid sick leave obligations if the employee has a qualifying reason other than childcare or school closings.
Questions 58 and 59 of this new guidance further define how employers are to qualify for the small business exemption.
An authorized officer of the business with fewer than 50 employees must make one of the following determinations:
Other key topics addressed in the March 28 guidance include:
In addition to this March 28, 2020 guidance, the Department of Labor published temporary regulations on the paid sick leave and expanded FMLA provisions of the FFCRA on April 1, 2020 and these regulations are available at:
https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/WHD/Pandemic/FFCRA.pdf
Please be advised there are provisions of the FFCRA and DOL guidance that are not covered in this post, and that above examples are not specific to every employer’s situation. Attorneys at Wharton, Aldhizer & Weaver are available to assist with compliance and to answer any questions on these matters.