The Families First Coronavirus Response Act was signed into law on March 18, 2020 to address the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Act includes the following provisions for certain public employers, and private employers with fewer than 500 employees.
The following provisions took effect April 2, 2020.
Small businesses with fewer than 50 employees may qualify for exemption from the requirement to provide leave if the leave requirements would jeopardize the viability of the business.
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Update 1.4.21: On December 21, 2020, Congress passed the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021, which extended the tax credits provided by the FFCRA until 3/31/2021. As of 12/31/2020, employers are no longer required to provide the paid leave detailed under the FFCRA. However, if they continue to do so they are still eligible to receive the tax credits provided by the FFCRA until 3/31/2021.
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Paid Family Leave
Under the Act, eligible employees may take leave to care for a child under 18 years of age if the child’s school or place of care has been closed, or the child care provider is unavailable, due to a COVID-19 emergency as declared by a federal, state, or local authority, and the employee is unable to work (or telework). The first 10 days of leave taken for this reason are paid at two-thirds of the employee’s regular rate of pay up to $200 per day and $2,000 in the aggregate. In the GreenSlate application, the Day Type of “FFCRA COVID Care of Others” and Timesheet Item of “COVID Sick Pay Care of Others FFCRA” are to be used for this purpose.
The Act also provides eligible employees, those who work for employers with fewer than 500 employees and who have been employed for at least 30 calendar days, with the right to take up to 10 additional weeks of paid expanded family and medical leave. This expanded family medical leave is paid at two-thirds of the employee’s regular rate of pay up to $200 per day and $10,000 in the aggregate. In the GreenSlate application, the Day Type of “FFCRA Family Leave” and Timesheet Item of “COVID Family Leave Pay FFCRA” are to be used for this purpose.
Paid Sick Leave
Two weeks of emergency paid sick leave is required to be paid by certain employers (including private employers with fewer than 500 employees) if the employee is unable to work (or telework) due to the following COVID-19 related reasons:
The employee...
- is subject to a federal, state, or local quarantine or isolation order related to COVID-19
- has been advised by a healthcare provider to self-quarantine due to concerns related to COVID-19
- is experiencing symptoms of COVID-19 and is seeking a medical diagnosis
Full-time employees are entitled to 80 hours of paid sick leave. Part-time employees are entitled to the number of hours that the employee works, on average, over a two-week period. Employees taking Paid Sick Leave are to be paid their regular rate of pay up to $511 per day and $5,110 in the aggregate. The amount of paid sick time is not dependent on the length of time the employee has been employed by an employer. Paid sick time provided under the Act ceases after the termination of the need for paid sick time.
In the GreenSlate application, the Day Type of “FFCRA COVID Sick Pay Self” and Timesheet Item of “COVID Sick Pay Self FFCRA” are to be used for payment of Paid Sick Leave under the FFCRA.
By using the payment items specified in this article, eligible employers will generate tax credits for the amounts paid to the employees.
Additional information can be found here: https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/pandemic/ffcra-employer-paid-leave
Last updated: 1.4.21. This information in this communication is general in nature, and is not intended, nor should it be construed, as legal, accounting, tax or other professional advice rendered by GreenSlate, LLC. The reader should contact his or her attorney, CPA, or tax professional prior to taking any action based upon this information.
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