Tag Archives: paid leave

April 2020
Leave a comment
Employment Law

The IRS Weighs In On What Information An Employer Can Request To Substantiate FFCRA Eligibility

Yesterday the IRS issued some FAQs on the FFCRA.  On the important question of what documentation is needed from the employee in order for the employer to seek tax credits for the paid leave provided under the FFCRA,  the IRS said as follows:

An Eligible Employer will substantiate eligibility for the sick leave or family leave credits if the employer receives a written request for such leave from the employee in which the employee provides:

  1. The employee’s name;
  2. The date or dates for which leave is requested;
  3. A statement of the COVID-19 related reason the employee is requesting leave and written support for such reason; and
  4. A statement that the employee is unable to work, including by means of telework, for such reason.

In the case of a leave request based on a quarantine order or self-quarantine advice, the statement from the employee should include the name of the governmental entity ordering quarantine or the name of the health care professional advising self-quarantine, and, if the person subject to quarantine or advised to self-quarantine is not the employee, that person’s name and relation to the employee.

In the case of a leave request based on a school closing or child care provider unavailability, the statement from the employee should include the name and age of the child (or children) to be cared for, the name of the school that has closed or place of care that is unavailable, and a representation that no other person will be providing care for the child during the period for which the employee is receiving family medical leave and, with respect to the employee’s inability to work or telework because of a need to provide care for a child older than fourteen during daylight hours, a statement that special circumstances exist requiring the employee to provide care.

While the IRS is the entity that will approve or deny the request for the tax credit, the DOL is responsible for enforcing the FFCRA.  Hopefully, the DOL’s regulations will be consistent on this issue, and it is my expectation that they will be.

Tagged , ,
March 2020
Leave a comment
Employment Law

DOL Updates FFCRA FAQs

Last night the DOL issued updated FAQS for the FFCRA ( that’s a lot of alphabet soup!). You can find the new FAQs here https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/pandemic/ffcra-questions

Tagged , , , ,
March 2020
1 Comment
Employment Law

DOL Says FFCRA Is Effective April 1st!

On March 18th the President signed the Families First Coronavirus Response Act ( FFCRA) which provides for expanded FMLA and Emergency Paid Leave in certain limited circumstances related to the Coronavirus pandemic.  You can read my recent blog posts on the FFCRA for more detail.  Yesterday the DOL issued some guidance, which provided some clarity on a few issues, including the effective date of the FFCRA.

The DOL states that the FFCRA will be effective April 1st, which is one day earlier than everyone expected.  This is not a case of the DOL changing the rules, since the FFCRA states that it will be effective “no later than 15 days from passage”.  Still, you have one less day to prepare.

The  DOL also clarified the following issues:

  • Overtime must be included when calculating pay due to employees under the FFCRA
  • Paid Sick Leave is capped at 80 hours
  • Paid Sick leave and Expanded FMLA run concurrently

And, the DOL had this to say about the potential small business exemption from the FFCRA that I have had so many questions about:

If providing child care-related paid sick leave and expanded family and medical leave at my business with fewer than 50 employees would jeopardize the viability of my business as a going concern, how do I take advantage of the small business exemption?

To elect this small business exemption, you should document why your business with fewer than 50 employees meets the criteria set forth by the Department, which will be addressed in more detail in forthcoming regulations.

You should not send any materials to the Department of Labor when seeking a small business exemption for paid sick leave and expanded family and medical leave.

So, more details are forthcoming about the potential exemption, but apparently submitting information to the DOL in order to “apply” for the exemption will not be necessary.

The DOL is supposed to issue FFCRA regulations in April.  Until then, you can get additional details from the DOL by accessing this link

www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/pandemic/ffcra-questions

Tagged , , ,