Beginning April 2, 2020, the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) will require employers to provide protected paid leave and paid sick leave to employees through December 31, 2020.

First, the FFCRA’s Emergency Family and Medical Leave Expansion Act extends employee leave protections under the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) as follows:

• Applicability: Private employers with fewer than 500 employees.
• Eligibility: Employees employed for 30 calendar days or more may request FMLA benefits for leave where the employee is unable to work (or telework) due to a need for leave to care for the son or daughter under 18 years of age of such employee if the school or place of care has been closed, or the child care provider of such son or daughter is unavailable, due to a public health emergency.
• Paid Leave: The first 10 days of leave are unpaid after which the employer pays the following:
  • at least 2/3 of an employee’s regular pay rate;
  • for the number of hours an employee is otherwise normally scheduled to work (for those with varying schedules, employers should use an average number of scheduled work hours over the six-month period just prior to the date of leave); and
  • up to a maximum of $200 per day and $10,000 in aggregate.

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