This is a brief summary of the amendments to the Families First Coronavirus Response Act passed last week as are proposed in the new Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act (CARES):
Amendment to Family Medical Leave Act of 1993 as amended by the Family and Medical Leave Expansion Act:
- Amended such that an employer shall not be required to pay more than $200 per day and $10,000 in the aggregate for paid leave under this section (this is the 12 weeks of paid leave if the employee has to stay home and cannot work from home because their child’s school is closed and daycare provider is unavailable).
Emergency Paid Sick Leave Act is amended:
- An employer is not required to pay more than either:
- $511 per day/$5,110 in the aggregate for each employee taking leave for the following reasons: (1) the employee is subject to a Federal, State or local quarantine or isolation order related to COVID-19; or (2) the employee has been advised by a health care provider to self-quarantine due to concerns related to COVID-19; or (3) the employee is experiencing symptoms of COVID-19 and seeking a medical diagnosis.
- $200 per day/ $2,000 in the aggregate for each employee taking leave for the following reasons: (4) the employee is caring for an individual who is subject to an order or has been advised to self-quarantine by a health care provider; or (5) the employee is caring for a son or daughter of such employee if the school or place of care of the son or daughter has been closed, or the child care provider of such son or daughter is unavailable due to COVID-19 precautions; or (6) the employee is experiencing any other substantially similar condition specified by the Secretary of Health and Human Services in consultation with the Secretary of the Treasury and the Secretary of Labor.
- The requirement of the employer to provide the paid sick leave shall expire at the earlier of
- (A) the time when the employer has paid that employee for paid leave under this section for an equivalent of 80 hours of work; or
- (B) upon the employee’s return to work after taking the paid leave under this section.
- The Secretary of Labor shall have authority to issue regulations for good cause to
- exempt small businesses with fewer than 50 employees from the requirements of paragraphs (4) in which the employee is taking leave to care for an individual subject to an order, or paragraph (5) where the employee is taking leave to care for a son or daughter if the school or place of care has been closed and daycare provider is not available, when the imposition of such requirements would jeopardize the viability of the business as a going concern.
For more information contact attorney Erin M. Tyreman.
