Amended H.R. 6201, as amended by the House of Representatives earlier this week, has been passed by the Senate and signed by President Trump.
There are two major topics of interest to employers having 500 employees or fewer:
- Emergency FMLA Leave:
- For employees who cannot work due to the need to care for a child or if child care is unavailable
- The first 10 days of FMLA leave can be unpaid. Employees are then entitled to 2/3 of their regular pay, capped at $200.00 per day or $10,000.00 in aggregate.
- Emergency Paid Sick Leave:
The Act provides for 80 hours of emergency sick leave:
- To comply with a Federal or State orders to self-isolate
- To comply with Healthcare providers to self-isolate
- Due to an employee’s having Coronavirus symptoms
- To care for an individual who is subject to an order or recommendation to self-isolate
- To care for employee’s child if school is closed or if care giver is unavailable
- If employee is experiencing any other similar conduct as specified by the Secretary of Health and Human Services
Paid sick leave is capped at $511.00 or $200.00, depending on the reason for paid sick leave. The Secretary of the Department of Labor has the authority to exempt small businesses with 50 or fewer employees if these measures would jeopardize the business.
Sutin, Thayer & Browne will send more information as it becomes available in subsequent alerts. If you have questions regarding any of these employment issues, please get in touch with your regular contact at Sutin or with Barbara G. Stephenson, Counsel, who authored this article.