Adam S. Forman, Member of the Firm, and RyAnn McKay Hooper, Associate, in the Employment, Labor & Workforce Management practice, co-authored an article in Bender’s Labor & Employment Bulletin, titled “COVID-19 Paid Leave Under the FFCRA and Qualifying Exemptions: Understanding the Law and Carefully Considering Its Applicability.”
Following is an excerpt (see below to download the full version in PDF format):
On March 18, 2020, President Trump signed into law the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (“FFCRA” or “Act”). The Act, which took effect on April 1, 2020, is a sweeping piece of legislation aimed at reducing the economic impact of the 2019 novel coronavirus (“coronavirus” or “COVID-19”) on workers and their families.
Among other emergency aid, the Act: (a) amends the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (“FMLA”) to provide a paid family leave benefit; (b) grants emergency paid sick leave benefits; and (c) enhances the availability of unemployment insurance to certain workers personally affected, or with a family member affected, by the coronavirus. FFCRA also provides a refundable tax credit for private-sector employers for qualified leave paid by an employer under the Act.
Subsequently, on March 27, 2020, President Trump signed into law the “Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act” (the “CARES Act”), which provides certain key amendments to the FFRCA permitting, inter alia, tax credit advances for employers who provide paid sick and family and medical leave to employees.
