Wednesday, January 6, 2021
On December 27, 2020, President Trump signed the much-anticipated COVID-19 stimulus bill into law. Among other provisions, the final bill modifies the paid leave provided by the Family First Coronavirus Response Act ( FFCRA ).
Under the FFCRA, certain employers were required to provide Emergency Paid Sick Leave and Expanded Family Medical Leave through December 31, 2020. The new stimulus bill eliminates this obligation and makes the changes described below:
Are employers required to extend FFCRA paid leave beyond December 31, 2020?
No. Under the FFCRA, the requirement to provide paid leave expired on December 31, 2020. The newly enacted stimulus bill does not extend the requirement that employers provide paid leave beyond that date.
Potter County issues COVID-19 leave extension
The Families First Coronavirus Response Act made employee paid sick and family leave mandatory, but in the wake of the act s expiration on Dec. 31, the paid leave is now optional. To that end, the Potter County Commissioners Court has voted to extend the 80 hours of COVID-19 leave beyond Dec. 31, until further action of the Court. We do have some employees that are in the midst of their 80 hours of COVID leave that are currently out, Potter County Human Resources Director Kay Holland said during the court s virtual regular session. We have a handful that are currently out and are in the middle of using that COVID leave. We also have some employees who, thankfully, up to this point, have not had to utilize the 80 hours of COVID leave. I feel like it would behoove us to extend that 80 hours to those employees who have not yet had to utilize that time. Some employees have already had the benefit of the 80 hours or part of the
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The new COVID-19 stimulus package is now law. As discussed below, it provides some employers an incentive to extend certain COVID-19 related leave benefits through Q1 2021.
Optional FFCRA Tax Credits Extended Through March 31, 2021
The Families First Coronavirus Response Act (“FFCRA”), which became effective April 1, 2020, requires covered employers (generally those with
fewer than 500 employees) to provide Emergency FMLA Leave and Emergency Paid Sick Leave to qualifying employees who are unable to telecommute because of specific COVID-19 related reasons. We wrote about the FFRCA’s main provisions here, and the U.S. Department of Labor’s FFCRA guidance here. Importantly, the FFCRA provides private employers with a refundable dollar-for-dollar payroll tax credit for the mandated leave. The tax credits and leave requirements were originally set to expire on December 31, 2020.
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On December 27, 2020, President Donald Trump signed the
much-anticipated Coronavirus relief bill, formally titled the
Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (the Act), into law. In
addition to COVID-19 relief measures, the Act includes significant
amendments to the Families First Coronavirus Response Act
(FFCRA).
Beginning April 1, 2020, the FFCRA required employers with fewer
than 500 employees to provide two types of paid leave to qualified
employees: Emergency Paid Sick Leave (EPSL) and Expanded Family and
Medical Leave (EFMLA). Employers could claim a tax credit against
the employer portion of Social Security taxes for up to 100% of
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As the sun rises on New Year’s Day 2021, California employment law will once again become more involved and challenging. For many employers, the following are the top five developments they most need to prepare for.
One Measure of Relief: COVID-19 Paid Sick Leave Requirements
Expire
For much of 2020, California law has required that employers of 500 or more employees provide eligible employees COVID-19 Supplemental Paid Sick Leave. Employees qualify for the supplemental paid sick leave if their health care provider advises they self-quarantine due to COVID-19, they are subject to a governmental isolation order related to COVID-19 or their employer bars them from working due to health concerns related to potential transmission. The law requires that covered employers provide qualified full-time employees, for example, up to 80 hours of supplemental paid sick leave.