Mar. 23, 2020

Important Takeaways from the Family First Coronavirus Response Act

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Lawyers Practicing Employment Law in Los Angeles County, CA

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On Wednesday March 18th, President Trump passed the first set of employment laws in response to the coronavirus pandemic. The Family First Coronavirus Response Act is comprised of the FMLA Expansion Act and Federal Paid Sick Leave Act. Both laws are deemed to go into effect April 2nd through December 31st. 　

Under the FMLA Expansion Act (the Emergency Family and Medical Leave Expansion Act):

Small business employees (less than 500 employees) affected by the COVID-19 coronavirus are entitled to paid leave benefits

Applies to any employee :

who has been with the company for at least 30 days;
who is not able to work from home; and
Whose child must stay home because of school closure or care displacement due to COVID-19.

Employees can take up to 12 weeks, with first 10 days unpaid or combined with paid sick leave/paid time off
Employees are eligible for 2/3 of their normal wage pay for up to 12 weeks (no more than $200/day or $10,000)
Employees are entitled to reinstatement of position after leave, unless the position no longer exists.

Under the Federal Paid Sick Leave Act:

Small employees working under FLSA employers (with less than 500 employees) are entitled to paid sick leave:

If the employee meets the following requirements:

Employee is subjected to mandatory governmental (Local, State, or Federal) quarantine;
Healthcare provider has advised the employee to self-quarantine;
Employee is experiencing COVID-19 symptoms and is seeking treatment;
Employee is caring for a person who meets the categories above;
Employee is caring for a child because school/daycare has closed due to COVID-19; or
Employee is experiencing conditions specified by the Secretary of Health and Human Services.

Regardless of how long the employee has been with the company
Employee is entitled up to 10 days of paid sick leave (up to 80 hours or two-week work period) paid at his/her normal rate
This federal paid sick leave comes before having to use any company policy sick leave

It has not yet been specified if the Family First Coronavirus Response Act will be excluding employers with less than 50 employees in the future. Nor does the Family First Coronavirus Response Act specify employers with more than 500 employees.

Other important notices include income tax deadlines. Income Tax Filings are now deferred by 3 months and will be due on July 15 instead of April 15. This deferment is automatic, and taxpayers do not have to submit extension requests with the Internal Revenue Services (IRS). Talk to our employment lawyer at Yarian & Associates, APC for additional information.

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Levik Yarian
Levik Yarian founded the law firm of Yarian & Associates, APC, in Glendale, CA, to help people who have been injured through the negligence of others. With nearly two decades of negligence-based litigation experience, Mr. Yarian understands the challenges an injury victim faces and how daunting the legal system can be. His practice is devoted to personal injury and wrongful death cases. He has ...read more

Original article can be found here: https://www.yarianlaw.com/employment-law/