COVID-19 Client Resources and Updates

On Monday April 6^th, the Department of Labor again updated the series of Questions and Answers it has released to provide guidance regarding the Emergency Paid Sick Leave Act and the Emergency Family and Medical Leave Expansion Act provisions of the Families First Coronavirus Relief Act (“FFCRA”). The updated guidance includes 20 new questions and answers, starting at question number 60.

The new guidance provides clarity as to several important issues that were the source of lingering employer uncertainty. For instance, the guidance sheds light on the eligibility criteria for Emergency Paid Sick Leave where an employee is on leave as a result of a Federal, State, or local quarantine or isolation order, noting that if, because of the order, an employer does not have work for an employee, the employee is not entitled to paid sick leave (see Question No. 60). Further, the guidance also emphasizes that child caretaker paid leave is not available if a co-parent or co-guardian is available to care for the child (see Question No. 69).

Also, on Monday, the DOL published the final version of temporary rules designed to carry out the purpose of the FFCRA in the Federal Register. You can read the full text of the regulations here.

****

Visit Wiggin and Dana’s COVID-19 Resource Center here for additional publications and helpful links on multi-disciplinary topics that are relevant during the current COVID-19 global pandemic.