How should the FFCRA’s Emergency Paid Sick and Family Leave be administered?

By Trüpp’s Compliance Team

EMERGENCY PAID SICK LEAVE

Emergency paid sick leave was mandated under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act through December 31, 2020. From January 1, 2021, through September 30, 2021, providing emergency paid sick leave and emergency paid family leave is voluntary for employers. The additional sick leave provides 80 hours of paid sick leave for full-time employees effective April 1, 2021. Part-time employees are eligible for a prorated amount equal to the average number of hours the employee works over a two-week period.

The emergency paid leave is in addition to what the employer already provides under state or local law. Employers are not allowed to require employees to use other accrued leave before using this emergency paid leave.

Step 1: Determine employer eligibility

The emergency paid leave applies to all employers with 500 or fewer employees. Employers may choose to offer paid sick leave when an employee is unable to work, or telework, for the following reasons:

• To obtain medical care for the employee’s symptoms of COVID-19
• To quarantine at the instruction of a health care provider, employer, or government official, to prevent the spread of COVID19
• To care for or assist a family member who is experiencing symptoms or has been diagnosed with COVID-19
• To care for the employee’s child whose school or place of care is closed (or childcare provider is unavailable) due to COVID-19 related reasons
• To receive a COVID-19 vaccination
• To recover from complications related to receiving a COVID-19 vaccination

Step 2: Determine employee eligibility

All employees are eligible for this additional sick leave immediately regardless of how long they’ve been employed.

Employers should have employees complete a leave request form that is compliant with the Department of Labor (DOL) and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) requirements. The IRS and DOL have released specific criteria for documenting employee eligibility and need for the leave in order for the employer to be eligible for the tax credit.

Step 3: Assess the qualifying reasons

Employees can use paid sick leave based on the following qualified reasons:

• Has obtained a medical diagnosis or care for coronavirus symptoms;
• Self-isolates because of coronavirus diagnosis;
• To care for their child if a school is closed due to a public health emergency when an employer is closed due to a public health emergency, or
• If the employee or a covered family member is quarantined or isolated due to a coronavirus.
• To receive a COVID-19 vaccination
• To recover from complications related to receiving a COVID-19 vaccination

Employers should be aware of guidance from OSHA and many state departments of health to not require employees to provide a healthcare provider’s note to validate their illness.

Step 4: Identify benefits available to employees

Employees will be paid their regular rate up to $511 per day, except for time spent caring for a family member or if a child’s school or place of care is closed, in which case only 2/3 of the regular rate will be paid up to $200 per day.

Paid sick time will renew on April 1, 2021, meaning eligible employees will receive another bank of sick leave if the employer chooses to offer such leave. Unused paid sick time is not paid out to employees upon separation of employment.

Step 5: Submit for reimbursement

It is recommended to create a separate pay code for this compensation to make it easier to identify when applying for the government tax credit.

Employers are required to withhold federal income taxes and the employees’ share of Social Security and Medicare taxes from their employees’ paychecks. Typically, these funds are deposited with the IRS along with filing or quarterly payroll tax returns (Form 941 series).

Employers can receive immediate reimbursement for these payments to employees by retaining and accessing funds that they would otherwise set aside for payroll taxes to the IRS during payroll processing. If these amounts are not sufficient to cover the cost of the paid leave, employers can seek an expedited advance from the IRS by submitting a streamlined claim form. Employers can expect to receive their advance from the IRS approximately two weeks after submittal.

PAID FAMILY LEAVE

The emergency paid family leave provides up to 12 weeks of paid family leave for employees who are unable to work, or telework, due to a qualifying need related to COVID-19 in order to care for a child (under the age of 18) because their school or place of care has been closed or their childcare provider is otherwise unavailable to provide care due to COVID-19. Additionally, leave may also be taken for receiving a COVID-19 immunization, or recovering from any complications from receiving the vaccine, for seeking or awaiting the results of a COVID-19 test or medical results, or for any other paid sick leave reason listed above.

This emergency paid family leave is an expansion of employer responsibilities under the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and is in addition to what the employer already provides under state or local law. Employers are not allowed to require employees to use other accrued leave before using this emergency paid leave. Emergency paid family leave took effect on April 1, 2020.

Step 1: Determine employer eligibility

Employers with 500 or fewer employees may choose to offer Emergency Paid Family Leave.

Step 2: Determine employee eligibility

All employees that have been employed for at least 30 calendar days are eligible.

Employers should have employees complete a leave request form that is compliant with the Department of Labor (DOL) and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) requirements. The IRS and DOL have released specific criteria for documenting employee eligibility and need for the leave in order for the employer to be eligible for the tax credit.

Step 3: Assess the qualifying reason

Eligible employees may take up to 12 weeks of Emergency Paid Leave if they are unable to work, or telework, in order to care for a child under the age of 18 because their school or place of care has been closed or their childcare provider is otherwise unavailable to provide care due to COVID-19 or for any covered reason listed above for paid sick leave.

Step 4: Identify benefits available to employees

Eligible employees will receive up to 12 weeks of emergency paid leave through September 30, 2021.

Eligible employees will receive two-thirds of their regular rate of pay for the number of hours the employee would otherwise be regularly scheduled to work up to $200 per day and $12,000 total.

Step 5: Submit for reimbursement

It is recommended to create a separate pay code for this compensation to make it easier to identify when applying for the government tax credit.

Employers are required to withhold federal income taxes and the employees’ share of Social Security and Medicare taxes from their employees’ paychecks. Typically, these funds are deposited with the IRS along with filing or quarterly payroll tax returns (Form 941 series).

Employers can receive immediate reimbursement for these payments to employees by retaining and accessing funds that they would otherwise set aside for payroll taxes to the IRS during payroll processing. If these amounts are not sufficient to cover the cost of the paid leave, employers can seek an expedited advance from the IRS by submitting a streamlined claim form. Employers can expect to receive their advance from the IRS approximately two weeks after submittal.

You can find the Families First Coronavirus Response Act here >>

View our step by step guide for how to comply with FMLA >>