Coronavirus Leave Laws Guide

Coronavirus:
New Federal and NY State Leave Laws
© 2020 Donaldson Legal Counseling PLLC All Rights Reserved.
Updated April 7, 2020.

www.AttorneyLawNY.com
Your Presenter:
Tiffany A. Donaldson, Esq.
Donaldson Legal Counseling PLLC
University of Miami School of Law Alumni
Practiced Business Law for over 10 Years
Assists Business Owners With:
- Employment Law Education
- Employment Hiring and Firing
- Employee Handbooks and Disclosures
- Business Formation
- Contract Review and Drafting
- Trademark Research and Filing

Overview
Families First CoronaVirus Response Act
(H.R. 6201)
NY COVID-19 Emergency Sick Leave

Families First CoronaVirus
Response Act (H.R. 6201)

Families First CoronaVirus Response Act
(H.R. 6201)
Signed into Law: March 18, 2020
Effective: April 1, 2020
■ Two Parts
1) EMERGENCY PAID SICK LEAVE ACT
2) EMERGENCY FAMILY AND MEDICAL LEAVE EXPANSION ACT

Who Does It ApplyTo?
■All Employers with 500 Employees
or Less

■ Your employer cannot fire you or take action against you
because you took leave and you are entitled to be
restored to the position you held prior to taking leave.
■ Any COVID-19 quarantine leave should not be counted
as an absence that may lead to or result in discipline,
discharge, demotion, suspension, or any other adverse
action.
Job Guarantee

Part 1:
EMERGENCY PAID SICK LEAVE ACT

EMERGENCY PAID SICK
LEAVE ACT
Applies to all business owners with 500
employees or less with little exception.
All employees of covered employers are
eligible for 80 hours of paid sick time for
specified reasons related to COVID-19.
No requirement to have been employed
a certain number of days.
Available for immediate use by
employees.
It goes into effect April 1, 2020 and is
NOT retroactive.

EMERGENCY PAID SICK
LEAVE ACT
What AboutThe Employer?
Employer is Credited Dollar for Dollar of Expenses
HereunderThroughTax Payroll Credit at End of the
Quarter.
If credit, IRS will send a refund.
Employers receive 100% reimbursement for paid leave
pursuant to the Act.
Health insurance costs are also included in the credit.
Employers face no payroll tax liability.
Payroll taxes available for retention are the employee
share of Social Security and Medicare taxes, and the
employer share of Social Security and Medicare taxes
“with respect to all employees.”

EMERGENCY PAID SICK
LEAVE ACT
What About Small Employers?
This law applies to ALL Employers.

EMERGENCY PAID SICK
LEAVE ACT
Reasons for Leave Use
Leave Can be used if Employee:
- Is unable to work or telework
- Due to a need for leave because of the
following:
(1)The employee is subject to a Federal, State,
or local quarantine or isolation order related to
COVID–19.
(2)The employee has been advised by a health
care provider to self-quarantine due to
concerns related to COVID–19.
(3)The employee is experiencing symptoms of
COVID–19 and seeking a medical diagnosis.
(con’t on next slide)

EMERGENCY PAID SICK
LEAVE ACT
(4)The employee is caring for an individual
who is subject to an order as described in
subparagraph (1) or has been advised as
described in paragraph (2).
(5)The employee is caring for a son or
daughter of such employee if the school or
place of care of the son or daughter has been
closed, or the child care provider of such son or
daughter is unavailable, due to COVID–19
precautions.
(6)The employee is experiencing any other
substantially similar condition specified by the
Secretary of Health and Human Services in
consultation with the Secretary of the
Treasury and the Secretary of Labor.

EMERGENCY PAID SICK
LEAVE ACT
Hours of LeaveAvailable
(A) For full-time employees, 80 hours.
(B) For part-time employees, a number of
hours equal to the number of hours that such
employee works, on average, over a 2-week
period

EMERGENCY PAID SICK
LEAVE ACT
Wage Paid During Leave
Wage depends on which REASON
employee is taking leave.
Reason 1 – 3: 100% of daily wage
capped at $511.00/day ($5,110 2 week
max)
Reason 4 – 6: 66% of daily wage
capped at $200.00/day ($2,000.00 2
week max)

EMERGENCY PAID SICK
LEAVE ACT
Leave is paid by the Employer.
This is IN ADDITION to all other
current leave offered to the
Employee, by the Employer,
including State or City required
leave.
You may NOT require employees to
use other leave first.
Leave does NOT carry over to
following year if unused and is not
paid out on separation.

EMERGENCY PAID SICK
LEAVE ACT
Posting Requirement
Each employer shall post and keep
posted,
in conspicuous places on the
premises of the employer where
notices
to employees are customarily
posted, a notice, prepared by the
Secretary of Labor.
https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/f
fcra

Part 2:
EMERGENCY FAMILYAND
MEDICAL LEAVE EXPANSIONACT

EMERGENCY FAMILY
AND
MEDICAL LEAVE
EXPANSION ACT
EXPANSION AND CHANGETO FMLA
CHANGEDTHE DEFINITIONOF
EMPLOYER FROM 500 employees+
TO 5OO employees AND BELOW
FOR EMERGENCY LEAVE
Changed from Unpaid Leave to
Paid Leave
GRANTS 10 moreWeeks of leave in
addition to 2 weeks of leave under
Emergency leave

EMERGENCY FAMILY
AND
MEDICAL LEAVE
EXPANSION ACT
Can ONLY be used if:
• Employee is unable to work (or telework)
because
• Employee is caring for his/her son or
daughter under 18 years of age where the
school or place of care has been closed,
or the child care provider of such is
unavailable, due to a public health
emergency

EMERGENCY FAMILY
AND
MEDICAL LEAVE
EXPANSION ACT
Wage Paid
66% of Employees Normal Daily
Pay Capped at $200.00/day;
($10,000.00 in aggregate over 10
weeks)

EMERGENCY FAMILY
AND
MEDICAL LEAVE
EXPANSION ACT
What AboutThe Employer?
Employer is Credited Dollar for Dollar of Expenses
HereunderThroughTax Payroll Credit at End of the
Quarter.
If credit, IRS will send a refund.
Employers receive 100% reimbursement for paid leave
pursuant to the Act.
Health insurance costs are also included in the credit.
Employers face no payroll tax liability.
Per the IRS release, the payroll taxes available for
retention are withheld federal income taxes, the
employee share of Social Security and Medicare taxes,
and the employer share of Social Security and Medicare
taxes “with respect to all employees.”www.AttorneyLawNY.com

EMERGENCY FAMILY
AND
MEDICAL LEAVE
EXPANSION ACT
What About Small Businesses?
Small Business Protection
Employers with fewer than 50 employees are eligible for
an exemption from the requirements to provide leave to
care for a child whose school is closed, or child care is
unavailable in cases where the viability of the
business is threatened.
IRS Guidance on Method of Exemption request is not
out yet.
https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/treasury-irs-and-labor-
announce-plan-to-implement-coronavirus-related-paid-
leave-for-workers-and-tax-credits-for-small-and-
midsize-businesses-to-swiftly-recover-the-cost-of-
providing-coronavirus

EMERGENCY FAMILY
AND
MEDICAL LEAVE
EXPANSION ACT
Employee Qualifications:
Employee must be employed at least 30
days to qualify.
First 10 days of leave is unpaid (Use
emergency Covid Leave)
Can be combined with other leave.
12 total weeks of leave, 10 weeks paid
under FMLA, first two weeks paid under
emergency Covid Leave

EMERGENCY FAMILY
AND
MEDICAL LEAVE
EXPANSION ACT
Interaction with Emergency Paid
Sick Leave Act
Can Use 80 hours of Emergency
Paid Sick Leave Act for first 2
weeks, or your own leave.
EFMLA first 10 days are unpaid
leave.
After that, paid leave up to max
hours/amounts.

Do You Need
Legal Guidance?
www.attorneylawny.com
Contact Donaldson Legal Counseling PLLC to
ensure you are following all of the new laws!
Email: Counsel@dlcesq.com to set your
appointment today!

NY COVID-19
EMERGENCY &
PERMANENT SICK
LEAVE

NY Covid-19 Emergency Leave
Signed into Law: March 18, 2020
Effective: March 18, 2020

After April 1, 2020, when Families First
Coronavirus Response Act (FFCVRA) becomes
law, this leave is NOT in addition thereto,
unless it provides something more than
FFCVRA
NY law is effective March 18, 2020.
FFCVRA becomes effective April 1, 2020.
This Leave is in addition to employee’s
other sick or annual leave.
NY COVID-19
EMERGENCY
SICK LEAVE LAW

Eligibility Is Limited to:
Employee subject to mandatory or
precautionary ORDER of quarantine by
NY State, Dept. of Health, or a
Government Authority due to COVID-19.
Note: General Stay At Home Order from
Governor does NOT count as reason to
use this leave. Must have order to
quarantine due to having COVID 19.
NY COVID-19
EMERGENCY
SICK LEAVE LAW

Employer Size Additional Sick
Days for Full
Time Workers
Paid? Amount
1 – 10,
Less than $1 M
in net income
5 Unpaid Regular rate of
pay
1 – 10,
$1 M or more in
net income
5 Paid Regular rate of
pay
11 - 99 5 Paid Regular rate of
pay
100+ 14 Paid Regular rate of
pay
Public Company 14 Paid Regular rate of
pay

Interaction with Paid Family Leave and
Disability
All emergency sick leave must be taken before
applying for Paid Family Leave or Disability in NY
State.
After Families First CoronaVirus Response Act
(FFCVRA) becomes law on April 1, 2020, this
leave is NOT in addition thereto, unless it
provides something more than FFCVRA
NY law is effective March 18, 2020.
FFCVRA becomes effective April 1, 2020.
This Leave is in addition to employee’s
other sick or annual leave.
NY COVID-19
EMERGENCY
SICK LEAVE LAW

Job Guarantee
Upon return to work:
• restored to the prior position held
• with the same pay and
• Same other terms and conditions of
employment.
No employer shall discharge, threaten, penalize,
or in any other manner discriminate or retaliate
against any employee because such employee
has taken leave pursuant to this act
NY COVID-19
EMERGENCY
SICK LEAVE LAW

NY COVID-19
EMERGENCY
SICK LEAVE
LAW
■ Limitations
■ No Sick Leave or other paid benefits If
TraveledVoluntarily to Affected Country
■ Employee subject to a mandatory or
precautionary order of quarantine because
the employee
■ returned to the United States after traveling
to a country with Level 2 or 3 CDC travel
health notice
■ travel was not taken as part of the
employment or at the direction of
employer, and
■ if the employee was provided notice of the
travel health notice and the limitations of
this subdivision prior to such travel.

PAID FAMILY LEAVE
AND DISABILITY IN NY

New Provisions for COVID-19
What is Paid Family Leave?
NY State benefit we pay for through payroll
deductions.
Who Can Use It?
• Employee under legal order of quarantine/
isolation or
• Employee when taking care of a minor
dependent child under legal order of
quarantine/isolation
• Employee is not eligible if can work from
home and feels well enough & has ability to.
Paid Family Leave
and Disability -
COVID -19

Legal Order of Quarantine Defined
Mandatory or precautionary order of
quarantine or isolation issued by the state of
NewYork, the department of health, a local
board of health, or any government entity duly
authorized to issue such order due to COVID-19
What Does NOT Count?
- Order for Non-Essential Workers to Stay
Home so far does not count
- Home because Employer temporarily closed
does not count
- Home to take care of child due to school
closing does not count
Paid Family Leave
and Disability -
COVID -19

PFL:
Pays 60% Regular Rate of Pay,
Capped at $840.70/week,
10 week max
Disability:
Pays your Regular Rate of Pay, Capped at
$2,043.92/week ]
18 - 26 weeks max
Combined weekly Cap is $2,883.70.
PFL May Be Paid Concurrently with
Disability but cannot go past Cap.
No waiting period.
Paid Family Leave
and Disability -
COVID -19

Job Guarantee –
Your employer cannot fire you or take action
against you because you took leave and you are
entitled to be restored to the position you held
prior to taking leave.
Any COVID-19 quarantine leave should not be
counted as an absence that may lead to or result
in discipline, discharge, demotion, suspension, or
any other adverse action.
Paid Family Leave
and Disability -
COVID -19

How to Apply: COVID-19 Paid Family Leave &
Disability
https://paidfamilyleave.ny.gov/if-you-are-
quarantined-yourself
The employee must submit their completed
forms together with a copy of their order of
mandatory or precautionary quarantine (issued
by the relevant government entity) to their
employer’s disability and Paid Family Leave
insurance carrier no later than 30 days from the
employee’s first day of leave to avoid losing any
benefits.
Paid Family Leave
and Disability -
COVID -19

Resources
Families First Coronavirus Response Act Leave
https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/ffcra
NY Covid-19 Leave, Paid Family Leave and Disability
https://paidfamilyleave.ny.gov/COVID19

Coronavirus Leave Laws Guide

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