The Emergency Paid Sick Leave Act (EPSLA)

 

Benefit Basics:

  • - Six qualifying COVID-19 related reasons for job-protected leave
  • - During leave, continuation of health insurance
  • - Entitlement to paid sick leave over a 2-week period
    • - Full-time employees, based on their schedule, up to 80 hours
    • - Part-time employees, hours based on their schedule

Employee Eligibility

  • - All employees who work for covered employers are eligible
  • - Covered employers
    • - Private sector employer with fewer than 500 employees
    • - Public sector employers
      • - All federal employees are generally eligible for EPSLA leave; however, OMB has authority to
          exclude certain federal employees
  •  

Qualifying Reason for Leave

 

An employee is entitled to take leave under the EPSLA if the employee is unable to work or telework because the employee:

 

  1. Is subject to a federal, state, or local quarantine or isolation order related to COVID-19,
  2. Has been advised by a health care provider to self-quarantine due to concerns related to COVID-19, 
  3. Is experiencing COVID-19 symptoms and seeking a medical diagnosis,
  4. Is caring for an individual subject to a federal, state, or local quarantine or isolation order related to COVID-19, or who has been advised by a health care provider to self-quarantine due to concerns related to COVID-19,
  5. Is caring for his or her child whose school or place of care is closed (or child provider is unavailable) due to COVID-19 precautions, or
  6. Is experiencing any other substantially-similar condition specified by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

 

Duration of Leave

Two-week period

  • - Full-time employees may use up to 80 hours
  • - Part-time employees may use a number of hours equal to the number of hours they work, on average, over a 2-week period
  •  

Required Rate of Pay

The applicable rate of pay is the highest applicable wage rate, either the:

  • - Employee’s regular rate of pay, 
  • - FLSA minimum wage, or
  • - Highest applicable state or municipal minimum wage
  •  

​Paid Leave, 100% Calculation

  • - The employee is due 100% the required rate of pay for leave hours taken because the employee:
    • - Is subject to a federal, state, or local quarantine or isolation order related to COVID-19,
    • - Has been advised by a health care provider to self-quarantine related to COVID-19, or
    • - Is experiencing COVID-19 symptoms and is seeking a medical diagnosis
  • - Total pay capped at $511 per day or $5,110 in total
  •  

Paid Leave, Two-Thirds Cacluation

  • - The employee is due two-thirds of the required rate of pay for leave hours taken because the employee:
    • - Is caring for an individual subject to a federal, state, or local quarantine or isolation order related to COVID-19,
    • - Is caring for his or her child whose school or place of care is closed (or child care provider is unavailable) due to COVID-19 related reasons, or
    • - Is experiencing any other substantially-similar condition specified by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. 
  • - Total pay capped at $200 per day or $2,000 in total
  •  

DISCLAIMER The information provided is intended as general information only and does not carry the force of legal opinion. The Department of Labor has provide this information as a public service. This information and related materials are presented to give the public access to information on Department of Labor programs. You should be aware that while we try to keep the information timely and accurate, there will often be a delay between official publications of the materials and the modification of these pages. Therefore, we make no express or implied guarantees. The Federal Register and the Code of Federal Regulations remain the official sources for regulatory information published by the Department of Labor. We will make every effort to keep this information current and to correct errors brought to our attention.