The Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA)

 

The Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA)was signed into law March 18, 2020, and took effect April 1, 2020 and expires December 31, 2020. Enforced by the U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division (WHD), the act provides;

  • - Emergency Paid Sick Leave Act (EPSLA)
  • - Emergency Family and Medical Leave Expansion Act (EFMLEA)

FFCRA Requirements

  • - Coverage
  • - Employee Eligibility
  • - Qualifying Reasons for Leave
  • - Number of Weeks and Hours of Leave Available
  • - Calculation of Pay

Employer Coverage

• Private Sector

  • - Employers of fewer than 500 employees
  • - Including not for profit employers

• Public Agencies

    -  Regardless of the number of employees they employ

Counting Employees

  • - Employer does not count employees working outside the U.S., U.S. territories, or D.C.
  • - Full-time AND part-time employees are counted
  • - Employees who are working and on leave are counted
  • - Temporary employees who are jointly employed are counted
  • - Day laborers supplied by a temporary agency are counted
  • - Count is made when employee leave is initiated

Employer Notice Requirement

  • - Poster must be conspicuously posted, may be distributed online, posted on employer website, directly mailed or e-mailed to employees
  • - Does not have to be visible to job applicants
  • - DOL Spanish and English FFCRA posters available online at www.dol.gov/whd
  • - Translation not required 

Small Business Exemption

Applies to:

  • - Small businesses with fewer than 50 employees, AND
  • - Employee’s leave is to care for his or her child whose school or place of care is closed (or child care provider is unavailable), but only if 
  • - Requirements of the FFCRA jeopardize business viability

No application process - exemption applies if employer determines:

  • - Leave would result in expenses and financial obligations exceeding available business revenues and cause the small business to cease operating at a minimal capacity 
  • - Employee’s absence would entail a substantial risk to the financial health or operational capabilities of the business because of the employee’s specialized skills, knowledge of the business, or responsibilities; OR
  • - Insufficient employees able, willing, and qualified at time and place needed to perform labor or services provided by the employee, and these labor or services are needed for business to operate at a minimal capacity.

Exclusion of Health Care Providers & Emergency Responders

  • - Employers may exclude employees who are either:
  • - Health Care Providers, or
  • - Emergency Responders

 

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.