New Coronavirus Relief Laws

1.5 minute read

Last week, President Trump signed two coronavirus relief acts into law. They were created to provide workers with paid leave for reasons related to the coronavirus pandemic.

Emergency Family and Medical Leave Expansion Act

• Provides FMLA (Family and Medical Leave Act) rights for some employees of companies with fewer than 500 employees
• Allows 12 weeks of partially paid FMLA leave to care for a child whose school or daycare facility has been closed due to COVID-19
  • Leave must be compensated after the first 10 days at two-thirds of an employee’s wage up to $200 per day
• The leave only applies to workers who have been employed by their current employer for 30 days

Emergency Paid Sick Leave Act

Requires employers to provide 80 hours of paid sick time for government workers and employees of companies with fewer than 500 employees in specified circumstances, including:

• When the employee has symptoms of COVID-19
• A quarantine or isolation order for the employee or someone the employee is caring for, or medical advice to self-quarantine
• When the employee’s child’s daycare or school is closed

Employers with 500 employees or more are exempt from the laws, and employers may exclude employees who are health care providers and emergency responders. The legislation also allows future regulations to businesses with fewer than 50 employees from providing leave for child care reasons if their leave would jeopardize the viability of the business

Leave benefits will expire on December 31, 2020.

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Additional Resource

COVID-19 Scenarios and Benefits Available

This blog is intended to be a compilation of information and resources pulled from federal, state and local agencies. This is not intended to be legal advice. For up to the minute information and guidance on COVID-19, please follow the guidelines of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and your local health organizations.