Today, the U.S. Department of Labor posted a temporary rule issuing regulations pursuant to the Emergency Paid Sick Leave Act and Emergency Family and Medical Leave Expansion Act , effective today, April 1, 2020.

The rule  covers private employers with fewer than 500 employees.

In this temporary rule, the Department:

• Issues rules relevant to the administration of the FFCRA’s paid leave requirements.
• Provides direction for administration of the Emergency Paid Sick Leave Act (EPSLA), which requires that certain employers provide up to 80 hours of paid sick leave to employees who need to take leave from work for certain specified reasons related to COVID-19. These reasons may include the following:
  • the employee or someone the employee is caring for is subject to a government quarantine order or has been advised by a health care provider to self-quarantine;
  • the employee is experiencing COVID-19 symptoms and is seeking medical attention; or,
  • the employee is caring for his or her son or daughter whose school or place of care is closed or whose child care provider is unavailable for reasons related to COVID-19.
  • Provides direction for the effective administration of the Emergency Family and Medical Leave Expansion Act (EFMLEA), which requires that certain employers provide up to 10 weeks of paid, and 2 weeks unpaid, emergency family and medical leave to eligible employees if the employee is caring for his or her son or daughter whose school or place of care is closed or whose child care provider is unavailable for reasons related to COVID-19.

DOL will post a recorded webinar on Friday, April 3, 2020 to provide interested parties a more in-depth description and help them learn more about the FFCRA.  To view the webinar visit https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/pandemic