In March 2020, President Trump signed into to law the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) due to the coronavirus pandemic. A portion of the law, the Employee Paid Sick Leave ACT (EPSLA) gave employees, within certain qualification parameters, the ability to take paid sick leave if they are unable to work due to issues related to coronavirus (COVID-19). The final regulations as released in April 2020 are to be modified by a ruling of the Federal District Court in Southern New York in August 2020. In the ruling, the court partially vacated the FFCRA regulations and the modified rules will be effective September 16, 2020.
Under the ruling, employees are only eligible for FFCRA leave if their work would have been available to them, and if available, that the employer allows the leave to be taken by the employee on an intermittent basis. The ruling also modifies the definition of a health care provider deemed eligible to provide supporting documentation of the requested leave.
Contact your Cowden representative for more information on this or other compliance issues.