COVID-19 Response Resource Center: Timely Counsel for your Business

Starting Jan. 1, 2021, employers subject to the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) are no longer required to provide employees with COVID-related paid leave, but they may do so in some situations and still receive tax credits for doing so.

The FFCRA, which required that employers provide emergency paid sick leave for COVID-related reasons and emergency paid family leave to employees due to school closures, expires on Dec. 31, 2020. These requirements were not extended as part of the stimulus package passed by Congress on Dec. 21, 2020 and signed into law by the president ... Read More 

On Friday, Sept. 11, 2020, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) issued revisions to their original regulations on paid leave under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA). These revisions are in response to the Aug. 3, 2020 decision by a federal court in New York that invalidated portions of the original regulations. Most significantly, the revisions provide a new, narrower definition of who qualifies as a “health care provider” for purposes of the FFCRA.

Under the FFCRA, two types of paid leave were made available to employees working for an employer with fewer than 500 ... Read More 

A federal court in New York has invalidated portions of emergency Department of Labor (DOL) regulations that employers have been using to create their policies and determine whether to grant leave under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA).

Under the FFCRA, there are two leave laws that provide employees the ability to receive pay for certain absences relating to COVID-19. Summaries of these laws are available in our prior alerts: Emergency Paid Sick Leave Act (EPSLA) and Emergency Family and Medical Leave Expansion Act (EFMLEA).

The DOL issued regulations ... Read More 

The crisis has not passed, but many employers are reaching out to us about returning their employees to work. In some cases, it’s because employers have received PPP funds and want to make sure they are appropriately managing employee payroll, including headcount, to take advantage of loan forgiveness. In others, employers are preparing for Governor Cooper’s phased approach to lifting restrictions, monitoring North Carolina’s COVID-19 trends.

Whatever the situation, we’ve identified several important things employers should be thinking about as they return ... Read More 

The COVID-19 pandemic creates a unique set of circumstances for nonprofits. Many of them are facing similar challenges to for-profit businesses — how to manage employees working remotely, dealing with declining revenue — but without clarity about how the federal stimulus measures will benefit them. In addition, these times have created challenges for nonprofits with respect to governance issues, such as how directors and members of nonprofits can take action while remaining in compliance with the State of North Carolina’s "stay at home" orders.

The good news is, based ... Read More 

On March 18, 2020, President Trump signed the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) into law. The FFCRA contains two key provisions for employers – the Emergency Family and Medical Leave Expansion Act (EFMLEA) and the Emergency Paid Sick Leave Act (EPSLA). Both EFMLEA and EPSLA provide paid leave to employees for reasons related to COVID-19. On April 1, 2020, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) issued temporary regulations bolstering and clarifying these provisions of the FFCRA. Corrections to these regulations were later published on April 10, 2020. The DOL ... Read More 

On March 18, 2020, President Trump signed the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) into law. The FFCRA contains two key provisions for employers – the Emergency Family and Medical Leave Expansion Act (EFMLEA) and the Emergency Paid Sick Leave Act (EPSLA). Both EFMLEA and EPSLA provide paid leave to employees for reasons related to COVID-19. On April 1, 2020, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) issued temporary regulations bolstering and clarifying these provisions of the FFCRA. Corrections to these regulations were later published on April 10, 2020. The DOL ... Read More 

The Department of Labor (DOL) shared more insights into the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA). These latest additions to the DOL’s guidance include a few surprises, which we’ve highlighted here.

One of the biggest surprises was that the DOL provided two different definitions of the exact same words in the Act—Health Care Providers:

• For purposes of determining who can advise an employee to self-quarantine, a “health care provider” is limited to a licensed doctor of medicine, nurse practitioner, or other health care provider permitted to issue a ...

Yesterday, March 26, the Department of Labor (DOL) issued additional guidance on how the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) will be applied, the latest in a string of expected clarifications leading up to the April 1 effective date. The FFCRA includes the Emergency Family and Medical Leave Expansion Act (EFMLA) and Emergency Paid Sick Leave Act (EPSLA). This guidance provided several important clarifications for employers on the DOL’s enforcement policy.

Here are the highlights:

Implications of Furloughs and Closures

• Furloughed employees, or employees whose ...

Last night the Department of Labor (DOL) issued its first guidance on how the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) will be applied. A description of the provisions of the two new acts requiring leave under the FCRA: the Emergency Family and Medical Leave Expansion Act (EFMLA), which provides for 12 weeks of leave to care for a child due to school closure, and the Emergency Paid Sick Leave Act (EPSLA), which provides for 80 hours of leave for certain COVID-19 reasons, can be viewed here.

Here are the key takeaways from the new DOL guidance:

• Effective Date: The laws go into effect on ...

On March 25, 2020, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) published a workplace notice that covered employers (including certain federal employers and all private employers with fewer than 500 employees) must provide to employees in accordance with the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA). Specifically, the notice provides employees with relevant information regarding their rights under the Emergency Family and Medical Leave Expansion Act (EFMLA) and the Emergency Paid Sick Leave Act (EPSLA) portions of the FFCRA. The DOL requires covered employers to post the notice ... Read More