December 3, 2020

Families First Coronavirus Response Act

The Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) requires certain employers to provide employees with paid sick leave or expanded family and medical leave for specified reasons related to COVID-19. The Department of Labor’s Department, Wage and Hour Division (WHD), administers and enforces the new law’s paid leave requirements. These requirements will last until December 31, 2020.

In September of 2020, The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) announced revisions to regulations that implement the paid sick leave and expanded family and medical leave requirements of the FFCRA. These revisions made clarify workers’ rights and employers’ responsibilities under the FFCRA’s paid leave provisions.

The revisions do the following:

  • Reaffirm and provide additional explanation for the requirement that employees may take FFCRA leave only if work would otherwise be available to them.
  • Reaffirm and provide additional explanation for the requirement that an employee have employer approval to take FFCRA leave intermittently.
  • Revise the definition of “healthcare provider” to include only employees who meet the definition of that term under the Family and Medical Leave Act regulations or who are employed to provide diagnostic services, preventative services, treatment services or other services that are integrated with and necessary to the provision of patient care which, if not provided, would adversely impact patient care.
  • Clarify that employees must provide required documentation supporting their need for FFCRA leave to their employers as soon as practicable.
  • Clarify when employees may be required to provide notice of a need to take expanded family and medical leave to their employers.

You can find out more on the FFCRA here. If you are having issues with your employer regarding sick leave, or are an employer who would need assistance determining whether or not an employee qualifies, email us a request for a lawyer at lrs@bostonbar.org or be referred to a lawyer online instantly here.