Important Documents

FAMILIES FIRST CORONAVIRUS RESPONSE ACT (FFCRA)

The Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) was signed into law on March 18, 2020. Among other things, this bill provides new employee leave benefits, including paid leave options, for employees who work for employers with fewer than 500 employees. Please click the buttons below to download the CheckWriters FFCRA / COVID-19 FAQs and FFCRA Overview. These documents are updated as federal agencies release additional guidance - the most recent versions are always posted.


[LAST UPDATED: 4/20 @ 7:00 AM]	[LAST UPDATED: 3/25 @ 5:00 PM]

CORONAVIRUS AID, RELIEF, AND ECONOMIC SECURITY (CARES) ACT

The CARES Act was signed into law on March 27, 2020. This bill intends to provide emergency assistance and health care response for individuals, families, and businesses affected by the 2020 coronavirus pandemic. Please click the button below to download the CheckWriters CARES Act Overview. This document is updated as federal agencies release additional guidance - the most recent version is always posted.

PLEASE NOTE: On June 5, 2020 President Trump signed the Paycheck Protection Program Flexibility Act. The Act is designed to address and remedy concerns left in the wake of the PPP - which was set up under the CARES Act - and contains a few key provisions that will be welcomed by PPP loan recipients. Importantly: Timeline for repayment extended; forgiveness made drastically easier; Timeline for replacing FTEs and wages extended; New relief for hard-hit businesses; Non-payroll cost-cap increase. Read more on our blog >

[LAST UPDATED: 4/14 @ 10:00 AM]

Resources

Governmental Resources

FAQs and Guides

FFCRA Poster

Policies / Forms

Letters

Looking for additional resources and/or consultation? Send an email request to HR@CheckWriters.com.

The Latest

June 5

President Trump signed the Paycheck Protection Program Flexibility Act. The Act is designed to address and remedy concerns left in the wake of the PPP and contains a few key provisions that will be welcomed by PPP loan recipients. Importantly: Timeline for repayment extended; forgiveness made drastically easier; Timeline for replacing FTEs and wages extended; New relief for hard-hit businesses; Non-payroll cost-cap increase. Read more on our blog >

March 30

The DOL has provided guidance on the specific instances in which emergency leave benefits can be taken intermittently, provided a firm definition of health care workers (who may be excluded from these benefits by their employers), and more information on the 50 or less employer exemption. Please download the latest FFCRA FAQ document at the top of this page for full details.

March 27

The President signed the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. Please review the CheckWriters CARES Act Overview for full details (download at the top of this page).
Among other things, this act authorized the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) to provide up to $349 billion in forgivable loans to small businesses to pay their employees during the COVID-19 crisis. The loans are forgivable, provided that loan amounts are used to cover payroll costs, and most mortgage interest, rent, and utility costs over the eight-week period after the loan is made, and employee and employee compensation levels are maintained.

March 26

The DOL has formally released the FFCRA poster. You can access this under "Poster Requirement" or at the links below (we have also included an FAQ specifically for the posting requirement):
- POSTER: Employee Rights: Paid Sick Leave and Expanded Family and Medical Leave under FFCRA >
- POSTER FAQ: FFCRA Notice >

March 25

The Department of Labor (DOL) announced its first round of published guidance to provide information to employees and employers about how each will be able to take advantage of the protections and relief offered by the FFCRA when it takes effect on April 1, 2020.
Please note: Based on the language in the bill, the effective date was widely believed to be April 2. However, this guidance indicates an April 1 effective date.
Read the DOL guidance here >

March 24

CheckWriters has published two documents for your review, an FFCRA / COVID-19 FAQs and and FFCRA Overview. These documents can be downloaded by clicking the buttons at the top of this page.

March 23

Please note: it is strongly interpreted that any FFCRA FMLA or Paid Sick usage in advance of April 1 may not be eligible for the employer tax credits.
Please check this page for updates periodically.

March 20

The IRS posted this news release at 7 PM on Friday, March 20 >
Among other items, it indicates that employers will be easily and swiftly reimbursed for Paid Sick Leave to workers.
Regarding the under 50 employees exemption: We are still awaiting guidance from federal agencies. Guidance is anticipated soon. Check back for updates.
The bill expressly states that it does not preempt existing state or local paid sick leave entitlements.

Overview of the FFCRA

The Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) was signed into law on March 18, 2020. This is the second in what is expected to be a series of bills that aim to stimulate economic growth and ensure proper medical treatment and nutrition for those affected by COVID-19.

In the coming days and weeks, federal regulatory agencies, including the Department of Labor (DOL) and Health and Human Services (HHS), will provide guidance on how to execute or implement the new requirements. In the meantime, employers and advisors must rely on a good faith interpretation of the act’s text.

Summary

The FFCRA provides new employee leave benefits, including paid leave options for employees who work for employers with fewer than 500 employees.

Employers will be able to take advantage of new tax credits to compensate for the costs associated with the paid emergency leave and sick leave benefits created under the bill, as well as providing credits for health plan expenses affiliated with emergency and sick leave wages.

Employees will be eligible for:

Up to 12 weeks of Emergency FMLA for school and daycare closures (10 days unpaid and then up to 10 weeks at 2/3 pay subject to daily maximums).
Up to two weeks of Emergency Paid Sick Leave (full pay for employee, 2/3 pay for family care -both leave type payments subject to daily maximums) for illness, quarantine, or school closures.

Effective Date of Law

The Emergency FMLA and Emergency Paid Sick Leave sections discussed below will go into effect on April 1, 2020 and expire December 31, 2020.
There is no retroactive application.

Key Elements for Employers

Emergency FMLA expansion.
Emergency Paid Sick Leave.
Notice Requirements.
Employer Payroll Tax Credits to offset the costs of the Emergency and Paid Sick Leave.
Employer Credits for Health Plan expenses related to Emergency and Sick Leave wages.
Group Health Plan Benefit mandate.

Emergency FMLA expansion

The framework of the existing Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) is utilized to provide certain employees with the right to take up to 12 weeks of job-protected leave.

Covered Employees and Employers: For purposes of this leave, the FMLA definitions of covered employees and employers has been amended. Under the FFCRA, eligible employees include those who work for employers with fewer than 500 employees and the government.

The legislation further gives the Secretary of Labor the authority to exempt small businesses with fewer than 50 employees from the bill’s paid leave requirements if those requirements would jeopardize the viability of the business (guidance on these exemptions is expected soon).

Employees who work under a multi-employer collective agreement and whose employers pay into a multi-employer plan may access emergency paid leave.

Any employee who has been employed for at least 30 calendar days, although employers who are health care providers or emergency responders may elect to exclude their employees from the emergency FMLA provisions of the bill.

Covered Leave Purpose: Eligible employees may take leave if the employee is unable to work (or telework) because they must care for a child, under 18 years of age, whose school or daycare provider is closed or unavailable due to a coronavirus emergency as declared by a Federal, State, or local authority.

Duration: Up to 12 weeks of job-protected leave.

Compensation/Rate of Pay:

The first 10 days in which an employee takes emergency leave may be unpaid. An employee may elect, to substitute any accrued paid vacation leave, personal leave, or medical or sick leave for unpaid leave.

After 10 days, employers must pay 2/3 of the employee’s regular rate of pay for the number of hours they would normally be scheduled to work, capped at $200/day and $10,000 total.

For hourly employees whose schedules vary and the employer is unable to determine the exact hours the employee would have worked, the employee’s paid leave rate should equal the average number of hours that the employee was scheduled per day over the six-month period prior to the leave. If the employee did not work in the preceding six-month period, the paid leave rate should equal the “reasonable expectation” of the employee at the time of hiring with respect to the average number of hours per day that the employee would be scheduled to work.

Reinstatement to Position After Leave: The same reinstatement provisions apply as under traditional FMLA. However, restoration to position does not apply to employers with fewer than 25 employees if certain conditions are met:

The job no longer exists because of changes affecting employment caused by an economic downturn or other operating conditions that affect employment caused by a public health emergency.
The employer makes reasonable efforts to return the employee to an equivalent position; and
The employer makes efforts to contact a displaced employee if anything comes up within a year of when they would have returned to work.

Emergency Paid Sick Leave

Covered Employees and Employers: Eligible employees include those who work for employers with fewer than 500 employees and government employers.

Employees who work under a multi-employer collective agreement and whose employers pay into a multi-employer plan may access emergency paid leave.

All employees (no matter how long they have been employed), although Employers who are health care providers or emergency responders may elect to exclude their employees from the emergency paid sick leave provisions of the bill.

Covered Leave Purposes: Employers must provide employees with two weeks of paid sick time if the employee is unable to work (or telework) for the following coronavirus related reasons:

The employee is subject to a Federal, State, or local quarantine or isolation order related to the coronavirus;
The employee has been advised by a health care provider to self-quarantine due to concerns related to the coronavirus;
The employee is experiencing symptoms of coronavirus and is seeking a medical diagnosis;
The employee is caring for an individual who is subject to a quarantine or isolation order or advised to self-quarantine by a health care provider;
The employee is caring for a child whose school or care provider is closed or unavailable due to coronavirus precautions; or
The employee is experiencing any other condition substantially similar to the coronavirus, as specified by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

Duration of Leave:

Full time employees are entitled to 80 hours of paid sick leave.
Part time employees are entitled to the number of hours that the employee works, on average, over a two-week period.
For hourly employees whose schedules vary and the employer is unable to determine the exact hours the employee would have worked, the employee’s paid leave rate should equal the average number of hours that the employee was scheduled per day over the six-month period prior to the leave. If the employee did not work in the preceding six-month period, the paid leave rate should equal the “reasonable expectation” of the employee at the time of hiring with respect to the average number of hours per day that the employee would be scheduled to work.

Compensation/Rate of Pay:

Sick leave due to reasons 1, 2, or 3 described above must be paid at the employee’s regular rate of pay or at the federal, state or local minimum wage, whichever is greater. In these circumstances, the paid sick leave rate may not exceed $511 per day, or $5,110. This pay is for the employee’s own illness, quarantine, or care.
Sick leave due to reasons 4, 5, or 6 described above must be paid at two-thirds of the employee’s regular rate of pay or at the federal, state or local minimum wage, whichever is greater. In these circumstances, the paid sick leave rate may not exceed $200 per day, or $2,000. This pay is to care for a family member or to care for a child whose school (or childcare provider) has closed or is unavailable due to the coronavirus.

Interaction with Other Employer-Provided Paid Sick Leave and other Paid Leave:

This act does not preempt existing state and local paid sick leave requirements.
Employers cannot require employees to use other leave first.
Sick leave provided for under the act does not carry over from year to year, and the requirements expire December 31, 2020.

Notice Requirements

Employers must post a model notice, which will be provided by the federal government.
After the first workday (or portion of a day) an employee receives paid sick time, an employer may require the employee to follow “reasonable notice procedures” in order to continue receiving paid sick time.

Employer Payroll Tax Credits to offset Emergency Leave costs

Employers will receive 100% reimbursement for all FMLA Emergency Leave and Emergency Paid Sick Leave payments.
An immediate dollar-for-dollar tax offset against payroll taxes – employers can retain the payroll tax deposits they would otherwise pay to the IRS in an amount that does not exceed the leave payments.
If the payroll deposits are not enough to cover the cost of paid leave, the IRS will return the shortfall amount as quickly as possible.
The maximum reimbursement is equal to the employee payment caps for FMLA Emergency Leave and the Emergency Paid Sick Leave.
Details on this process are anticipated soon.

Credit for Health Plan Expenses

FMLA Emergency Leave and Emergency Paid Sick Leave credits will be increased to include the amount the employer pays for the employee’s health plan coverage while they are on leave.
The employer’s group health plan expense must be properly allocated to the time an employee is on leave.

Health Plan Benefit Mandate

The act requires all insured and self-funded medical plans, including grandfathered plans, to cover diagnostic testing-related services for COVID-19 at 100 percent without any deductibles or co-pays.
Examples include services provided by doctors, emergency rooms, and urgent care centers leading up to the decision that testing is needed, along with the actual lab-based testing.
The mandate does not apply to treatment.

Read the full law here: US H.R. 6201

If you would like to speak with one of our HR Consultants regarding the specifics of this legislation as it pertains to your organization, please call 888-243-2555 and we'll put you in touch!

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Important Documents

FAMILIES FIRST CORONAVIRUS RESPONSE ACT (FFCRA)

CORONAVIRUS AID, RELIEF, AND ECONOMIC SECURITY (CARES) ACT