Beginning September 16, 2020, new rules went into effect for the paid employee leave provisions in the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA). This is the federal program that made paid leave available for employees affected by COVID-19 and allowed employers to claim a tax deduction to reimburse the cost of the leave days. A federal court held that several parts of the original FFCRA needed to be revised.
The U.S. Department of Labor issued a press release on September 11, 2020 with these details. The new rules:
- 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.
- Correct an inconsistency regarding when employees may be required to provide notice of a need to take expanded family and medical leave to their employers.
Read about this change in more detail in this USDOL website and in this post from the Michael Best law firm.
