Back to School 2020 & Paid Leave

New rules require and modify Federally-Mandated paid leave for employees with children

How the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) applies to the new 2020-2021 School Year

When are employees eligible for paid leave? When are they not?

What if the school offers both in-person and online learning?

• If a school offers both in-person and online learning options and a parent chooses the latter, the parent may not take paid leave under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA), per the August 27^th US DOL guidance.
  • Self-quarantine order isn’t the same as a healthcare provider recommendation to do so.

What about ‘Hybrid’ in-person and online arrangements?

• Parents may use FFCRA leave on days when children are not permitted to attend school due to hybrid in-person and online arrangements. 
  • A child may be allowed to physically attend school only on their allotted in-person attendance days.  
  • Schools are “effectively ‘closed’” to employees’ children on those remote learning days.

What if the school begins online with the intent to re-open at a later date?

• Parents may also take leave under the FFCRA if school begins the year remotely with the intent to evaluate the circumstances and possibly reopen for in-person learning later on.
• If the school reopens, a parent’s eligibility for leave “will depend on the particulars of the school’s operations”.

What if “before/after-school care programs” are closed?

If a child’s before-school or after-school program is closed, the employee is eligible for FFCRA leave.

What if the employee previously worked during a school closing?

An employer cannot deny FFCRA leave to an employee that previously worked during a school closing.

Can both parents take paid leave at the same time?

• Parents cannot take FFCRA leave simultaneously for a child whose school or care provider is closed.

Leave is not approved when there are two people and/or parents to take care of one child for a single day. The option exists where one parent and/or person can care for the child on certain days while the other parent and/or person cares for the child on opposite days

Is there an age limit for school age children when parents are taking FFCRA leave?

FFCRA leave is only valid for those who care for children up to the age of 18

What if the employee has a disabled child, over the age of 18?

Employees are eligible for leave when a disabled child’s (over the age of 18), regular school or care provider is closed.

FFCRA Reminder

• Requires employers with fewer than 500 employees to provide two buckets of leave: Emergency FMLA and Emergency Paid Sick Leave.  There are different qualifiers and benefits for each.
  • See our previous post Return to Work – Pitfalls to avoid for specifics about these laws.

• Since March, DOL has issued several sets of guidance that specify when working parents are eligible for FFCRA leave.

• As we enter the sixth month of the pandemic, some parents may be running out of EFMLA leave.

Employers must understand all the various types of leave employees are entitled to, including state statutes similar to the FFCRA, vacation, and paid time off benefits.  Employers need to demonstrate flexibility and consistency in policy.  Diligence and proper interpretation of all the rules are critical at this time.

If you have questions about how the FFCRA impacts your business, contact us.  We’re here to help!