The Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) requires covered employers to provide employees with emergency paid sick leave and expanded … Read more
When employees show up to work with a cold or flu, they open the door to all sorts of issues. All the coughing and sniffling is not only unpleasant and disruptive for other workers, but a sick employee can also transmit viruses to others and create a bigger problem.
While it’s certainly smarter and healthier for sick employees to stay home, what if they feel like they can’t afford to miss work? More and more state and local legislators are recognizing this predicament and issuing paid sick leave laws with special provisions for sick employees. Further still, the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) was recently expanded to address the urgent employment concerns surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic.
Did you know that one in four American workers has admitted to going to work when sick, according to an NSF International Flu Survey? The survey also revealed that:
Although paid sick leave can’t address every finding in this survey, it can certainly minimize employees “pushing through” an illness just because they’re afraid of losing income. Beyond that, the advantages of paid sick leave include:
In recent years, more states and cities have enacted their own paid sick leave laws that are more generous than federal law.
As of late March 2020, 12 states, the District of Columbia and 20 other jurisdictions provide paid sick days, protecting an estimated 46 million private sector workers. The states are: Arizona, Connecticut, California, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, Nevada, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington. They permit workers to earn paid sick days to recover from illness, seek medical care, or for a sick family member.
The cities and counties offering similar provisions include: San Francisco, Oakland, Emeryville, Los Angeles, Berkeley, Santa Monica and San Diego (CA); New York City, and Westchester County (NY); Seattle and Tacoma (WA); Philadelphia and Pittsburgh (PA); Montgomery County (MD); Chicago and Cook County (IL); St. Paul, Minneapolis and Duluth (MN); and Dallas (TX).
Until the COVID-19 outbreak in the United States, there were no federal laws requiring employers to provide paid leave for employees. But in the face of a growing health and safety crisis, the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) was passed, affecting all private employers with fewer than 500 employees as well as public employers. Until December 31, 2020, the law provides 80 hours of paid leave for eligible full-time employees who are:
In addition to the paid leave explained above, the FFCRA amends the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) to allow emergency paid family leave to employees of companies with fewer than 500 employees who are unable to work to care for a child whose school or place of care closed during the national emergency. In this situation, the enhanced provisions are not dependent on the previous company standard of 50 employees within a 75-mile radius. Further still, an employee must be employed for only 30 days (rather than the typical 12-month employment period/1,250 hours) to be eligible for this FMLA provision.
As more states and cities pass specific legislation, employers should expect an increase in paid sick leave provisions, as well as related postings. Federal, state and local coverage is guaranteed through Poster Guard® Compliance Protection.
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At ComplyRight, our mission is to free employers from the burden of tracking and complying with the complex web of federal, state and local employment laws, so they can stay focused on managing and growing their businesses.
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