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As previously advised, the US Department of Labor has issued a Question & Answers webpage, and subsequently updated it, to address numerous issues arising out of the passage of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (“FFCRA”. (Click here and here.) The DOL updated the “Questions and Answers” webpage again today, adding 20 new questions and answers (##60-79). These updated Questions and Answers primarily address issues for employees regarding FFCRA leave but include some questions directed towards employers such as computing leave pay for seasonal workers with irregular schedules,

Earlier this week, the U.S. Department of Labor announced that it would be posting an informational webinar regarding compliance issues with the recently-enacted Families First Coronavirus Response Act (“FFCRA”). That webinar, which provides information regarding the FFCRA for both employers and employees went live today and can be accessed at:  https://dolwhd.cosocloud.com/pawkgwfawza0/?proto=true. The DOL’s Wage & Hour Division also distributed Power Point slides to accompany the webinar, which can be accessed here.

On March 31, 2020, the IRS issued 66 FAQs providing guidance to employers in connection with the payment of, and tax credits for, emergency paid sick leave (E-PSL) and emergency FMLA leave (E-FMLA) under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (“FFCRA”).  Among other things, the FAQs answered a very important question that the DOL didn’t (instead, in its FAQ 15, the DOL essentially deferred to the IRS).  The important question is: what documentation or information can employers require employees to submit to support their request for E-PSL or E-FMLA?

We have been keeping you informed of recent actions by the US Department of Labor to advise employers of their obligations under the recently enacted Families First Coronavirus Response Act (“FFCRA”). This has included the DOL’s creation of a “Questions and Answers” webpage for both employers and employees. (Click here, here and here.) On April 1, 2020, the DOL announced the issuance of its Temporary Rules regarding implementation of the FFCRA and what employers who are subject to it must do to ensure compliance.

Last week, we alerted you to the fact that the US Department of Labor had issued a Question & Answers webpage, and subsequently updated it, to address numerous issues arising out of the passage of the FFCRA. (Click here and here.) Late Saturday night, the DOL again updated the “Questions and Answers” webpage and added more than 20 new questions and answers (## 38-59) regarding various issues under the FFCRA for both employers and employees.

On March 27, 2020, the $2 trillion Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Safety (CARES) Act was passed by the House of Representatives and signed into law by President Trump as the largest emergency aid bill in history. The CARES Act significantly expands unemployment benefits and comes on the heels of 3.3 million Americans having applied for unemployment benefits last week. In California specifically, there were 186,809 claims for unemployment benefits to the Employment Development Department last week.

Earlier this week, we advised you that the US Department of Labor had issued a Question & Answers webpage that addressed some issues arising out of the passage of the FFCRA, most importantly clarifying that it would become effective on April 1, 2020. (Click here.) Yesterday, the DOL updated that “Questions and Answers” webpage and added more than 25 new questions and answers regarding various issues under the FFCRA for both employers and employees.

On March 24, 2020, the San Francisco Office of Labor Standards Enforcement issued guidance pertaining to the use of Paid Sick Leave under the San Francisco Paid Sick Leave Ordinance (PSLO).  This publication supersedes the OLSE’s guidance issued just last week. Employers should be aware of temporary changes in the PSLO rules specific to the current pandemic:

1. No Doctor’s Notes for Duration of COVID-19 Local Health Emergency

Under normal circumstances,

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Congress recently passed the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (“FFCRA”). Among other things, the FFCRA requires certain employers to provide their employees with paid sick leave and expanded family and medical leave for specified reasons related to COVID-19. Employees’ leave rights under the FFCRA apply from April 1, 2020 through December 31, 2020.

The FFCRA requires that employers “post and keep posted, in conspicuous places on the premises of the employer where notices to employees are customarily posted,

We have kept you advised of recent federal actions taken in response to the COVID-19 outbreak, including the passage of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (“FFCRA”) which, among other things, provides paid family leave for certain employees. (See previous blogs at here, here, and here.) The FFCRA was to take effect “no later than 15 days” after being signed by the President. Given that it was signed on March 18,