Emergency Coronavirus Bill Passed by the U.S. House & Senate

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On March 18, 2020 the U.S. Senate passed the revised US House of Representatives’ Families First Coronavirus Response Act (H.R. 6201).  The bill now heads to President Trump’s desk where changes could be made, but it is expected to be signed.

As drafted, the bill applies to employers with fewer than 500 employees. The following is a summary of some of the highlights that will affect these employers:

  • 12 weeks of job-protected paid FMLA for Employees who have worked for the Employer for at 30 days.

    • Employees may elect to use accrued PTO during the first 10 days.

      • Employees may use the leave to care for a child under 18 whose school or daycare has been closed as a result of COVID-19.

    • Following the first 10 days of leave, employers must compensate employees by at least 2/3 of the employees’ regular rate of pay with a $200 per day cap and $10,000 aggregate.

  • Emergency Paid Sick Leave

    • Employers must provide full time employees with 80 hours of paid sick leave for circumstances related to COVID 19.

      • Part time employees are entitled to the number of paid sick time equal to the number of hours they work over an average 2-week period calculated with a 6 month lookback.

    • Paid sick time must be at the regular rate of pay with a cap of

      • $511 per day per employee and $5,110 max if the employee has COVID-19.

      • $200 per day per employee and $2,000 max if the employee is caring from children under 18 whose school or daycare has been closed

    • Employers must post notices of Employee’s leave rights.

    • These provisions will be effective within 15 days of President Trump’s signature and expire December 31, 2020.

To alleviate some of the financial burden, the bill provides for a limited refundable employment tax credit equal to the amount that an employer pays to an employee under this provision, i.e., up to $511, or $200 respectively, to a maximum of ten days per employee for the year.

Once the President has signed the final version of this bill into law the firm will provide an analysis of the requirements. 

As you face the day to day questions of balancing business concerns, the law, and health and safety, the firm is here to assist in any way we can.

*Note this article was updated 3/19/2020.

Emergency Coronavirus Bill Passed by the House

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On March 14, 2020 the US House of Representatives passed the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (H.R. 6201).  The bill now heads to the Senate where it will likely pass early this week.

As drafted, the bill applies to employers with fewer than 500 employees, and employees who have been working for the employer for at least 30 calendar days. The following is a summary of some of the highlights that will affect these employers:

  • 12 weeks of job-protected paid FMLA.

  • Employees may use accrued PTO during the first 14 days, but employers may not require employees to do so.

    • Employees may use the leave for required or recommended quarantines for themselves, to care for family members, or to care for a child whose school has been closed as a result of COVID-19.

  • Following the first 14 days of leave, employers must compensate employees by at least 2/3 of the employees’ regular rate of pay.

  • Employers must provide full time employees with 80 hours of paid sick leave for circumstances related to COVID 19.

    • Part time employees are entitled to the number of paid sick time equal to the number of hours they work over an average 2-week period.

  • Paid sick time must be at the regular rate of pay.

  • Employers must post notices of Employee’s leave rights.

  • These provisions will be effective 15 days after enactment and expire December 31, 2020.

Once the Senate has passed the final version of this bill the firm will provide an analysis of the requirements. 

As you face the day to day questions of balancing business concerns, the law, and health and safety, the firm is here to assist in any way we can.

Are You Compliant with the New Overtime Law Effective January 1, 2020?

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The Department of Labor recently announced a final rule to make 1.3 million American workers newly eligible for overtime pay under the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”). This significant change applies to all employers subject to the FLSA. Those changes will go into effect January 1, 2020.

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Four Employment Issues to Consider Before and After Natural Disasters

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Four Employment Issues to Consider Before and After Natural Disasters

In the preparation for and aftermath of any natural disaster, employers are often faced with questions from employees and clients regarding their plans. Natural disasters affect employers and employees year-round through hurricanes, tornadoes, floods, fires, blizzards and severe storms. With Hurricane Dorian looming in the Atlantic, the topic is top of mind for many right now. Here are four of the biggest employment issues that you may face…

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What Florida Businesses Should do to Prepare for ICE I-9 Audits

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As part of the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) nationwide crackdown on immigration compliance the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has been increasingly serving Florida businesses with Notices of Inspection (NOI). An NOI informs business owners that ICE will perform a comprehensive audit of their hiring records (Form I-9s and associated documents) to determine compliance with employment eligibility verification laws. Small businesses without regular processes in place for compliance are oftentimes hit the hardest by the audits.

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How to Handle Workplace Complaints

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Workplace complaints happen every day - whether it’s sexual harassment or unequal pay or creating a hostile work environment. When employees bring concerns to their employers of potentially illegal behavior, or perhaps just behavior that not in line with the company’s values, the company’s decision of what to do next sets the tone for the outcome and the resolution. Companies often turn first to human resources (HR) when faced with these situations. HR as a fact finder can be problematic for 2 reasons: 1) small companies often don’t have appropriately trained HR personnel or 2) HR risks losing credibility when they act as fact finders for internal complaints because they are perceived as too close to the relevant parties (witnesses or decision makers). Consequently, I recommend that clients hire a third-party investigator.

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Freedom of Speech at Work?

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Despite what you may have read in the news lately in stories surrounding the election or NFL player protests, the First Amendment does not provide a private employee with the right to free speech or freedom of expression at work. Rather, the Constitution’s right to free speech only applies to the government’s attempts to restrict speech. Even then, it’s not absolute.

Employees who work in the private sector do not have First Amendment protection for their speech in the workplace. So, does this mean that you as a private-sector employer can take the absence of a direct First Amendment right as providing free rein to discipline, terminate or retaliate against employees for their speech in the workplace? Well—you guessed it—it depends.

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Pay Now or Pay Later: Can You Hire an Unpaid Intern?

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With summer here many companies plan to bring on summer interns who are home from college. It’s not uncommon for interns to even approach you about working unpaid because they want the experience. Regardless of the intent, the Department of Labor (DOL) regulates the paying of interns in the way it regulates the pay of all employees.

In January 2018 the DOL adopted a primary-beneficiary test which replaced the previous six factor test for for-profit employers. This new test is more forgiving to employers as it looks at the totality of the circumstances, as opposed to requiring that each factor be met (as was the previous case).

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