What is the Families First Coronavirus Response Act?

Last week, the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (H.R. 6201) was passed by Congress and signed into law by President Trump. The bill will provide support for employees during the Coronavirus pandemic.

The Act will provide paid Emergency Family Leave in limited circumstances, as well as Paid Sick Leave for people affected by COVID-19.

Generally, the Act provides that qualifying employees could receive:

• Two weeks (up to 80 hours) of sick leave at the employee’s regular rate of pay where the employee is unable to work because the employee is quarantined (pursuant to Federal, State, or local government order or advice of a health care provider), and/or experiencing COVID-19 symptoms and seeking a medical diagnosis;
OR


• Two weeks (up to 80 hours) of sick leave at two-thirds the employee’s regular rate of pay because the employee is unable to work because of a bona fide need to care for an individual subject to quarantine (pursuant to Federal, State, or local government order or advice of a health care provider), or care for a child (under 18 years of age) whose school or child care provider is closed or unavailable for reasons related to COVID-19, and/or the employee is experiencing a substantially similar condition as specified by the Secretary of Health and Human Services, in consultation with the Secretaries of the Treasury and Labor.

In addition, employees that have been employed for at least 30 days could receive:

• Two weeks of Family and Medical Leave (FMLA) for where an employee is unable to work due to a bona fide need for leave to care for a child whose school or child care provider is closed or unavailable for reasons related to COVID-19. These 2 weeks (10 work days) must be taken as unpaid leave unless the employee has available PTO or qualifies for the Paid Sick Leave provision of the Act.



• Up to an additional 10 weeks of expanded Family and Medical Leave (FMLA) at two-thirds the employee’s regular rate of pay where an employee is unable to work due to a bona fide need for leave to care for a child whose school or child care provider is closed or unavailable for reasons related to COVID-19.

FFCRA Leave Administration

The FFCRA (Families First Coronavirus Response Act) went into effect on Wednesday, April 1, 2020. The Act provides additional employer-paid leave provisions for our employees who may have been or will be affected by COVID-19. The current legislation is in effect from 4/01/2020 to 12/31/2020 and is not retroactive to any leave prior to 4/01/2020. There are two provisions covered in this Act outlined below: Emergency Paid Leave and Emergency FMLA Leave.

Emergency Paid Leave:
(Maximum entitlement of 80 hours; can be a combination of the reasons listed below)

The only eligibility requirement for the Emergency Paid Leave is that an employee be “active.”

Eighty (80) hours (prorated based on FTE) of employer paid leave, at the employee’s normal salary rate, not to exceed $511/day (tied to base pay only) for the following reasons:

Please note that there are only 80 hours total (prorated based on FTE) for any of the applicable reasons below.

• The employee has been advised by a government entity or a health care provider to isolate or quarantine related to COVID-19. The name of the government entity or health care provider who advised this action will be required.
  • This leave can only be taken continuously but may be in multiple periods.
  • Attestation that the affected employee is unable to work or telework during the leave period is requested.
• The employee is experiencing symptoms of COVID-19 and is seeking a medical diagnosis
  • This leave can only be taken continuously but may be in multiple periods.
  • Attestation that the affected employee is unable to work or telework during the leave period is requested.

AND/OR

80 hours (prorated based on FTE) of employer-paid leave, at 2/3rd the employee’s normal salary rate, not to exceed $200/day (tied to base pay only) for the following reasons (employees may choose to make up the remaining 1/3rd of their salary from their normal accrued PTO):

• The employee is caring for an individual subject to quarantine or self-quarantine order
  
  • This leave can be taken intermittently ONLY if the employee providing care is NOT returning to their worksite (telecommuting only) when not providing care of said individual.
  • Attestation that the affected employee is unable to work or telework during the leave period requested.
• Employee is caring for children if schools are closed or caregiver is unavailable because of a public health emergency
  • This leave can be taken intermittently.
  • If this leave type is requested, the following information must be provided: name of minor child, name of school or place of care closed for COVID-19 related issue.
  • Attestation that no other individual is available to or will provide care and that the employee is unable to work or telework during the leave period requested.

Emergency FMLA Leave

(This is only applicable to the new FMLA Qualifying Event that the employee will miss work as they must care for their minor child whose school or place of care has been closed for a COVID-19 related issue.)

The first 80 hours (prorated based on FTE) shall be unpaid. However, the employee may choose to bridge this pay gap with Emergency Paid Leave as indicated above or opt to use normal accrued PTO for this time period.

• The final 400 hours/10 weeks (prorated based on FTE) will be paid by the employer at 2/3rd the employee’s normal salary rate, not to exceed $200/day.
• Employees' remaining 1/3 of their salary will be paid from their normal accrued PTO.
• This change complies with Department of Labor (DOL) guidance issued 4/22/2020 and university policy that stipulates that an employee must use accrued PTO to cover any approved FMLA absence before the employee is allowed to take Leave Without Pay.
• Attestation that no other individual is available to or will provide care and that they are unable to work or telework during the leave period requested.
• The only eligibility requirement for the Emergency FMLA Leave is that an employee be on the OU payroll for 30 calendar days.
• This leave can be taken intermittently. For example, if employee is caring for child Monday, Wednesday, Friday and can work Tuesday, Thursday, then the leave would be intermittent. Similarly, employees may take leave in the morning and work in the afternoon.
• All other FMLA Qualifying Events, unrelated to the COVID-19 childcare event described in this section, shall be processed as usual and the normal eligibility requirements (12 months of service and 1,250 hours worked) will apply.

Per the Department of Labor (DOL) regulations and guidelines, all FMLA events shall be deducted from the employee’s annual FMLA entitlement of 480 hours (prorated based on FTE). Also, if an employee has already exhausted or used a partial amount of their FMLA entitlement, the Act does not require the employer to grant additional FMLA hours to those employees.

During this stressful time for us all, it is recommended that employees who wish to apply for either Emergency Paid Leave (any applicable reason), or Emergency FMLA Leave, reach out to the appropriate HR Leave Administrator below so that the appropriate paperwork is issued based on the employee’s request. Employees may not understand all the details of this Act; HR Leave Administration will be happy to ensure they understand what they are requesting and how the entire process works.

Norman – Vanessa Llach, VanessaLlach@ou.edu

Norman Tulsa – Tandy Gourd; Tandy-GourdIII@ou.edu

HSC OKC – Shane Daniels, Shane-Daniels@ouhsc.edu

HSC Tulsa – Tandy Gourd; Tandy-GourdIII@ouhsc.edu


THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION APPLIES TO HSC ONLY

New COVID FMLA Reason Codes and new COVID Leave Options:

There are new COVID FMLA Reason Codes listed with the TAL FMLA Module. They are:

• FMLA COVID Employee Health Condition. This should be requested if an employee is requesting Emergency Paid Leave for their own health event as indicated above.
• FMLA COVID Health of a Family Member. This should be requested if an employee is requesting Emergency Paid Leave to care for an individual who is subject to quarantine, or self-quarantine as indicated above.
• FMLA COVID Care of a Child (2/3). This should be requested if an employee is requesting Emergency Paid Leave or Emergency FMLA Leave to care for their minor child/children if their school or place of care has been closed for a COVID-19 related issue and the employee does not wish to make up the remaining 1/3rd of their salary from normal accrued PTO.
• FMLA COVID Care of a Child (w/leave). This should be requested if an employee is requesting Emergency Paid Leave or Emergency FMLA Leave to care for their minor child/children if their school or place of care has been closed for a COVID-19 related issue and the employee does wish to make up the remaining 1/3rd of their salary from normal accrued PTO.
• COVID Care of a Child (First 80). This should be requested if an employee is requesting Emergency FMLA Leave to care for their minor child/children if their school or place of care has been closed for a COVID-19 related issue and the employee is not bridging the pay gap with Emergency Paid Leave. This option allows the employee to utilize their normal accrued PTO for the first 80 hours (prorated based on FTE) for the initial unpaid period of the Emergency FMLA Leave as indicated above.

There are new COVID Leave Options on employee timesheets. They are:

• COVID PTO Self. This should be selected if an employee has been approved for Emergency Paid Leave for their own COVID related health event as indicated above. This shall be continuous (perhaps in multiple periods) and should appear preloaded on the timesheet if approved.
• COVID PTO Other (2/3). This should be selected if an employee has been approved for Emergency Paid Leave or Emergency FMLA if the employee has chosen NOT to make up the remaining 1/3rd of their salary rate from normal accrued PTO.
• COVID PTO Other (w/ leave). This should be selected if an employee has been approved for Emergency Paid Leave or Emergency FMLA if the employee has chosen to make up the remaining 1/3rd of their salary rate from normal accrued PTO.

Please note that if an employee, manager, or payroll coordinator chooses any of these leave types and the employee HAS NOT been approved for Emergency Paid Leave or Emergency FMLA by the HR Leave Administrator, the system will default to the normal cascading leave rules and this time shall be deducted from normal accrued PTO and/or LWOP (Leave Without Pay).

 

Following are answers to your most frequently asked questions related to the Families First Coronavirus Response Act:

Q: When does the Act go into effect?
A: April 1, 2020. Unless extended, the Act will expire on December 31, 2020.

Q: Are part-time employees eligible for Paid Sick Leave?
A: Part-time employees are entitled to a pro rata share of 80 hours depending upon the average number of hours per day that the employee would normally be scheduled to work.

Q: Is there a maximum amount an employee can be paid for Paid Sick Leave?
A: Paid Sick Leave is paid at the employee’s regular wage up to a maximum of $511/day, or $5,110 in the aggregate for the employee’s own illness. Paid Sick Leave to care for another who is isolated for COVID19 or to care for a child is paid at 2/3 the employee’s regular rate, not to exceed $200 per day.

Q: Is there a maximum amount an employee can be paid for Emergency Family Leave?
A: Emergency Family Leave is paid at 2/3 the employee's regular rate, not to exceed $200 per day and $10,000 maximum.

Q: Can regular FMLA still be used for other reasons (an employee’s own health condition, birth of a child, care for a family member, etc.)?
A: Yes. In these situations, an employee would go through the standard FMLA certification process.

Q: What is the procedure for employees to request leave under the Act?
A: Employees requesting leave under any of the applicable FFCRA reasons should contact the appropriate Leave Administrators as listed below.

For Leave Administration, contact:
HSC: Shane Daniels, (405) 271-2190, ex. 44726,shane-daniels@ouhsc.edu
Norman: Vanessa Llach, (405) 325-1826,vanessallach@ou.edu
OU-Tulsa Campus: Tandy Gourd, (918) 660-3197,tandy.gourd.iii-1@ou.edu