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Emergency Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)
Emergency Family and 
Medical Leave Act (FMLA)
The House and Senate approved and President Trump signed HR 6201 Act on March 18, 2020. 

Here is the link to the 112-page document: 

AdminBooks, Inc has interpreted the document as best as we could “in English”, but please understand that this bill has many unanswered questions and Congress is also talking about making changes to the act. This bill is fluid and changing. 

Here is our summary as of March 20, 2020.  

Effective April 2nd, 2020; the law expires on December 31, 2020

Employer with fewer than 500 employees Secretary of Labor is 
required to create notice by 3/25 and guidelines by 4/2
PAID FAMILY LEAVE:

Eligible Employee: 
Any full-time or part-time employee that has been on the employer’s payroll for 30 calendar days. Entitled to take up to up to 12 weeks of FMLA leave.

Qualifying need for FMLA Leave: 
Limited to circumstances where an employee is unable to work (or telework) to care for a minor child if the child’s school or place of child care has been closed or is unavailable due to a public health emergency.
Employee’s Pay Required during FMLA Leave:
• The first 10 days (two weeks) are unpaid, but an employee can substitute accrued paid leave, including emergency paid sick leave. 

• The remaining 10 weeks, employer will pay 2/3 of the employee’s regular rate, for the number of hours the employee would otherwise be scheduled to work (with a maximum payment of $200 per day and $10,000 total)

• Eligible employees may apply for the FMLA leave beginning April 2nd

• Emergency FMLA leave is job-protected, meaning the employer must restore an employee to the same or equivalent position upon their return to work.  
Employer’s Tax Credits:
• The new law provides for a series of refundable tax credits for employers providing paid emergency sick leave or paid FMLA, including tax relief for self-employed individuals.  

• A refundable tax credit for employers equal to 100% of qualified family leave wages required to be paid by the Emergency Family and Medical Leave Expansion Act that are paid by an employer for each calendar quarter.
• The tax credit is allowed against the employer portion of Social Security taxes. The amount of qualified family leave 
wages taken into account for each employee is capped at $200 per day and $10,000 for all calendar quarters.

• If the credit exceeds the employer’s total liability for all employees for any calendar quarter, the excess credit is 
refundable to the employer. 

Self Employed:
• A refundable tax credit equal to 100% of a qualified family leave equivalent amount for eligible self-employed 
individuals. The credit is allowed against income taxes and is refundable. 

• Eligible self-employed individuals are individuals who would be entitled to receive paid leave pursuant to the Emergency 
Family and Medical Leave Expansion Act if the individual was the employee of an employer (i.e., not self-employed).

• The qualified family leave equivalent amount is capped at the lesser $200 per day or the average daily self-employment 
income for the taxable year per day.
EMERGENCY SICK PAY LEAVE ACT:
Employer with fewer than 500 employees


Eligible Employee: Unlike the emergency FMLA requirements, an employee is immediately eligible for paid sick leave.
Reasons for Sick Leave: Employers are required to provide paid sick leave to an employee who is unable to work or telework because:

1. the employee is subject to a federal, state, or local quarantine or isolation order related to COVID-19;

2. the employee has been advised by a health care provider to self-quarantine because of COVID-19;

3. the employee is experiencing symptoms of COVID-19 and is seeking a medical diagnosis;

4. the employee is caring for an individual subject or advised to quarantine or isolation;

5. the employee is caring for a son or daughter whose school or place of care is closed, or child care provider is unavailable, due to COVID-19 precautions; or

6. the employee is experiencing substantially similar conditions as specified by the Secretary of Health and Human Services, in consultation with the Secretaries of Labor and Treasury.

Employee’s Paid Sick Leave:

Full-time employees: 
A. 80 hours at their regular rate of pay up to a maximum entitlement of $511/day or $5110 (for reasons 1, 2 & 3, employee’s own illness).  
B. When caring for a family member (for reasons 4, 5, 6 above or school closure), sick leave is paid at two-thirds the employee’s regular rate. Pay is limited to $200 per day ($2,000 in total) 

Part-time employees: the number of hours that the employee works, on average, over a 2-week period.

CALIFORNIA UNEMPLOYMENT:
1. Caregiving for family member effected by the COVID-19
2. Reduced Work Hours
3. Potential Closure or Layoffs
4. Eligible individuals can receive benefits that range from $40-$450 per week. 
5. Tax Assistance for Employers experiencing hardship may request 60 days extension on filing payroll reports/taxes
U.S SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION DISASTER LOANS:
Businesses adversely affected by the coronavirus now qualify for up to $2 million in disaster loans due to economic hardship. Interest rates are 3.75% for businesses, and 2.75% for nonprofits. Repayment can be deferred for up to twelve months. Terms may be extended to up to 30 years for repayment. 

Please CLICK HERE to apply.
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