The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) posted revisions to regulations that implemented the paid sick leave and expanded family and medical leave provisions of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA). The revisions come as a result of a federal court decision that found portions of the regulations invalid.
The revisions do the following:
- Reaffirm and provide additional explanation for the requirement that employees may take FFCRA leave only if work would otherwise be available to them.
- Reaffirm and provide additional explanation for the requirement that an employee have employer approval to take FFCRA leave intermittently.
- Revise the definition of “healthcare provider” to include only employees who meet the definition of that term under the Family and Medical Leave Act regulations or who are employed to provide diagnostic services, preventative services, treatment services or other services that are integrated with and necessary to the provision of patient care which, if not provided, would adversely impact patient care.
- Clarify that employees must provide required documentation supporting their need for FFCRA leave to their employers as soon as practicable.
- Correct an inconsistency regarding when employees may be required to provide notice of a need to take expanded family and medical leave to their employers.
The Department issued its initial temporary rule implementing provisions under the FFCRA on April 1, 2020. Read the new revisions to that temporary rule, which become effective Sept. 16, 2020 in the Federal Register.
WHD provides additional information on common issues employers and employees face when responding to the coronavirus and its effects on wages and hours worked and job-protected leave under the FMLA at https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/pandemic. For AGC-provided resources on FFCRA and other coronavirus-related matters of significance to construction employers, visit AGC’s coronavirus website.
For more information, contact Claiborne Guy at claiborne.guy@agc.org or 703-837-5382.