EFFECTIVE APRIL 2, 2020

Effective April 2, 2020, but employers are encouraged to start observing the new provisions ASAP. The Department of Labor will soon develop full eligibility requirements for each type of leave and accompanying pay.

Starting today, please notify your HR Team at hrteam@xcelhr.com or 800-776-0076 of any employee whom you’ve become aware is either sick with Covid-19, under mandatory quarantine or caring for anyone who is, or caring for their child whose school or daycare is closed, or whose regular caregiver is unavailable.

Important to note: Any expenses incurred by your business, related to paying for your employee’s qualifying leave, will be reimbursed within 3 months as a tax credit and may be advanced if you cannot afford the outlay of funds, but specific information about this is not yet available.

NEW (TEMPORARY) FMLA QUALIFICATION CRITERIA

  • FMLA qualification criteria now includes caring for a child whose school is closed or whose regular caregiver is not available.
  • The first 10 days (2 weeks) of FMLA for the reason above is unpaid but coverable by the Emergency Sick Pay described below.
  • Weeks 3 through 12 of FMLA under this qualification are paid at two-thirds of the employee’s regular gross pay to a maximum of up to $200 per day. FMLA also requires maintenance of the Benefits an employee had before the leave.

EMERGENCY PAID SICK LEAVE

Employees can qualify for the reasons below, one of which also qualifies them for FMLA as described above. All in connection with COVID-19:

  • Their child’s school is closed or their regular caregiver is not available (this also qualifies them for FMLA as outlined above, or:
  • They are under mandatory Federal, State or local quarantine or an isolation order.
  • A medical professional has advised self-quarantine, or:
  • They are experiencing known symptoms of COVID-19 and seeking an official diagnosis, or:
  • They are caring for an individual under an official quarantine or isolation order, or:
  • They are experiencing a virtually identical if slightly different circumstance (if you are not certain, your HR team will help you make the call).