The Families First Coronavirus Response Act that provided paid leave for many COVID impacted workers—and federal funding to reimburse employers for the costs of paid leave since April 1, 2020—is set to expire Dec. 31, 2020.
The CARES II bill just approved does provide for employer reimbursements but it no longer mandates that employers provide it to their workers. But don’t make any decisions yet, there is still time for legislators to “clarify the language”.
Attorney Jeff Nowak, of the labor and employment firm Littler Mendelson, writes that the stimulus package contains these key elements:
- Mandated FFCRA leave ends on Dec. 31, 2020
- As of Jan. 1, 2021, covered employers may voluntarily provide emergency paid sick leave or emergency paid FMLA leave under FFCRA and take the tax credit associated with this leave
- The tax credit may only be taken for leave through March 31, 2021
In other words, FFCRA leave is no longer required.