On April 1, 2020, the U.S. DOL enacted a temporary rule operational through the EOY that provides direction for administration of the Emergency Paid Sick Leave Act (EPSLA) and the Emergency Family and Medical Leave Expansion Act (EFMLEA).
With schools opening this month we anticipate more employers having questions about obtaining credits related specifically to EPSLA (due to contagion) and EFMLEA (due to school closings). Please know that in instances where claims are made for your eligible employees, MarathonHR will create a separate payroll invoice from your other employees and calculate your credit for employer tax, Medicare and benefits. That credit will appear as a refund on the invoice for processing of your other employees’ payroll during that same payroll period.
As a reminder, the Emergency Paid Sick Leave Act (EPSLA) requires that certain employers provide up to 80 hours of paid sick leave to employees who need to take leave from work for the following reasons related to COVID-19:
- the employee or someone the employee is caring for is subject to a government quarantine order or has been advised by a health care provider to self-quarantine;
- the employee is experiencing COVID-19 symptoms and is seeking medical attention; or,
- the employee is caring for his or her son or daughter whose school or place of care is closed or whose childcare provider is unavailable for reasons related to COVID-19.
The Emergency Family and Medical Leave Expansion Act (EFMLEA) requires that certain employers provide up to 10 weeks of paid, and 2 weeks unpaid, emergency family and medical leave to eligible employees if the employee is caring for his or her son or daughter whose school or place of care is closed or whose child care provider is unavailable for reasons related to COVID-19.