Employco Blog

BULLETIN
March 19, 2020 (UPDATE)

On March 18th, the Senate passed the Families First Coronavirus Response Act and the President signed it into law.

This bulletin summarizes the significant provisions of the Act which affect employers. The following provisions take effect on April 2, 2020.

Emergency Family and Medical Leave Expansion Act

• Companies are required to provide employees with up to 12 weeks of job-protected and paid leave:
  • Companies pay employees at 2/3 regular rate
  • Pay not to exceed $200 per day and $10,000 in aggregate per employee
  • The pay starts after first 10 days of leave
  • Only paid if employee is unable to work or telework in order to care for minor child if the child’s school is closed because of the public health emergency
• Applies to companies with less than 500 employees
  • Option to exclude companies with less than 50 employees if this action would jeopardize the continuation of their business
  • Companies with less than 25 employees may not be required to restore the employee back to same position after the 12 week leave has been exhausted
• Applies to employees with at least 30 days of service

Emergency Paid Sick Leave Act

• Companies are required to provide employees with paid sick leave:
  • Companies provide employees with 80 hours of paid leave based on the employee’s regular rate of pay
• Applies to companies with less than 500 employees
  • Option to exclude companies with less than 50 employees if this action would jeopardize the continuation of their business
• Applies to employees:
  1. subject to a federal, state or local quarantine or isolation order related to COVID-19;
  2. advised by a health care provider to self-quarantine due to COVID-19 concerns;
  3. experiencing COVID-19 symptoms and seeking medical diagnosis;
  4. caring for an individual subject to a federal, state or local quarantine or isolation order or advised by a health care provider to self-quarantine due to COVID-19 concerns;
  5. caring for the employee’s child if the child’s school or place of care is closed or the child’s care provider is unavailable due to public health emergency; or
  6. experiencing any other substantially similar condition specified by the Secretary of Health and Human Services in consultation with the Secretary of the Treasury and the Secretary of Labor.
• Employers would be required to pay employees their full wages, not to exceed $511 per day and $5,110 in the aggregate, for a use described in (1), (2), or (3) above
• Employers would be required to pay employees 2/3 of their wages, not to exceed $200 per day and $2,000 in the aggregate, for a use described in (4), (5), or (6) above

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BULLETIN
March 18, 2020 (UPDATE)

As we continue through these uncertain times, many companies are dealing with the reality that lower revenue cannot support the current employment. As a result, employers are considering their options to lower payroll expense. We’ve created the following chart that summarizes the options and differences between Furlough and Layoff.

	FURLOUGH	LAYOFF
Description	Short-term leave of absence	Employment ended due to lack of work or other business reasons
Employment Status	Remains “active”	Changes to “terminated”
Employee Benefits	Eligibility likely to continue. Employer can determine method of premium collection.	Eligibility ends – typically on last day of month. COBRA would be offered.
Unemployment Claims *subject to standard requirements	Each state may handle differently. (e.g., Furloughed Illinois residents likely to be approved*)	Each state may handle differently. (e.g., Laid-off Illinois residents would be approved*)
Return to Work	No significant changes or paperwork required.	Employees would complete new hire paperwork (e.g., I-9) and may be subject to new hire waiting period for benefits eligibility.

Outside of a furlough vs layoff decision, some employers are considering a company-wide reduction in pay (e.g., 20% pay cut for all employees). When reducing an employee’s pay or hours, ensure that you stay compliant in areas such as minimum wage, exempt/salaried employee pay threshold, and benefits eligibility.

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BULLETIN
March 16, 2020 (UPDATE)

We remain dedicated to continuing operations for our clients, while keeping our employees health and safety in mind. As of this time, we have put plans into place to both staff our office as well as work remotely to ensure your payroll is processing and HR support is available (keeping you up-to-date with the latest information).

We also encourage our clients to alert any employees who are not on direct deposit to consider signing up ASAP, in case there is any shut down of mail services (USPS, FedEx, etc).

We have updated the FAQ on our website with recent details, our new web page is dedicated to sharing information about COVID-19 and how it relates to the workplace:

https://www.employco.com/coronavirus

FAQ Updates

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Employment expert explains how companies can safeguard their workplaces from the threat of COVID-19

The global coronavirus death toll has risen to 4,000. Over 729 cases of coronavirus have been confirmed in the United States, with 27 fatalities thus far. Fears have spread to the workplace, with many companies canceling meetings, work trips, and encouraging employees to stay home if they are ill.

Rob Wilson, employment expert and President of Employco USA says, “As the number of reported cases of coronavirus (COVID-19) continues to rise, employers are increasingly confronted with the possibility of an outbreak in the workplace. Employers are obligated to maintain a safe and healthy work environment for their employees, but are also subject to a number of legal requirements protecting workers.”

So, what should employers do to help keep their workplaces as safe as possible from both coronavirus and legal concerns?

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