On September 11, 2020, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) issued a new administrative rule concerning the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA), a federal law that provides two forms of COVID-19-related paid time off to employees of businesses with fewer than 500 employees. The rule comes just over a month after a New York federal court rejected substantial portions of the agency’s prior FFCRA guidance in State of New York v. U.S. Department of Labor et al., No. 1:20-cv-03020 (S.D.N.Y. Aug. 3, 2020). And while the new rule does include some revisions based on the court’s critiques, it mostly doubles down on several of the DOL’s prior interpretations of the FFCRA that were rejected by the Court. More particularly, in the new rule, the DOL:

  • Reaffirms that an employee may only take FFCRA leave if the employer has work available for the employee.
  • Reaffirms that intermittent FFCRA leave may only be taken with an employer’s approval.
  • Narrows the definition of the term “health care provider” (although still not as narrowly as that term is defined in other federal statutes).
  • Revises the FFCRA’s documentation requirement to provide that paperwork supporting the need for leave may be given “as soon as practicable” (as opposed to before the leave commences).

The new rule took effect on September 16, 2020 and will remain in place through December 31, 2020, when the FFCRA is set to expire.
Continue Reading DOL doubles-down on FFCRA rules (but amends others) in response to federal court decision

Effective April 10, 2019, certain employers must comply with Westchester County’s Earned Sick Leave Law (WESLL). Westchester County’s Human Rights Commission recently released additional guidance about the new law, which can be found here.

Eligibility, accrual and carryover

Generally, under the law, full- and part-time Westchester County employees who work 80 hours or more during a calendar year are eligible to use sick leave for the care and treatment of themselves or a family member. The law requires employers with five or more employees to allow eligible employees to accrue one hour of paid sick leave per every 30 hours worked, with a cap of 40 hours of leave per calendar year. Employers with one to four employees must provide the same benefits, but the leave may be unpaid. WESLL leave begins accruing on the later of July 10, 2019, or the first date of employment.

Employers have the option of applying the WESLL or, alternatively, the employer can front-load sick and personal time equal to 40 hours or more, at the beginning of a calendar year. In addition, employees are permitted to carry over a maximum of 40 hours of unused sick leave at the end of the year.Continue Reading Attention employers: Westchester’s earned sick leave law is now in effect