Employers Can Allow for Some Employees to Take Intermittent Leave Under FFCRA
The Department of Labor issued a FAQ to assist employers as the April 1, 2020 effective date of the FFCRA approaches. The FAQ answers 59 questions and touches on many topics that are of concern for employers. This blog focuses on an employee’s ability to take Intermittent Leave:
Employees Who Are Not Working Remotely Cannot Take Intermittent Paid Sick Leave When they are Sick or Caring for Someone who Is Sick
On-Site employees (not teleworking) may NOT take Intermittent Paid Sick Leave because:
They are subject to a Federal, State, or local quarantine or isolation order related to COVID-19;
They have been advised by a health care provider to self-quarantine due to concerns related to COVID-19;
They are experiencing symptoms of COVID-19 and seeking a medical diagnosis;
They are caring for an individual who either is subject to a quarantine or isolation order related to COVID-19 or has been advised by a health care provider to self-quarantine due to concerns related to COVID-19; or
They are experiencing any other substantially similar condition specified by the Secretary of Health and Human Services.
Employees May Take Intermittent Leave for Childcare Reasons
The DOL explains that employees may take Paid Sick Leave intermittently in order to take care of your child whose school or place of care is closed, or whose child-care provider is unavailable, because of COVID-19 related reasons. That means that employers can be flexible and work with their employees in order to coordinate child-care.
This policy makes sense, in that the purpose of the leave is to contain the virus. When an employee is home caring for someone with the Virus, have the Virus themselves, or has symptoms of the Virus, the employee must stay home to slow the spread of Covid. However, when an employee is taking leave to cover child-care, and the employee does not have Covid nor is exposed to Covid, then it makes sense to allow for intermittent leave.