Is This a Thing Now? Mandatory Universal Paid Time Off.

Jordan Dunham
Jordan Dunham
03/14/2023
On Monday, March 13, 2023, Illinois’ governor J.B. Pritzker signed into law the Paid Leave for All Workers Act.  With his signature, Illinois joins Nevada and Maine as states that require employers to provide mandatory universal paid time off.  Illinois’ law becomes effective January 1, 2024. This is an interesting turn of the tide from even 10 years ago where mandatory sick leave was a fringe idea.  The first state to enact a private sector...
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Delaware Enacts Family and Medical Paid Leave Law

Kollman & Saucier
Kollman & Saucier
05/11/2022
Yesterday, Delaware became the latest state to pass a law requiring private employers to participate in an insurance program that will provide paid family and medical leave to workers who meet certain eligibility requirements.  The Healthy Delaware Families Act (Act) is similar to Maryland’s recently-passed Time to Care Act, as well as laws in 10 other jurisdictions that aim to ensure employees have access to paid time off for family and medical...
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A Deeper Dive Into Maryland's New Paid Family Leave Law

Randi Klein Hyatt
Randi Klein Hyatt
04/29/2022
As Eric Paltell blogged about earlier this month, Maryland is now the 10th state to offer paid family leave to employees.  Likely, many other states will follow suit.  Below is a Q&A to unpack further what is required by the "Time to Care Act." What Employers Are Covered? Any public or private entity that employs at least one individual in Maryland. Employers may be eligible for an exemption under the Act if they can establish that they...
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District of Columbia Expands Its Paid Family and Medical Leave Benefit

Randi Klein Hyatt
Randi Klein Hyatt
03/03/2022
The District of Columbia will boost its paid family and medical leave program to offer a maximum of 12 weeks of leave annually, as well as reducing the payroll tax rate that employers will pay. The expansion resulted from a review of the paid leave program finances by D.C.’s Chief Financial Officer, who concluded that the program would have a nearly $500 million surplus this year at the current 8-week benefit level.  The program began paying...
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Virginia Enacts Required Paid Sick Leave for Home-Healthcare Workers

Jordan Dunham
Jordan Dunham
06/09/2021
On June 1, 2021, Gov. Ralph Northam signed into law House Bill 2137.  The law, once effective on July 1, 2021, will be codified in at Virginia Code §§ 40.1-33.3 through 40.1-33.6. Virginia employers, defined under VA Code § 40.1-2 as “an individual, partnership, association, corporation, legal representative, receiver, trustee, or trustee in bankruptcy doing business in or operating within this Commonwealth who employs another to work for...
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How EFMLA, EPSL, and Existing Leave Work Together

Garrett Wozniak
Garrett Wozniak
04/21/2020
In its most recent questions and answers, the Department of Labor addresses the circumstances in which employers may require employees to use existing leave and how existing leave works in conjunction with EFMLA and EPSL under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act.  This information is found in FAQ 86, with reference to previous guidance at Questions 31-33. Let’s take EFMLA first.  EFMLA is available when an employee is unable to...
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Determining Leave Hours Under the FFCRA . . . And Some Other Guidance

Garrett Wozniak
Garrett Wozniak
04/20/2020
It has been about two weeks since the DOL issued guidance on the paid leave (EFMLA and EPSL) required by the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA).  Here is a summary of the DOL’s latest guidance -- questions 80-88 on the Department’s FAQ page.  These questions and answers primarily concern employees with irregular schedules and how to determine the number of leave hours and rate of pay for leave purposes.  The Q&A...
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Handling FFCRA Leave Requests

Garrett Wozniak
Garrett Wozniak
04/10/2020
You may already have employees who’ve taken emergency FMLA (EFMLA) or emergency paid sick leave (EPSL) related to COVID-19 under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act ("FFCRA").  Maybe you haven’t.  Either way, you should have a plan for FFCRA leave requests that accounts for the following: Accept verbal notices and requests for leave and follow up with employees to obtain written notice to support the leave request. Do not...
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Under What Circumstances Is An Employee Unable To Work (Or Telework) Because They Are Subject To Quarantine or Isolation Order?

Clifford Geiger
Clifford Geiger
04/08/2020
The Department of Labor (DOL) continues to change and add to the question and answer (Q&A) guidance on the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA).  It has grown to 79 questions and answers of as April 8, 2020.  That guidance can be found here. In its Q&A guidance, the DOL is clear that FFCRA paid sick leave is only for employees affected by the COVID-19 pandemic but who would otherwise have work to do.  If an...
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Small Business Exemption Under the FFCRA

Clifford Geiger
Clifford Geiger
04/08/2020
On April 6, 2020, when the Department of Labor (DOL) published temporary regulations for the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA), it clarified a significant detail for employers with fewer than 50 employees.  According to the DOL, the small employer exemption applies only when leave is needed to care for a son or daughter whose school is closed or whose childcare is closed or unavailable for COVID-19 related reasons. The...
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