Coronavirus (COVID-19) TAGTeam Update: Continuity Plan from The Ashley Group

UPDATE: Families First Coronavirus Response Act 03/19/2020

SUMMARY:

Benefits for Employees

• Normal FMLA is unpaid, but under the FFCRA, employees who are on sick leave because they are sick can receive their full pay, up to $511 per day, or $5110 total.

• Leave taken to care for children whose schools or daycares have closed is paid at two-thirds the employee's regular rate of pay, with a maximum of $200 per day or $10,000 total.

• Employers cannot force you to use up your vacation or other sick time before receiving this benefit.

• There is a ten-day waiting period before this benefit applies. Employees can use existing sick or vacation time to cover these days.

Benefits for Employers

• Employers receive tax credits for 100 percent of what they pay out to employees, with the above-noted limits.

• For employers with 50 or fewer employees, the Secretary of Labor can exempt the business from these requirements.

• Employers with fewer than 25 employees do not have to restore employees to their previous positions.

On March 18, 2020, Congress passed the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, H.R. 6201 (Act). President Trump quickly signed the bill into law Wednesday evening. The Act will now take effect in fifteen days and will expire on December 31,

2020.

The Act responds to the novel COVID-19 outbreak by providing paid sick leave and free COVID-19 testing, expanding food assistance and unemployment benefits and requiring employers to provide additional protections for healthcare workers. Below is a summary of the employer related provisions, which are retroactive to January 19.

Of the Act’s provisions, most relevant to employers are its temporary guarantees of Emergency Paid Family Leave and Emergency Paid Sick Leave. These provisions ONLY pertain to employers with fewer than 500 employees, though the Secretary of Labor is authorized to exclude from coverage certain healthcare providers and first-responders from the definition of eligible employees. The Secretary of Labor can also exempt small businesses with fewer than 50 employees if the Act’s provisions would “jeopardize the viability of the business.”

The Act makes clear that the “paid” components of both provisions will ultimately be funded by the federal government. Although employers will be initially fronting this money to workers who claim these benefits, ALL expenses will be fully reimbursed by the federal government in the form of a refundable tax credit that counts against the employer’s quarterly payroll tax. Those whose costs more than offset their tax liability will receive a full refund of the difference from the IRS.

Qualifying for Emergency Paid Sick Leave

All employees of an employer are eligible for the paid sick leave.

Under the Act, employers must offer two weeks (10 days) of paid sick leave for COVID-19-related reasons for eligible full-time employees. Individuals who are working part time or hourly are also eligible for paid sick leave which is to equal the number of hours the employee works on average over a two-week period. Again, 100% of employer costs are offset for providing this mandated paid sick leave.

There are six qualifying reasons for coverage under this bill. The National Law Review Describes them as follows:

The employee is subject to a federal, state or local quarantine or isolation order related to COVID-19;
The employee has been advised by a health care provider to self-quarantine due to concerns related to COVID-19;
The employee is experiencing symptoms of COVID-19 and seeking medical diagnosis;
The employee is caring for an individual who is subject to a federal, state or local quarantine order, or the individual has been advised to self-quarantine due to concerns related to COVID-19;
The employee is caring for the employee's son or daughter, if the child's school or child care facility has been closed or the child's care provider is unavailable due to COVID-19 precautions; or
The employee is experiencing any other substantially similar condition specified by Health and Human Services in consultation with the Department of the Treasury and the Department of Labor.

The amount of pay to which an employee is entitled depends on the coronavirus-related reason for the leave. Employees are entitled to full pay (not to exceed $511 per day) when they take the leave for reasons 1-3 as they are listed above. However, employees invoking this sick leave for reasons 4-6 are only guaranteed two-thirds pay (not to exceed $200 per day).

Notably, employers who already provide paid leave to employees on the day before the bill is enacted must provide this paid leave in addition to any paid leave already provided—and may not change their paid leave policies on or after the date of enactment to avoid compliance.

Employers cannot require employees to utilize other paid leave before using the paid leave provided by this bill.

Full-time employees must now have 80 hours of paid sick leave immediately available to use for the coronavirus-related reasons. Part-time employees’ totals should be equal to the typical number of hours they work in a normal two-week period.

Qualifying for Paid Family Leave

To address the current health emergency, the Act amends the FMLA to include employers and employees who would not otherwise be covered. It also expands the reasons employees can seek job-protected leave to include care for minor children whose school or care facility closed due to the public health emergency.

Whereas the FMLA has exempted employers with fewer than 50 employees, the new Act eliminates this threshold for purposes of leave due to the public health emergency. The definition of “eligible employees” under FMLA was also expanded. Employees who have worked for an employer for 30 calendar days or more are now eligible for leave related to the public health emergency, but not for other forms of FMLA leave.

Under the Act, employers must offer ten weeks of paid family leave (12 weeks total) for an employee with a minor child who is unable to work (or telework) in the event of the closure of the child’s school or place of care due to COVID-19 precautions.

Again, 100% of employer costs are offset for providing this mandated paid family leave. Under the expanded paid family leave provision, the benefits are as follows:

The first 10 days are unpaid, but the employee can use the 10 days of paid sick leave during this time.
The benefit must replace at least two-thirds of the employee’s wages up to a maximum of $200 per day (and $10,000 in aggregate) and reflect the number of hours an employee would otherwise be normally scheduled to work.
This 12 week period does not extend any time under the FMLA act, it simply adds another reason for leave and specifies payment.
The Act allows an employer of an employee who is a health care provider or an emergency responder to elect out of providing paid family leave to these employees.
The Labor Department will have the authority to exempt from the paid family leave requirement small businesses with fewer than 50 employees if the requirement to provide leave would jeopardize the viability of the business.

Unemployment Compensation

In addition to these two big changes, the Act also protects those employees who are laid-off or furloughed as businesses begin shutting down or reducing hours. The Act allocates $1 billion to states’ unemployment insurance funds. To receive access to portions of the grant, states must, among other things, make it easier for individuals to obtain unemployment compensation by waiving work search requirements and waiting periods. Employers are required to notify laid-off workers of their potential unemployment insurance eligibility.

Sources:

https://www.natlawreview.com/

https://www.guardianlife.com/

http://www.kwwlaborlaw.com/

Carrier Specific Updates on COVID-19

We are working with each carrier to determine how benefits will be impacted. Below are links to the major carriers and their current COVID-19 Resources.

UH COVID-19 Resources

MM COVID-19 Resources

Anthem COVID-19 Resources

Aetna COVID-19 Resources

SummaCare

COVID-19 Resources

Effective immediately, and through May 31, 2020, Paramount will waive member deductibles, coinsurance and co-pays for coronavirus (COVID-19) diagnostic testing. This new policy applies to all Paramount commercial clients, and includes HSA-qualified high deductible plans.