Barran Liebman

  • About Us
    • About Us
    • Community
    • Careers
    • Contact Us
  • Services
    • Practice Areas
    • Training Tools
  • Our Team
  • Firm News
    • BL Publications
    • Newsmakers
  • Seminars
  • Alerts
  • Subscribe to E-Alerts

This Is Just In! - FFCRA Leave To Be Voluntary in 2021

By Amy L. Angel & Julie A. Preciado

Posted on December 22, 2020

Congress has just approved a $900 billion stimulus package as part of a 5,593-page bill which is awaiting the President’s signature. With that many pages, there are sure to be a few surprises in store for us, but here is what we know about FFCRA so far.

The new bill supports paid sick leave for certain COVID-related reasons, but not in the same way it did in 2020. Mandated FFCRA leave still ends on December 31, 2020. After December 31, 2020, employers are not required to provide paid FFCRA leave to employees.  However, employers who do provide employees with paid sick leave for COVID-related reasons may still claim the FFCRA tax credit through March 31, 2021.

Even if you voluntarily continue to offer FFCRA leave, employees may have already exhausted that leave. If an employee used the 80 hours of Emergency Paid Sick Leave (“EPSL”) earlier this year, there will not be a new EPSL allocation come January 1, 2021. Employers will not be allowed the EPSL tax credit if an employee has already taken the maximum EPSL leave allowable under FFCRA. More complicated is Expanded FMLA (“EFMLA”) leave. If under your policy, the 12-month FMLA period resets on January 1, it appears that an employee could be eligible for paid EFMLA again. While we expect more guidance on this issue from the Department of Labor and/or the Internal Revenue Service, for now it appears that the employer could potentially qualify for tax credits for additional paid EFMLA leave to an employee who exhausted EMFLA in 2020 if the leave year restarted. To refresh yourself on the FFCRA tax credit, read our E-Alert from April.

The Takeaway:
  1. FFRCA is still in full effect until December 31, 2020.
  2. The new stimulus bill allows employers to claim tax credits for paid leave until March 31, 2021.
    1. While details are still a bit fuzzy, for now we assume the leave may be taken for the same qualifying reasons as leave under FFCRA and that the same caps apply. 
    2. It is unclear whether the leave bank resets for EFMLA if employees are in a new FMLA leave year.
Remember also that FFCRA was not the only source of monetary relief for employees missing work for COVID-19-related reasons. States have their own paid sick leave laws and federal contractors must offer paid sick leave under Executive Order 13706. Oregon also offers additional help for employees who do not have other employer-provided paid time off through its COVID-19 Temporary Paid Leave. Depending on the circumstances, employees off work for COVID-19-related reasons may also be eligible for unemployment or workers’ compensation benefits. Finally, although not a paid benefit, employees eligible for OFLA may have leave available to them if they are suffering from their own serious health condition, are caring for a family member with a serious health condition, or if the employee is caring for their child whose school or place of care is closed due to the statewide health emergency.
 
For questions about FFCRA, tax credits for paid leave related to COVID-19, or applying other leave laws to a COVID-19-related absence, contact Amy Angel or Julie Preciado at 503-228-0500 or at aangel@barran.com or jpreciado@barran.com.

Electronic Alerts are written by Barran Liebman attorneys for their clients and friends. Alerts are not intended as legal advice, but as employment law, labor law, and employee benefits announcements. If this has been forwarded to you, and you would like to begin receiving Electronic Alerts directly, please email or call Traci Ray at 503-276-2115. Copyright ©2021 by Barran Liebman LLP.

Las Alertas electrónicas son escritas por abogados de Barran Liebman para sus clientes y amigos. Las Alertas no son proveídas como asesoramiento legal, sino solo como anuncios de leyes de empleo, leyes laborales y beneficios de empleo. Si esto ha sido remetido a usted y quisieras empezar a recibir las Alertas directamente, por favor mándanos un correo electrónico o llama a Traci Ray al 503-276-2115. Derechos de autor ©2021 por Barran Liebman LLP.

Stay Connected

Which Emails Would You Like To Receive?

 
 

  • 601 SW 2nd Avenue, Suite 2300, Portland, OR 97204
  • Phone: 503.228.0500
  • Fax: 503.274.1212
  • © 2021 Barran Liebman LLP. All rights reserved.
  • Terms of Use
  • Sitemap
  • Contact Us
  • File Portal