Skip to main content

An official website of the United States government.
Here’s how you know

Here’s how you know

The .gov means it’s official.

Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

The site is secure.

The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

U.S. Department of Labor

Wage and Hour Division

About Us
Contact Us
Español

Menu

Search

Search

submenu

TOPICSBack

Topics

Wages

Misclassification

Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)

Break Time for Nursing Mothers

Retaliation

Child Labor

Government Contracts

Immigration

Agricultural Employment

Subminimum Wage

Employment of Workers With Disabilities

Lie Detector Tests

USMCA

WORKER RIGHTS

FOR EMPLOYERSBack

For Employers

Resources For Employers

Regulatory Library

Interpretive Guidance

Forms

Posters

Industry-Specific Resources

Compliance Assistance

elaws Advisors

Fact Sheets

New and Small Businesses Resources

Presentations

External User Portal (EUP)

RESOURCESBack

Resources

Posters

Forms

Compliance Assistance Toolkits

New and Small Business Resources

Fact Sheets

Presentations

Publications By Language

elaws

FLSA Compliance Videos

Know Your Rights Video Series

Employer.gov

Worker.gov

Data

DOL Enforcement Database

Workers Owed Wages

Order Publications

INTERPRETIVE GUIDANCEBack

Interpretive Guidance

Laws and Regulations

Field Handbook

Administrator Interpretations, Opinion and Ruling Letters

Field Bulletins

STATE LAWSBack

State Laws

State Minimum Wage Laws

State Labor Law Topics

State Labor Offices

Resources for State and Local Governments

NEWS RELEASES

ABOUT US

CONTACT US

ESPAÑOL

Search

Search

Breadcrumb

WHD

Essential Protections During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Families First Coronavirus Response Act: Employee Paid Leave Rights

The Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA or Act) requires certain employers to provide employees with paid sick leave or expanded family and medical leave for specified reasons related to COVID-19. The Department of Labor’s (Department) Wage and Hour Division (WHD) administers and enforces the new law’s paid leave requirements. These provisions will apply from the effective date through December 31, 2020.

Generally, the Act provides that employees of covered employers are eligible for:

Two weeks (up to 80 hours) of paid sick leave at the employee’s regular rate of pay where the employee is unable to work because the employee is quarantined (pursuant to Federal, State, or local government order or advice of a health care provider), and/or experiencing COVID-19 symptoms and seeking a medical diagnosis; or
Two weeks (up to 80 hours) of paid sick leave at two-thirds the employee’s regular rate of pay because the employee is unable to work because of a bona fide need to care for an individual subject to quarantine (pursuant to Federal, State, or local government order or advice of a health care provider), or to care for a child (under 18 years of age) whose school or child care provider is closed or unavailable for reasons related to COVID-19, and/or the employee is experiencing a substantially similar condition as specified by the Secretary of Health and Human Services, in consultation with the Secretaries of the Treasury and Labor; and
Up to an additional 10 weeks of paid expanded family and medical leave at two-thirds the employee’s regular rate of pay where an employee, who has been employed for at least 30 calendar days, is unable to work due to a bona fide need for leave to care for a child whose school or child care provider is closed or unavailable for reasons related to COVID-19.

Covered Employers: The paid sick leave and expanded family and medical leave provisions of the FFCRA apply to certain public employers, and private employers with fewer than 500 employees.[1] Most employees of the federal government are covered by Title II of the Family and Medical Leave Act, which was not amended by this Act, and are therefore not covered by the expanded family and medical leave provisions of the FFCRA. However, federal employees covered by Title II of the Family and Medical Leave Act are covered by the paid sick leave provision. 

Small businesses with fewer than 50 employees may qualify for exemption from the requirement to provide leave due to school closings or child care unavailability if the leave requirements would jeopardize the viability of the business as a going concern.

Eligible Employees: All employees of covered employers are eligible for two weeks of paid sick time for specified reasons related to COVID-19. Employees employed for at least 30 days are eligible for up to an additional 10 weeks of paid family leave to care for a child under certain circumstances related to COVID-19.[2]

Notice: Where leave is foreseeable, an employee should provide notice of leave to the employer as is practicable. After the first workday of paid sick time, an employer may require employees to follow reasonable notice procedures in order to continue receiving paid sick time.

Qualifying Reasons for Leave:

Under the FFCRA, an employee qualifies for paid sick time if the employee is unable to work (or unable to telework) due to a need for leave because the employee:

is subject to a Federal, State, or local quarantine or isolation order related to COVID-19;
has been advised by a health care provider to self-quarantine related to COVID-19;
is experiencing COVID-19 symptoms and is seeking a medical diagnosis;
is caring for an individual subject to an order described in (1) or self-quarantine as described in (2);
is caring for a child whose school or place of care is closed (or child care provider is unavailable) for reasons related to COVID-19; or
is experiencing any other substantially-similar condition specified by the Secretary of Health and Human Services, in consultation with the Secretaries of Labor and Treasury.

Under the FFCRA, an employee qualifies for expanded family leave if the employee is caring for a child whose school or place of care is closed (or child care provider is unavailable) for reasons related to COVID-19.

Duration of Leave:

For reasons (1)-(4) and (6): A full-time employee is eligible for 80 hours of leave, and a part-time employee is eligible for the number of hours of leave that the employee works on average over a two-week period.

For reason (5): A full-time employee is eligible for up to 12 weeks of leave (two weeks of paid sick leave followed by up to 10 weeks of paid expanded family & medical leave) at 40 hours a week, and a part-time employee is eligible for leave for the number of hours that the employee is normally scheduled to work over that period.

Calculation of Pay:[3]

For leave reasons (1), (2), or (3): employees taking leave are entitled to pay at either their regular rate or the applicable minimum wage, whichever is higher, up to $511 per day and $5,110 in the aggregate (over a 2-week period).

For leave reasons (4) or (6): employees taking leave are entitled to pay at 2/3 their regular rate or 2/3 the applicable minimum wage, whichever is higher, up to $200 per day and $2,000 in the aggregate (over a 2-week period).

For leave reason (5): employees taking leave are entitled to pay at 2/3 their regular rate or 2/3 the applicable minimum wage, whichever is higher, up to $200 per day and $12,000 in the aggregate (over a 12-week period).  [4]

 

[1] Certain provisions may not apply to certain employers with fewer than 50 employees. See Department FFCRA regulations (expected April 2020).

[2] Under the Act, special rules apply for Health Care Providers and Emergency Responders.

[3] Paid sick time provided under this Act does not carryover from one year to the next. Employees are not entitled to reimbursement for unused leave upon termination, resignation, retirement, or other separation from employment.

[4] An employee may elect to substitute any accrued vacation leave, personal leave, or medical or sick leave for the first two weeks of partial paid leave under this section.

Scroll to Top

Topics

Worker Rights

For Employers

Resources

Interpretive Guidance

State Laws

News

Wage and Hour Division

An agency within the U.S. Department of Labor

200 Constitution Ave NW

Washington, DC 20210

1-866-4-US-WAGE

1-866-487-9243

www.dol.gov

Federal Government

White House

Coronavirus Resources

Disaster Recovery Assistance

DisasterAssistance.gov

USA.gov

Notification of EEO Violations

No Fear Act Data

U.S. Office of Special Counsel

Labor Department

About DOL

Guidance Search

Español

Office of Inspector General

Subscribe to the DOL Newsletter

Read the DOL Newsletter

Emergency Accountability Status Link

A to Z Index

WHD Portals

YouthRules!

Wage Determinations

Connect With DOL

Facebook

Twitter

Instagram

Youtube

Linkedin

Site Map
Important Website Notices
Privacy & Security Statement