On Friday, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) issued additional guidance regarding the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA). Given the rapidly developing legal issues surrounding the Act, we are providing the DOL guidance to you. See attached FFCRA Employer Paid Leave Requirements and FFCRA Employee Expanded Family and Medical Leave Rights.
The DOL guidance indicates that there will be an initial non-enforcement or trial period for the first 30 days -- as long as the employer is acting reasonably and trying in good faith to comply with the FFCRA:
The Department will observe a temporary period of non-enforcement for the first 30 days after the Act takes effect, so long as the employer has acted reasonably and in good faith to comply with the Act. For purposes of this non-enforcement position, “good faith” exists when violations are remedied and the employee is made whole as soon as practicable by the employer, the violations were not willful, and the Department receives a written commitment from the employer to comply with the Act in the future.
The guidance also states that DOL will issue formal FFCRA regulations next month. One question that we hope will be addressed in those regs is whether an employee using emergency FMLA can take intermittent leave or work on a reduced schedule. We thank you for letting us represent you through these challenging times. Please let us know if we can assist you in any way.
