Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) MANDATORY – Effective 4/1/20 to 12/31/20
THIS IS A SUMMARY OF “BEST PRACTICE” OPINIONS WE HAVE GATHERED TO DATE
Outstaffing understands that this is a very difficult time for you and your employees. Please remember that Outstaffing is here to work with you, and that together we can navigate this volatile situation we are all facing. If you have any questions about any aspect of your payroll and benefits, please call me (Phil Mauger).
NOTIFYING EMPLOYEES: We think the key here is to be available to the employee, understanding that factors outside the workplace may be impacting their ability to work. Make it clear to them that you and Outstaffing are available to support them. We will work with you to review each case, and together we will determine the eligibility of each employee.
FFCRA WORKPLACE POSTER: The FFCRA does impose a workplace posting requirement. Each covered employer must post a notice of the FFCRA requirements in a conspicuous place on its premises. An employer may satisfy this requirement by emailing or direct mailing this notice to employees, or posting this notice on an employee information internal or external website. PLEASE MAKE THIS AVAILABLE TO YOUR EMPLOYEES. GET THE POSTER HERE
FFCRA SICK AND EFMLA CALCULATIONS: Outstaffing has been working closely with Paylocity to calculate and populate the eligible sick pay balances for every employee. These calculations are based on a 6-month lookback. The employees can view sick pay balances by logging onto the Paylocity website, under the time-off tab. At the client level they can be reviewed on the Accrual Balance Report. Extended FMLA may also be applicable, if Sick Pay under FFCRA is exhausted. In that case, Outstaffing will calculate the EFMLA balance available and populate the payroll system accordingly.
NOTIFYING OUTSTAFFING: You must notify Outstaffing immediately if you feel any of your staff (our employees) may be eligible to be paid under FFRCA. Each situation needs to be reviewed on a case-by-case basis, and if deemed eligible, all appropriate documentation must be provided and detailed records must be kept. Call us as soon as you feel that pay under FFCRA may be required.
DOCUMENTING EMPLOYEE REQUESTS: Employees must provide documentation in support of each paid sick leave request. If the employee is taking expanded family and medical leave due to caring for a child whose school is closed or whose child care provider is unavailable, employers should ask the employee for a notice of closure or unavailability from their child’s school or child care provider. It’s important to retain these records if businesses intend to claim a tax credit for the leave. (READ MORE BELOW.) Please use the following forms when reporting FFCRA leave requests to Outstaffing.
Download and complete the fillable files as needed:
FFCRA: Emergency Sick Pay – Leave Request Form
FFCRA: Emergency FMLA – Leave Request Form
PAYROLL TAX CREDITS: Under FFCRA, employers are entitled to a full or partial tax credit to cover the expense of paying an affected employee. These tax credits will be calculated as each payroll is processed and, like the unemployment costs, will be added to a subsequent payroll as an FFCRA credit.
WHEN DOES THIS START: As you will see from reading the rest of this article below, the mandatory FFCRA went into effect on April 1, 2020. Unfortunately, Outstaffing and Paylocity had not fully implemented or formulated a working solution for this in time for the last payroll (4/17), which covered the pay period 3/29/20 to 4/11/20. If you feel any of your employees should have been covered by FFCRA during the prior period, we will work with you to review the individual situation and will make payroll adjustments accordingly. Please call Outstaffing immediately if you feel this delay in implementation affects you or any of your staff.
FFCRA OVERVIEW – IMPACT ON SMALL BUSINESS
The Families First Coronavirus Response Act (the “FFCRA”), signed by President Trump on March 18, 2020, provides small and midsize employers refundable tax credits that reimburse them, dollar-for-dollar, for the cost of providing paid sick and family leave wages to their employees for leave related to COVID-19.
The FFCRA gives businesses with fewer than 500 employees (referred to throughout these FAQs as “Eligible Employers”) funds to provide employees with paid sick and family and medical leave for reasons related to COVID-19, either for the employee’s own health needs or to care for family members. Workers may receive up to 80 hours of paid sick leave for their own health needs or to care for others and up to an additional ten weeks of paid family leave to care for a child whose school or place of care is closed or child care provider is closed or unavailable due to COVID-19 precautions. The FFCRA covers the costs of this paid leave by providing small businesses with refundable tax credits. Certain self-employed individuals in similar circumstances are entitled to similar credits.
READ MORE ABOUT RELATED TAX CREDITS FOR REQUIRED PAID LEAVE HERE.
This IRS article provides a good overview as to what FFCRA is and how it works. Please read the following sections in the article:
- Overview of COVID-19-Related Tax Credits for Small and Midsize Businesses
- Overview of Paid Sick Leave Refundable Credit
- Overview of Paid Family Leave Refundable Credit
- Payment of the Sick and Family Leave Credit
- Basic FAQs
EMPLOYEE – REQUESTING PAY UNDER FFCRA
What documents do I need to give my employer to get paid sick leave or expanded family and medical leave?
When requesting paid sick leave or expanded family and medical leave, you must provide your employer either orally or in writing the following information:
- Your name;
- The date(s) for which you request leave;
- The reason for leave; and
- A statement that you are unable to work because of the above reason.
If you request leave because you are subject to a quarantine or isolation order or to care for an individual subject to such an order, you should additionally provide the name of the government entity that issued the order. If you request leave to self-quarantine based on the advice of a health care provider or to care for an individual who is self-quarantining based on such advice, you should additionally provide the name of the health care provider who gave advice.
If you request leave to care for your child whose school or place of care is closed, or whose child care provider is unavailable, you must also provide:
- The name of your child;
- The name of the school, place of care, or child care provider that has closed or become unavailable; and
- A statement that no other suitable person is available to care for your child.
In addition to the above information, you must also provide to your employer written documentation in support of your paid sick leave as specified in applicable IRS forms, instructions, and information.
What records do I need to keep when my employee takes paid sick leave or expanded family and medical leave?
Regardless of whether you grant or deny a request for paid sick leave or expanded family and medical leave, you must document the request.