On Thursday, January 14, 2021, President Biden’s administration announced its proposed $1.9 trillion COVID-19 stimulus relief plan: “The American Rescue Plan” (“Plan”). The Plan contains wide-ranging support for those affected by the pandemic. Notably, the Plan proposes to require all employers of any size to provide paid leave and to significantly extend the required paid
September was another busy month as hospices and other providers try to keep pace with the government’s constantly evolving rules and standards around various COVID-19 federal relief programs. In this episode, Meg Pekarske, Tom O’Day and Andrew Brenton hone in on recent key changes to the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) paid leave requirements and Provider Relief Fund compliance reporting requirements, and discuss what these changes may mean for hospices. Tune in at: https://lnkd.in/ecgV5xD
The Families First Coronavirus Response Act (“FFCRA”) goes into effect today, April 1, 2020, and applies to leave taken between April 1, 2020 and December 31, 2020. The FFCRA expands certain medical leave rights previously established by the Family and Medical Leave Act (“E-FMLA”) to provide up to twelve (12) weeks of paid, job-protected leave for employees with school closure or childcare coverage issues related to the current coronavirus pandemic. The FFCRA also provides for two (2) weeks of paid sick leave under the Emergency Paid Sick Leave Act (“E-PSLA”) for certain COVID-19-related reasons (the E-FMLA and E-PSLA are collectively referred to as “Expanded Leave”).[1] However, employers who employ “health care providers” may, but are not required to, exempt these individuals from Expanded Leave. Most, if not all, of a hospice’s employees will fall within the broad definition of “health care provider.” Therefore, hospices will need to evaluate who of its employees it will exempt or not, being certain to treat similarly situated employees equally and to consider the potential impact to its workforce.
The Families First Coronavirus Response Act (the Act) was passed and signed into law on March 18 and will go into effect on April 2, 2020 and continue until December 31, 2020. As our colleagues Josef Glynias and Paul Pautler noted in their excellent summary, this Act has two provisions which speak to employee leave and may have significant implications for employers, including healthcare providers. The Department of Labor has not yet issued guidance on this Act, and we will update this blog as guidance is issued.