Vigilant Blog

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issued guidance for covered employers under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) on how to claim federal tax credits for paid sick and family leave wages, including details on the documentation the IRS will require from employers to prove eligibility for the credits. As we previously reported, the FFCRA…

On April 1, 2020, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) announced new regulations interpreting the paid leave provisions of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA), on which we previously reported. The rules provide further guidance on eligibility for the 2 weeks of emergency paid sick leave (EPSL) for six specified reasons and the 12…

On March 27, 2020, President Trump signed the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) (H.R. 748) into law. This is the third federal relief package related to COVID-19, with $2.2 trillion directed to individuals, business, governments, and the public sector. Below are brief summaries of the provisions of particular interest to most…

As we previously reported, the Department of Labor (DOL) has begun issuing informal guidance surrounding the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) via an ever-expanding and changing set of questions and answers on the paid leave that is available beginning April 1, 2020. We’re hoping the DOL will issue actual rules soon, but in the…

According to the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL)’s Families First Coronavirus Response Act Notice – FAQs, the FFCRA poster must be provided to employees and new hires by the effective date of the law, which the DOL now says is April 1, 2020. This posting requirement only applies to covered employers, and would therefore not…

The Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA), which goes into effect April 1, 2020, expands the definitions of eligible employee and covered employer under the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) in a way that will affect employers who previously were too small to be covered by the FMLA. Prior to the expansion, an…

Employers with 500 or more workers companywide may want to communicate to their workers that the recently-passed Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) may not apply to them. As we previously reported, the FFCRA will allow eligible workers to take paid sick leave and/or family leave for certain COVID-19 (coronavirus)-related reasons starting April 1, 2020….

Question: If we have to shut down our business because of a government mandate related to COVID-19, will our workers be eligible for the new federal emergency paid sick leave and paid emergency family and medical leave? Answer: Probably not, based on the text of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA), although we’re still…