DALTON, Ga.-- The World Floor Covering Association has advised members on the ramifications of furloughing and then rehiring employees to avoid leave obligations.

 

As previously advised, the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) requires employers to provide two weeks of paid sick leave to employees unable to work because of a quarantine order, falling ill with coronavirus, taking care of an individual ill with the virus, or their children's schools and daycare centers are closed. The Act also requires ten weeks of family leave if child's school is closed or child care provider is unavailable due to coronavirus. The FFCRA applies to employees furloughed after the April 1, 2020, the effective date of the Act. If an employee is sent home before April 1, 2020, the paid sick and family leave requirement in the FFCRA did not apply. Last Friday, Congress passed and the President signed the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, which expanded the leave coverage.

Specifically, the CARES Act provides that, if an employee is furloughed or terminated after March 1, 2020 and then rehired, the obligations for paid leave come back in effect. As a result, if the rehired employee subsequently becomes eligible for FFCRA paid leave, the employer must provide the leave. This prevents an employer from avoiding the FFCRA's paid leave mandate by furloughing or terminating an employee before the April 1, 2020 effective date of the FFCRA and then immediately rehiring them. If not rehired, however, then the leave is required only for employees furloughed or terminated after April 1, 2020.

 

The Association will continue to provide updates to members on the specificities of the above summarized loan programs. In the meantime, please feel free to send your concerns or questions to directly to jeffw@jkingesq.com and mperkins@lobbyit.com.