U.S. Department of Labor Publishes Guidance on Paid Sick Leave and Expanded Family Medical Leave     The U. S. Department of Labor (USDOL) published guidance on the new paid sick leave and expanded family medical leave under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) Act, which is available here. The USDOL stated that the Act applies to leave taken between April 1, 2020 and December 31, 2020. The FFRCA will include a posting requirement as well. The required poster is available here. Definitions Regular Rate of Pay means the rate of pay for a workweek determined pursuant to the following formula:       Total compensation in the workweek (except for statutory exclusions) ÷ Total hours worked in the workweek = Regular Rate for the workweek Further details about the calculation of an employee's regular rate of pay are available here. Covered Employer means an employer that employs fewer than 500 employees.  At this time, employers with 500 or more employees are not able to opt into the paid sick leave and expanded FMLA.  NADA has written to the USDOL to request an opt-in for larger employers.  Additional information about theses efforts is available here. Qualifying Reasons for Leave The FFCRA permits leave for an employee who is unable to work (or telework) for any of the following reasons: The employee is subject to a federal, State, or local quarantine or isolation order related to COVID-19; The employee has been advised by a health care provider to self-quarantine because of COVID-19; The employee is experiencing COVID-19 symptoms and is seeking medical diagnosis; The employee is caring for an individual subject to an order described in item (1) or self-quarantine under item (2);  The employee is caring for a child under 18 years of age whose school or day care (or child care provider is unavailable) for reasons related to COVID-19; The employee is experiencing any other substantially similar condition as specified by the Secretary of Health and Human Services in consultation with the Secretaries of Labor and Treasury. NOTE: At this time, we do not believe that the Governor's Stay at Home Executive Order from March 20th constitutes a quarantine order. Duration and Amount of Leave The duration and amount of leave varies depending on the reason for leave.   Duration.  A full-time employee who needs leave for reasons (1), (2), (3), (4), or (6) is entitled to 80 hours of paid leave.  A part-time employee is entitled to similar leave, except that the amount is reduced based upon the number of hours the employee works on average over a 2-week period.   An full-time employee who needs leave under item (5) is entitled to the 2 weeks of leave described above for items (1), (2), (3), (4), and (6) plus an additional 10 weeks of paid leave at 40 hours per week.  A part-time employee is entitled to similar leave, except that the amount is reduced based upon the number of hours the employee works on average over a 2-week period.  Pay Calculation.   An employee who needs leave for reasons (1), (2), or (3) is entitled to pay at the higher of the employee's regular rate of pay or minimum wage, but subject to a cap of $511 per day and $5,110 in the aggregate over a 2-week period. An employee who needs leave for reasons (4) or (6) is entitled to pay at the higher of 2/3 of the employee's regular rate of pay or 2/3 of minimum wage, but subject to a cap of $200 per day and $2,000 in the aggregate over a 2-week period.  An employee who needs leave for reason (5) is entitled to pay at the higher of 2/3 of the employee's regular rate of pay or 2/3 of minimum wage, but subject to a cap of $200 per day and $12,000 in the aggregate over a 12-week period. Substitution of Paid Leave An employee may elect to substitute paid leave provided by the employer for the initial 2-weeks of leave available for any reason under FFCRA. Employer Tax Credits For information about tax credits that are available to employers to reimburse costs of leave provided under the FFCRA, please see the following guidance from NADA, available here and our bulletin from March 22nd, which is available here.  Additional Measures Congress is expected to pass economic stimulus legislation later this week. We will provide further details on the stimulus legislation when it gets enacted.