Federal Paid Sick and Family Leave Update: Non-Enforcement Period and Model Poster
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The US Department of Labor (DOL) has issued additional guidance and information regarding the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) that all affected businesses need to know as they are creating policies and procedures to comply with the FFCRA.
03.27.20
First, the DOL has published Field Assistance Bulletin No. 2020-1 which gives guidance to DOL field personnel for the DOL’s temporary non-enforcement period of the paid sick and family leave law. Relevantly, the bulletin provides the following:
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- The DOL’s non-enforcement period runs from March 18 to April 17, 2020.
- During this period, the DOL will not bring an enforcement action against an employer who has made reasonable, good faith efforts to comply.
- To satisfy the “reasonable” and “good faith” requirements, a non-complying employer must:
- Remedy any violations, including making affected employees whole as soon as possible.
- The violations must not be “willful” in that the employer “either knew or showed reckless disregard for the matter of whether its conduct was prohibited.”
- The employer gives DOL a written commitment of future compliance.
- In the absence of reasonable, good faith efforts, the DOL may pursue an enforcement action.
Second, DOL issued its Notice Poster, which covered employers are required to post to inform employees of their rights. Employers should place this poster where it puts other employee rights posters. For workforces that are now working remotely, employers need to consider how to publish so that its employees can access this information, such as through posting on a company intranet page or distributing via email.
Read our previous alerts on the Families First Law:
Common Employment Issues in Responding to COVID-19
The Coronavirus Task Force at Klehr Harrison stands ready to assist you in your business and legal needs. We will continue to provide additional information and guidance as the COVID-19 situation develops.
Author Jonathan Krause is a Partner in Labor & Employment Practice Group and Co-Chair of the COVID-19 Task Force at Klehr Harrison.