Families First Coronavirus Response Act (UPDATE)

On the evening of Monday, March 16, the House amended the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (“FFCRA”) (HR 6201) by amending the bill with what are being called “technical corrections.”

The previous bill, passed by the House on March 14, contained two main centerpieces: (1) new paid Family and Medical Leave to deal with the COVID-19 “public health emergency”; and (2) emergency paid sick leave. The previous version of the bill, which we reported on here, placed a significant financial burden on employers (limited to those with under 500 employees) by requiring them to provide 12 weeks of paid leave for employees who went on leave for COVID-19 related reasons, including COVID-19 exposure, quarantine, or due to a school closing.

The amended version lessens this burden. It still requires employers covered by the act to provide employees with two weeks of emergency paid sick leave for COVID-19 related reasons; however, only employees who are out due to a school closing would be entitled to the additional 10 weeks of paid leave (at two-thirds salary).

We stress none of this is law yet, and has to be voted on by the Senate.

A more detailed analysis of the new corrections can be found below.