On March 19, Congress approved and the White House signed into law the Family First Coronavirus Act (“FFCRA”), which provides for expanded protections under the Family Medical Leave Act as well as paid sick leave to eligible employees for qualifying reasons related to COVID-19. A more detailed discussion of the duties, rights and obligations of employers and employees under the FFCRA can be viewed on SFBBG’s website at the link below:

www.sfbbg.com/insights/congress-passes-family-first-coronavirus-response-act-h-r-6201/

One of the employer obligations imposed by the FFCRA is that all covered employers provide written notice to employees of their rights under the FFCRA.  On March 25, the U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) published a model notice that employers may use to satisfy the FFCRA’s notice requirement, a copy of which is available at the following link:

https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/WHD/posters/FFCRA_Poster_WH1422_Non-Federal.pdf

The DOL also published an accompanying FAQ to provide additional guidance and clarification as to the FFCRA’s notice requirements.  A brief summary of the DOL’s most important guidance is set forth below:

• Employers are required to post the required notice in a conspicuous location on the employer’s premises.  Given that a substantial number of employees are working remotely, employers may satisfy their notice obligations with respect to those employees by sending the notice via e-mail or U.S. Mail, or by posting the notice on the firm’s website or internal network. 
• Employers are not required to post a notice translated to a language other than English, but may choose to do so.  It is anticipated that the DOL will issue additional model notices in different languages in the future. 
• Employers should check the U.S. Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division website for updates to the model notice that may be issued in the future. SFBBG will endeavor to issue notice of any updates on SFBBG’s website and to those on the SFBBG electronic mailing list. 
• Employers are required to provide the notice to current employees and new hires.  There is no requirement to provide the notice to recently laid-off or terminated employees, prospective employees or job applicants. 
• All employers with less than 500 employees are subject to the FFCRA’s notice requirements.
•  The notice must be posted in a location where it can be seen by employees.  If employees work at different worksites, the notice must be posted at each worksite if the employee would not otherwise have access to a notice at a different location. 
• The notice must be posted conspicuously at a location where it is visible to an employee.  It is insufficient to include the notice in a binder or handbook where it is not readily visible to an employee.
• The notice can be downloaded free of charge at the link to the DOL’s website set forth above.

For more information, please contact Matt Tyrrell at [email protected] or call (312) 648-2300.

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