COVID-19 Information Center
https://drive.google.com/open?id=19Q0k4erfc_Wj_RtNkxI59-SnLN5xY3nH
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1G4gdId35mgpf-YdrLyP-tL4sW8714OYD
Recommended City Implementation of Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA)
• The Act’s leave provisions are effective from April 1, 2020 until December 31, 2020 • The Act establishes two types of protected emergency leave related to COVID-19: ▪ Emergency paid sick leave ▪ Emergency FMLA leave
Emergency Paid Sick Leave:
Employer must provide emergency paid sick leave for employees unable to work or telework for the following reasons: 1. Employee is subject to a quarantine or isolation order; 2. Health provider has advised employee to self-quarantine; 3. Employee has symptoms and is seeking a medical diagnosis; 4. Employee is caring for an individual who is subject to a quarantine or isolation order or who has been advised by a health care provider to self-quarantine; 5. Employee is caring for a son or daughter whose school or place of care has closed, or whose child care provider is unavailable; or 6. Employee is experiencing substantially similar condition specified by Secretary of Health and Human Services in consultation with Secretaries of Treasury and Labor (details TBD)
– This is a new leave bank on top of current accruals – All full and part-time employees are eligible, regardless of how long employed o Full-time employees are entitled to take up to 80 hours o Part-time employees are entitled to be paid the average number of hours they work over 2- week period – The employer may elect to exclude employees who are “emergency responders” or “health care providers” – Emergency paid sick leave expires on December 31, 2020 – Upon separation, the employer is not required to pay out unused time
Recommendations: • FT Employees 80-hour max (40 hours/week) • PT Employees 60-hour max (30 hours/week) • Employees should receive their regular rate of pay while taking EPSL (rather than the allowable two-thirds rate • Emergency Responders should be permitted to take EPSL for provisions 1-4, which include their own illness/quarantine or to care for someone experiencing COVID-19 related illness/quarantine • Emergency responders should be excluded from taking EPSL for provisions 5-6 school closures/child care provider unavailability or ‘similar conditions’ determined by Secretaries • Purpose is to maintain adequate staffing of emergency responders • Exceptions can be made in special circumstances by recommendation of the Department Head, Deputy City Manager and Union Official to Human Resources for approval • Emergency Responders include sworn Police/Fire, 911, Public Works and Water (per DOL definition)
Emergency FMLA Expansion– Amends existing FMLA to add a very narrow qualifying condition for leave: o Employee is unable to work or telework o Due to a “need for leave” to care for their son or daughter under 18 years of age o And school or place of care has been closed or child care provider is unavailable during public health emergency – The Emergency FMLA is not an additional 12-weeks of FMLA entitlement in a rolling 12-month period – First 10 days of emergency FMLA leave may be unpaid, however, the law does allow employees to use the new emergency paid sick leave or other accrued vacation, sick leave, etc. – For remainder of 12-week FMLA leave period, employer must provide paid leave - Must be a minimum of two-thirds of regular rate of pay, capped at $200 per day and $10,000 in the aggregate o Applies to all full and part-time employees employed at least 30 calendar days – Employer may elect to exclude employees who are “emergency responders” or “health care providers”
Recommendations:
Full Time Employees - First 10 days - employees will use EPSL or available leave banks - After initial 10 days – Employees should be paid Emergency FMLA Pay at regular rate up to $10,000 cap – Paid Emergency FMLA will continue until the employee exhausts their existing FMLA entitlement orreaches the aggregate cap of $10,000 – Employees will be allowed to use leave accruals after cap is reached and borrow leave if necessary up to12 week FMLA entitlement - To maintain adequate staffing, emergency responders should be excluded from the Emergency FMLAprovisions – Exceptions can be made in special circumstances by recommendation of the Department Head, Deputy City Manager and Union Official to Human Resources for approval – Emergency Responders include sworn Police/Fire, 911, Public Works and Water (per DOL definition) Part Time Employees • First 10 days - Employees will use 60-hours of EPSL • After initial 10 days • Employees should be paid Emergency FMLA Pay at 30-hours per week up to $10,000 cap • Paid Emergency FMLA will continue until the employee exhausts their existing FMLA entitlement or reaches the aggregate cap of $10,000 | During this challenging time, your local union wants to do all it can to help our City members and our EMS members at AMR. We are all brothers and sisters in this union family.
We have started to have regular briefings with management from the City and AMR and will try to answer all your questions about paid sick leave, closures, supplies, pay etc. We have instructed management to issue more updates and we have lines of communication open to address your individual concerns.
So please direct any questions or concerns you have that are not being answered by management to [email protected] or call 602-254-3966, leave a message and we will work on answering each and every question promptly. The union hall will be physically closed during that time, but myself and the entire staff will be monitoring email and phone messages all day and night. We can then follow up with City and AMR management and get back to you as soon as possible with answers.
Many of our members are on the front line of this battle; paramedics, EMT’s, dispatchers, inspectors, city water employees, public works, technicians, detention officers etc. and while not all of us can stop our work for the citizens in the community and “hunker down”, we can and will demand protection and security ourselves. This comes from being properly supplied with information and equipment. We will do all we can to get you both.
And for those brothers and sisters who are at home and taking care of family and themselves, their questions are also being asked and need to be addressed. When do I go back to work...am I getting paid...what if I am out of sick leave? These and all questions need to be dealt with and we are here to try to get as many answers as we can. |
Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) Information |
|
|
|
April 1, 2020
A new law called the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) makes quite a few provisions for those impacted by COVID-19. We want to help City employees understand how it may impact your paid sick leave and FMLA leave. Beginning today, April 1, 2020, employees who qualify will be permitted to take job-protected leave under FFRCA using the following two new provisions: Emergency Paid Sick Leave and Emergency Family and Medical Leave. The following is general guidance that has been developed by the City. This guidance may be adjusted as additional information is provided by the Department of Labor or other policy makers, so please keep checking the Human Resources (HR) website for updates. Emergency Paid Sick Leave (EPSL), exclusions apply* Provides two weeks (up to 80 hours for FT employees/up to 60 hours for PT employees) of paid sick leave at the employee’s regular rate of pay where the employee is unable to work or telework because:
Please note: Use of Emergency Paid Sick Leave does not reduce an employee’s leave bank Emergency Family and Medical Leave Act Expansion (Emergency FMLA), exclusions apply* Provides up to an additional 10 weeks of paid expanded family and medical leave (not to exceed the regular 12 weeks under FMLA entitlement) where an employee is unable to work (or telework) due to a bona fide need for leave to care for a child whose school or child care provider is closed or unavailable for reasons related to COVID-19. The first two weeks of EFMLA will be covered by EPSL if eligible or by available leave banks, unless an employee chooses to be unpaid for that time.
============================================================================================================= *Exclusions Federal Act permits the City to exclude health care providers and emergency responders from these provisions. Based on guidance from the Department of Labor and to ensure adequate staffing levels for critical services, the City has decided to implement the following exclusions: Emergency Paid Sick Leave
Emergency FMLA
Emergency Responders are defined as the following: all sworn Police, all sworn Fire, all 911 operations, certain non-sworn employees in the Police, Fire, Public Works, Water Services, Streets and Aviation Departments. Employees in Police, Fire, Public Works, Water Services, Streets, and Aviation will need to contact their HR Liaison/payroll liaison to determine eligibility. ============================================================================================================== How Do I Request Leave Under These New Provisions? Notify your supervisor that you will be taking leave. Emergency Paid Sick Leave – Beginning April 1:
Emergency FMLA – Beginning April 1:
|
