Employers are required to post notices or e-mail them to current employees
The FFCRA, signed into law on March 18, takes effect on April 1, 2020. It gives businesses in the U.S. with fewer than 500 employees funds to provide employees with paid leave, either for the employee’s own health needs or to care for family members. Eligible businesses can retain funds that they would otherwise pay to the IRS in payroll taxes, or file for a refund if what they’re paying for COVID-19-required leave exceeds their payroll tax liability. On March 25, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division published a workplace poster that small and midsize employers can use to fulfill their obligations to notify employees of their rights to expand paid sick leave and expanded paid Family and Medical Leave Act leave under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA).
The new poster is here:
Notifying At-Home Employees
The DOL also issued frequently asked questions (FAQs) and answers regarding FFCRA employee notices. The FAQs address the fact that many employees are working from home if they are able to, while others may be at home under quarantine or furloughed.
“Each covered employer must post a notice of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) requirements in a conspicuous place on its premises. An employer may satisfy this requirement by e-mailing or direct mailing this notice to employees, or posting this notice on an employee information internal or external website,” the DOL said.
Covered employers must post this notice regardless of whether their state requires greater protections, as employers must comply with both federal and state law.
Further, employers must share these notices with current employees, including new hires, but need not do so with those who have been recently laid off. Employers also have no obligation to provide notice to prospective employees.
We support Worker’s First and for employees to know their rights in the workplace.