{"id":10690,"date":"2026-05-15T16:27:56","date_gmt":"2026-05-15T16:27:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usatrustedlawyers.com\/blog\/u-s-department-of-labors-wage-and-hours-division-issues-initial-guidance-and-model-employee-notice-regarding-the-leave-provisions-of-the-families-first-coronavirus-response-act\/"},"modified":"2026-05-15T16:27:56","modified_gmt":"2026-05-15T16:27:56","slug":"u-s-department-of-labors-wage-and-hours-division-issues-initial-guidance-and-model-employee-notice-regarding-the-leave-provisions-of-the-families-first-coronavirus-response-act","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usatrustedlawyers.com\/blog\/u-s-department-of-labors-wage-and-hours-division-issues-initial-guidance-and-model-employee-notice-regarding-the-leave-provisions-of-the-families-first-coronavirus-response-act\/","title":{"rendered":"U.S. Department of Labor\u2019s Wage and Hours Division Issues Initial Guidance and Model Employee Notice Regarding the Leave Provisions of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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September 17, 2020 Update.<\/strong> On September 16, 2020, the U.S. Department of Labor (\u201cDOL\u201d) published revisions and clarifications to its Temporary Rule (\u201cRule\u201d) implementing the provisions of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (\u201cFFCRA\u201d). Additionally, on September 11, 2020, the DOL updated its FFCRA Questions and Answers<\/strong> document to reflect these changes. These revisions are in response to the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York\u2019s August ruling which vacated certain provisions of the DOL\u2019s initial temporary rule. The revised Rule: (i) affirmed that FFCRA leave may only be taken if the employee has work from which to take leave; (ii) affirmed that, where intermittent FFCRA leave is permitted, an employee must obtain employer approval; (iii) revised the definition of \u201chealth care provider\u201d to be consistent with the Family and Medical Leave Act (\u201cFMLA\u201d); (iv) clarified that an employee should provide to its employer information supporting his or her need for leave as soon as practicable; and (v) corrected an inconsistency regarding when an employee may be required to give notice of his or her intention to take leave under the FFCRA. The revised Rule became effective upon publication. The below post has been updated to reflect these changes and our updated memorandum on the Rule is available here<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

September 4, 2020 Update. <\/strong>On August 27, 2020, the DOL issued guidance on the FFCRA and school reopenings.<\/p>\n

August\u00a06 Update.<\/strong>\u00a0On August 3, 2020, the Southern District of New York issued a decision in New York<\/em> v. U.S. Dep\u2019t of Labor<\/em>, No. 20-cv-3020 (S.D.N.Y. Aug. 3, 2020) (Oetken, J.) that vacated certain provisions of the DOL rule implementing the provisions of the FFCRA. Specifically, the decision vacated provisions of the rule that (i) prohibited employees from taking leave if an employer \u201cdoes not have work\u201d for the employee; (ii) defined \u201chealth care providers\u201d; (iii) required employer consent for taking intermittent leave; and (iv) required employees to provide documentation related to their leave prior<\/em> to taking that leave. The remaining provisions of the rule are unaffected.\u00a0 Notably, the Court was silent on whether its decision applies to jurisdictions other than the Southern District of New York. The below post has been updated to reflect this decision.<\/p>\n

Additionally, on July 20, 2020, the DOL\u2019s Wage and Hour Division provided additional guidance<\/a><\/strong> in its Questions and Answers<\/strong> documents regarding COVID-19 and (i) the Fair Labor Standards Act (\u201cFLSA\u201d), (ii)\u00a0the FMLA, and (iii)\u00a0the leave provisions of the FFCRA. Among other things, the new guidance discusses compensation of exempt and non-exempt employees; hazard pay; \u201cin person\u201d telemedicine appointments; COVID-19 testing for employees; returning to work after taking FFCRA leave; and the interaction of FFCRA leave entitlements with employee furloughs. Our blog post covering this guidance is available here<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

May 11, 2020 Update.\u00a0<\/strong>On May 7, 2020, the DOL provided additional guidance in its Questions and Answers<\/strong> document regarding the leave provisions of the FFCRA.\u00a0Among other things, the new guidance provides that (i) domestic service workers are entitled to paid leave under the FFCRA when they are \u201ceconomically dependent\u201d on the household in which they work; (ii) if a worker is employed by a temporary placement agency with more than 500 employees, and is placed at a business with less than 500 employees, the second business must provide the worker with paid leave under the FFCRA if it is found to be a \u201cjoint employer\u201d; (iii) employees who have been teleworking with children in the home over the past several weeks may still be eligible for paid leave under the FFCRA to care for a child in certain circumstances; (iv) an employee seeking paid leave under the FFCRA to obtain a medical diagnosis may be required to identify his or her symptoms and a date for a test or doctor\u2019s appointment, but may not be required to provide further documentation or similar certification that he or she sought a diagnosis or treatment; and (v)\u00a0 employees may be eligible for paid leave under the FFCRA if a summer child care provider, such as a summer camp, is closed for a COVID-19-related reason.<\/p>\n

April 22, 2020 Update.\u00a0<\/strong>On March 27, 2020, nine days after its enactment, the FFCRA was amended in part by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act<\/a><\/strong> (the \u201cCARES Act\u201d), the third emergency federal legislation adopted in response to COVID-19.\u00a0Our memorandum to clients covering how the CARES Act amended the leave and tax provisions of the FFCRA is available here<\/strong>.\u00a0On April 6, 2020, the DOL published a temporary rule implementing the leave provisions of the FFCRA, which was amended in part on April 10, 2020 (the \u201cRule\u201d).\u00a0Among other things, the DOL\u2019s latest update of April 20, 2020 provides more information regarding how an employer should calculate an employee\u2019s regular rate of pay and the hours of paid leave to which the employee is entitled under the FFCRA.\u00a0Additionally, on April 20, 2020, the DOL announced<\/a><\/strong> the end of the temporary period of non-enforcement of the FFCRA\u2019s leave provisions.<\/p>\n

March 31, 2020 Update.\u00a0<\/strong>On March 30, 2020, the DOL revised its guidance on March 30, 2020 to provide that the integrated employer test is applicable to determining who is a covered employer under the Emergency Paid Sick Leave Act as well as the Emergency Family and Medical Leave Expansion Act.<\/p>\n

The DOL continues to update and provide additional guidance in its Questions and Answers<\/strong> document, and, in addition to the below post, our other posts on the guidance are available here:\u00a0Part II<\/strong>, Part III<\/strong>,\u00a0Part IV<\/strong>,\u00a0and our July 21, 2020 post<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

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On March\u00a018, 2020, the Families First Coronavirus Response Act<\/a><\/strong>, the second emergency federal legislation adopted in response to Coronavirus (\u201cCOVID-19\u201d), was enacted. Our memorandum regarding the leave and tax credit provisions of the FFCRA is available here<\/strong>, and our post regarding the U.S. Department of Treasury, IRS, and U.S. Department of Labor March\u00a020, 2020 joint news release<\/a><\/strong> regarding their plan to implement the leave and tax credit provisions of the FFCRA is available here<\/strong>. The leave and tax credit provisions apply only to private employers with fewer than 500\u00a0employees and to public entities.<\/p>\n

On March\u00a024, 2020, the DOL issued a news release<\/a><\/strong> (No.\u00a020-512-NAT) announcing its first round of published guidance regarding the leave provisions in (1)\u00a0the Emergency Family and Medical Leave Expansion Act (the \u201cExpansion Act\u201d) and (2)\u00a0the Emergency Paid Sick Leave Act (the \u201cSick Leave Act\u201d and, together with the Expansion Act, the \u201cActs\u201d).\u00a0This guidance consists of a Fact Sheet for Employees<\/strong>, a Fact Sheet for Employers<\/strong>, and a Questions and Answers<\/strong> document.<\/p>\n

On March\u00a025, 2020, the DOL issued a news release<\/a><\/strong> (No.\u00a020-514-NAT) announcing a plan to have a \u201cnational online dialogue\u201d on the paid leave provisions in the FFCRA through March\u00a029, 2020; the dialogue was later extended to April 10, 2020.\u00a0The DOL also published two workplace posters (one on federal employee rights<\/strong> and one on other employee rights<\/strong>), Frequently Asked Questions<\/strong> (the \u201cFAQs\u201d) regarding workplace posters, and Field Assistance Bulletin 2020-1<\/a><\/strong> (the \u201cFAB\u201d) regarding the temporary non-enforcement period applicable to the leave provisions of the FFCRA. On April 20, 2020, the DOL announced the end of that temporary non-enforcement period.<\/p>\n

The following are the key employer takeaways from this guidance:<\/p>\n