{"id":10704,"date":"2026-05-17T04:37:00","date_gmt":"2026-05-17T04:37:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usatrustedlawyers.com\/blog\/u-s-department-of-labors-wage-and-hour-division-april-3-2020-guidance-on-leave-provisions-of-the-families-first-coronavirus-response-act\/"},"modified":"2026-05-17T04:37:00","modified_gmt":"2026-05-17T04:37:00","slug":"u-s-department-of-labors-wage-and-hour-division-april-3-2020-guidance-on-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-hour-division-april-3-2020-guidance-on-leave-provisions-of-the-families-first-coronavirus-response-act\/","title":{"rendered":"U.S. Department of Labor\u2019s Wage and Hour Division April 3, 2020 Guidance on 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<\/a><\/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. Our blog post on the guidance is available here<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

August 6, 2020 Update.<\/strong> On 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)\u00a0required 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. 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<\/a><\/strong> documents regarding COVID-19 and (i) the Fair Labor Standards Act, (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>.
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May 11, 2020 Update.\u00a0<\/strong>On May 7, 2020, the DOL provided additional guidance in its Questions and Answers<\/a><\/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 or around April 20, 2020, the DOL provided additional guidance in its Questions and Answers<\/a><\/strong> document.\u00a0Among other things, the new guidance 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

The DOL continues to update and provide additional guidance in its Questions and Answers<\/a><\/strong> document, and, in addition to the below post, our other posts on the guidance are available here:\u00a0Part I<\/strong>, Part II<\/strong>, Part IV<\/strong>, and our July 21, 2020 post.<\/strong>
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The Families First Coronavirus Response Act<\/a><\/strong>, the second emergency federal legislation adopted in response to the Coronavirus pandemic (\u201cCOVID-19\u201d), was enacted on March 18, 2020.\u00a0Our memorandum to clients regarding the leave and tax credit provisions of the FFCRA, which apply only to private employers with fewer than 500 employees and to public entities, 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 FFCRA was amended nine days after its enactment in 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>.<\/p>\n

On April 3, 2020, the DOL posted a webinar and provided additional guidance in its Questions and Answers<\/a><\/strong> document regarding the leave provisions of the FFCRA, specifically the leave provisions set out in (1) the Emergency Family and Medical Leave Expansion Act (the \u201cExpansion Act\u201d), and (2) the Emergency Paid Sick Leave Act (the \u201cSick Leave Act\u201d and, together with the Expansion Act, the \u201cActs\u201d).\u00a0The following are the key employer takeaways from this new guidance:<\/p>\n