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The House of Representatives has passed H.R. 6201, the Family First Coronavirus Response Act, which would guarantee free coronavirus testing, establish paid leave for all employees, and enhance unemployment insurance among other provisions. The bill was passed by the Senate on March 18. The bill affects businesses in several ways, including paid family and medical leave, paid sick leave, and new tax credits.
The bill would require employers to provide each employee with paid sick time to self-isolate due to a diagnosis of coronavirus, obtain a medical diagnosis or receive care if experiencing symptoms of coronavirus, and obtain preventative care for coronavirus. Paid sick leave would also be required if employees need to care for or assist a family member impacted by coronavirus or care for a child if schools are closed and childcare is unavailable due to coronavirus.
Under the bill, full-time employees would be eligible for 80 hours of paid sick time. Part-time employees would be eligible for a number of hours equal to the average number of hours worked in a two-week period. The paid sick time would be required to cover 100% of typical wages. For employers with existing policies, the emergency sick leave would be in addition to paid leave employees at the company already receive. The bill would also prohibit employers from altering their policies to avoid the new requirements.
Under the bill, employers would be allowed to claim a credit against their payroll taxes in an amount equal to 100% of the qualified sick leave wages paid by the employer, subject to limitations within the bill.