President Biden has a lot on his plate but nothing more pressing than handling the pandemic. When the original CARES Act was passed 8 months ago, few people could understand the enormous impact the coronavirus would have. The staggering death toll and hospitalizations have overwhelmed every part of society–including the workplace. CARES Act 2, passed last month, gave employers the option–not the mandate– to continue the Families First Coronavirus Response Act leave past the 12/31/20 expiration. Now, the Biden Administration has released its American Rescue Plan which addresses several provisions including an expanded and updated FFCRA provision:
- Restore the FFCRA mandate and eliminate exemptions for employers with more than 500 and less than 50 employees until September 30, 2021. No more exemption for health care workers, first responders, and small employers. All employers covered now.
- Provide expanded paid sick and family and medical leave to 14 weeks, including time, if needed, to get the vaccine.
- Provide a maximum paid leave benefit of $1,400 per-week for eligible workers. This will provide full wage replacement to workers earning up to $73,000 annually, more than three-quarters of all workers.
- Reimburse employers with less than 500 employees for the cost of this leave. Extending the refundable tax credit will reimburse employers for 100 percent of the cost of this leave.
The Biden-Harris administration has the wind at their backs on COVID-19. We expect support for expanded FFCRA but nothing is certain in DC. We will update our FFCRA Leave and keep you posted. From Vaccination Policy to having a Healthy Workplace and beyond, we have many fixed fee solutions for your workplace to deal with the pandemic. As always, we can help.