As we are all aware PPP is ending August 15th, and because of this, FFCRA will also now come into play. To that end, please find below a few points of clarification:
Under the rules of FFCRA, employees are eligible and qualify for this benefit for the following reasons:
QUALIFYING REASONS FOR LEAVE RELATED TO COVID-19
An employee is entitled to take leave related to COVID-19 if the employee is unable to work, including unable to telework, because the employee:
- is subject to a Federal, State, or local quarantine or isolation order related to COVID-19;
- 2. has been advised by a health care provider to self-quarantine related to COVID-19;
- is experiencing COVID-19 symptoms and is seeking a medical diagnosis;
- is caring for an individual subject to an order described in (1) or self-quarantine as described in (2);
- is caring for his or her child whose school or place of care is closed (or child care provider is unavailable) due to COVID-19 related reasons; or
- is experiencing any other substantially-similar condition specified by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Employees that are requesting the time off are expected to complete the Leave Request Form located on the Depot, under Resources>Documents & Forms>All Agency> #7 titled COVID-19 Leave Request Form. An article describing the FFCRA and link to the poster can be found on the Depot in the COVID section under Resources, dated April 6, 2020.
Employees are expected to talk w/ their supervisor and Director as well prior to completing the form.
Please also be advised that Finance will in all likelihood require us to code our timesheets through Ascentis in a special way. Until further direction is given, please do as you normally do and know that the required form will serve as a record of FFCRA hours.
Finally, the following will apply for any employees whose hours are adjusted due to the limited provision of services and/or any alignment that was/is necessary to help balance our budget.
- May take vacation time to supplement any lost hours or
- May chose to be unpaid or
- A combination of the above
- Vacation and Sick benefits will continue accrual at the rate based on hours worked
- Health benefits accrue at 30+ hours/ per week. Any employees hours that were adjusted below 30 hours will continue to earn health benefits for up to two (2) months at which point a review will occur and if necessary health benefits may be adjusted. NOTE: if working reduced hours creates a hardship in paying the employee portion of the health benefit employees should contact Melissa Duin in HR to arrange a payment plan
- There will be no adjustment to the vacation rule carryover. (60 hours for FT, 30 Hours for PT)
- Supervisors/Directors are responsible for ensuring staff utilize their vacation time in a balanced way within their department.
Thanks for all you do to support our clients.