Families First Coronavirus Response Act
Georgia Southern is awaiting further guidance on the implementation and process for requesting leave under Families First Coronavirus Response Act. We will share more information later.
Generally, employers covered under the Act must provide employees:
Up to two weeks (80 hours, or a part-time employee’s two week equivalent) of paid sick leave based on the higher of their regular rate of pay, or the applicable state or Federal minimum wage paid at:
- 100% for qualifying reasons #1-3 below, up to $511 daily and $5,110 total;
- 2/3 for qualifying reasons #4 and 6 below, up to $200 daily and $2,000 total; and
- Up to 12 weeks of paid sick leave and expanded family and medical leave paid at 2/3 for qualifying reason #5 below for up to $200 daily and $12,000 total. *
A part-time employee is eligible for leave for the number of hours that the employee is normally scheduled to work over that period.
Eligible Employees
In general, employees of private sector employers with fewer than 500 employees, and certain public sector employers, are eligible for up to two weeks of fully or partially paid sick leave for COVID-19 related reasons (see below). Employees who have been employed for at least 30 days prior to their leave request may be eligible for up to an additional 10 weeks of partially paid expanded family and medical leave for reason #5 below.
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;
- 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 US Department of Health and Human Services.
*Affected employees are entitled to take this leave as part of their 12-week allotment under the FMLA. It does not add an additional 12 weeks onto the already existing 12 weeks of FMLA leave.
As we receive further direction and guidance from the University System of Georgia on implementation and procedures, we will share that with you.
For more information, please refer to the University’s FAQ page that is updated regularly.
Also, visit https://www.usg.edu/hr/benefits/coronavirus to sign up for alerts related to USG Benefits and COVID-19.
If you have questions, please submit them to HR through a MyHelp ticket.
Last updated: 3/31/2020