Corona-Virus Covid-19 Quarantine Stay At Home Order Lock Down, Employer Required To Provide Paid Sick Leave To Employees
Under the Emergency Paid Sick Leave Act (EPSLA), subject to exceptions, employers to provide paid sick leave to employees who are unable to work for six reasons having to do with COVID-19 where the employee is subject to a Federal, State, or local quarantine or isolation order related to COVID-19.
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Paid Leave Entitlement Under Stay At Home Order
Section 826.20 of Title 29 of the Code of Federal Regulations describes the circumstances under which a covered employer must provide paid sick leave and/or expanded family and medical leave to an eligible employee.
Section 826.20(a) explains that an employee may take paid sick leave if the employee is unable to work because of any one of six qualifying reasons related to COVID-19. The first reason for paid sick leave applies where an employee is unable to work because he or she is subject to a Federal, State, or local COVID-19 quarantine or isolation order. Quarantine or isolation orders include a broad range of governmental orders, including orders that advise some or all citizens to shelter in place, stay at home, quarantine, or otherwise restrict their own mobility.
Section 826.20(a)(2) explains that an employee may take paid sick leave only if being subject to one of these orders prevents him or her from working or teleworking as described therein. The question is whether the employee would be able to work or telework “but for” being required to comply with a quarantine or isolation order.
An employee subject to one of these orders may not take paid sick leave where the employer does not have work for the employee. This is because the employee would be unable to work even if he or she were not required to comply with the quarantine or isolation order.
For example:
if a coffee shop closes temporarily or indefinitely due to a downturn in business related to COVID-19, it would no longer have any work for its employees. A cashier previously employed at the coffee shop who is subject to a stay-at-home order would not be able to work even if he were not required to stay at home. As such, he may not take paid sick leave because his inability to work is not due to his need to comply with the stay-at-home order, but rather due to the closure of his place of employment.[1] That said, he may be eligible for state unemployment insurance and should contact his State workforce agency or State unemployment insurance office for specific questions about his eligibility.
Exceptions to Paid Leave Under Quarantine Order
Additionally, § 826.20(a)(2) explains that an employee subject to a quarantine or isolation order is able to telework, and therefore may not take paid sick leave, if
- (a) his or her employer has work for the employee to perform;
- (b) the employer permits the employee to perform that work from the location where the employee is being quarantined or isolated; and
- (c) there are no extenuating circumstances that prevent the employee from performing that work.
For example:
If a law firm permits its lawyers to work from home, a lawyer would not be prevented from working by a stay-at-home order, and thus may not take paid sick leave as a result of being subject to that order. In this circumstance, the lawyer is able to telework even if she is required to use her own computer instead of her employer’s computer. But, she would not be able to telework in the event of a power outage or similar extenuating circumstance and would therefore be eligible for paid sick leave during the period of the power outage or extenuating circumstance due to the quarantine or isolation order.