Employer Required to Provide Employee with Paid Sick Leave if Employee Caring for Child Because Care Provider is Sick from Coronavirus

The Emergency Paid Sick Leave Act (EPSLA) requires 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 caring for his or her son because the child care provider is unavailable due to COVID-19 related reasons.

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The reason for paid sick leave applies when the employee is unable to work because the employee needs to care for his or her son or daughter if:

• (a) The child’s school or place of care has closed; or
• (b) the child care provider is unavailable, due to COVID-19 related reasons.

Again, the employee must be able to perform work for his or her employer but for the need to care for his or her son or daughter, which means an employee may not take paid sick leave if the employer does not have work for him or her.

Moreover, an employee may take paid sick leave to care for his or her child only when the employee needs to, and actually is, caring for his or her child. Generally, an employee does not need to take such leave if another suitable individual—such as a co-parent, co-guardian, or the usual child care provider—is available to provide the care the employee’s child needs.