What are Employers Required to Provide to Employees Who are Sick or Provide Care to Family Member 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.

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The EPSLA entitles full-time covered employees to up to 80 hours of paid sick leave, and generally entitles part-time employees to up to the number of hours that they work on average over a two-week period, although special rules may apply to part-time employees with varying schedules.

For an employee who takes paid sick leave because he or she is subject to a quarantine or isolation order, has been advised to self-quarantine by a health care provider, or is experiencing symptoms of COVID-19 and is seeking a medical diagnosis, the EPSLA provides for paid sick leave at the greater of the employee’s regular rate of pay under section 7(e) of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, as amended, 29 U.S.C. 201 et seq. (FLSA) (29 U.S.C. 207(e)), or the applicable minimum wage (federal, state, or local), up to $511 per day and $5,110 in the aggregate.

An employee who takes paid sick leave for any other qualifying reason under the EPSLA is entitled to be paid two-thirds of that amount, up to $200 per day and $2,000 in the aggregate.

An employer may not require an employee to use other paid leave provided by the employer before the employee uses the paid sick leave, nor may an employer require the employee involved to search for or find a replacement employee to cover the hours during which the employee is using paid sick leave.