COVID-19 Medical Leave

The Families First Coronavirus Act ("FFCRA") was recently passed to provide additional paid leave rights for employees due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The FFCRA gives certain employees the right to take paid leave related to coronavirus. This leave includes paid time off work if an employee contracts coronavirus or needs time off work to care for children in the event daycares or schools have closed. Contact a Texas employment lawyer today if your employer has denied you leave in violation of the FFCRA.

There are a couple different protections for employees who are covered by the FFCRA. Two main protections under the Act include:

• Two weeks of paid sick leave for a covered employee who is unable to work because the employee is quarantined or the employee is seeking a medical diagnosis after showing symptoms of COVID-19.
• Two weeks of paid sick leave (at two-thirds pay) for a covered employee who is unable to work because the employee needs to care for an individual subject to quarantine or if the employee needs to care for a child whose childcare or school is unavailable due to COVID-19.

A covered employer must also provide certain employees with up to an additional ten weeks of paid expanded leave (at two-thirds pay) if the employee has to take leave to care for a child whose childcare or school is unavailable due to COVID-19. However, the employee must have been employed with the employer for at least 30 days.

The FFCRA covers certain public employers and private employers with fewer than 500 employees. Small employers with less than 50 employees may be able to exempt out of some FFCRA requirements if it would otherwise jeopardize the business.

The FFCRA prohibits an employer from retaliating against or terminating a covered employee for taking protected sick leave under the Act. The employer is also prohibited from retaliating against an employe who files a complaint against the employer.

If you have been discriminated against, retaliated against, or denied protected medical leave rights under the FFCRA, contact our Texas employment lawyers today.