Coronavirus Relief

The President has signed the Families First Coronavirus Act (HR 6201 the “Act”) intended to ease the economic consequences stemming from the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak by providing family and medical leave, and sick leave, to employees and providing tax credits to employers and self-employed individuals providing the leave detailed below:

Family and Medical Leave

The Act includes the Emergency Family and Medical Leave Expansion Act (EFMLEA), which requires employers with fewer than 500 employees to provide both paid and unpaid public health emergency leave to certain employees through December 31, 2020. The emergency leave generally is available when an employee who has been employed for at least 30 days is unable to work or telework due to a need for leave to care for a son or daughter under age 18 because a school or place of care has been closed due to an emergency with respect to COVID-19 that is declared by a federal, state, or local authority.  The first 10 days of leave may be unpaid and then paid leave is required, based on a calculation.  The credit is limited to $200 per day up to an aggregate of $10,000.

Emergency Sick Leave

Under the Emergency Paid Sick Leave Act (EPSLA) private employers with fewer than 500 employees, and public employers of any size, must provide 80 hours of paid sick time to full-time employees who are unable to work, or telework, for specified virus-related reasons.  Part-time employees are entitled to sick time based on their average hours worked over a 2-week period.  The amount is immediately available regardless of the employee’s length of employment.  Employees must be compensated at their regular rate, up to a maximum of $511 per day ($5,110 total) if:

·        Subject to a quarantine or isolation order,

·        Advised by health provider to self-quarantine, or

·        Experiencing systems and seeking diagnosis.

Amounts paid up to the limits can be taken as a credit against employer payroll taxes.  The credits are refundable if it is greater than total payroll taxes.

Loans

Link to SBA Loans: https://www.sba.gov/funding-programs/disaster-assistance

Link to interest free loans for Florida businesses: https://floridadisasterloan.org/

‍