Department of Labor issues model notice for coronavirus emergency leave requirements

In connection with the emergency sick pay and family leave requirements under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act  (FFCRA), the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has issued a model notice that employers with fewer than 500 employees are required to post to inform their employees of their rights under the FFCRA. The Department also posted a set of Frequently Asked Questions related to the notice.

The contents of the model notice include:

- A brief, general description of the coronavirus-related paid sick leave and expanded family and medical leave requirements.

- The period for which the leave rules apply.

- Amounts of the required leave payments.

- Description of the types of employers whose employees are eligible for the leave payments.

- Identification of qualifying reasons for entitlement to the leave payments.

- Description of the Labor Department’s enforcement authority.

- The statement that “Employers may not discharge, discipline or otherwise discriminate against any employee who lawfully takes paid sick leave or expanded family and medical leave under the FFCRA, files a complaint, or institutes a proceeding under or related to this Act.” Employers that violate this rule will be subject to penalties and enforcement by the DOL’s Wage and Hour Division.

- The Labor Department’s telephone number and website URL for employees to use to obtain additional information or to file a complaint.

Highlights of the FAQ include:

- The notice must be posted “in a conspicuous place” on the employer’s premises.

- An employer can also satisfy the posting requirement by emailing or direct mailing the notice to current employees (sharing with laid-off individuals is not required), or by posting it on an internal or external employer website that contains employee information.

- If employees report directly to work at different locations, the employer must post the notice in each building, “even if the buildings are located in the same general vicinity.”

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