Updated March 19, 2020
Please remain vigilant to the every changing atmosphere. Please check back here daily as we will be regularly updating this information.
Texas Association of Counties is continuing to monitor and update counties in the rapidly changing environment created by the public health emergency, -COVID-19.
On March 18, 2020, President Donald Trump signed into law the Families First Coronavirus Response Act. This act provides the following provisions:
- Free coronavirus screening
- Extended Family and Medical Leave for certain employees
- Paid emergency leave
- Emergency unemployment stabilization
- Nutritional programs
- Protections for health care workers
- Additional Medicare funding
Two provisions of the Act will have the most impact on county government, Emergency Family and Medical Leave Expansion Act and Emergency Paid Sick Leave Act. A brief overview of each of the provisions are below. Based on the information in the bill, it will become effective not later than April 2, 2020, and will sunset Dec. 31, 2020.
Emergency Family and Medical Leave Expansion Act
This Act amends the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) through Dec. 31, 2020, due to the public health emergency – defined as COVID-19.
What changes are required by each county?
This will require FMLA for employees who can’t work or telework because of a son or daughter under the age of 18 whose school or place of care is closed due to the public health emergency-COVID-19.
For this specific situation only, the definition of an eligible employee has changed. An eligible employee is any employee who has worked for the county for at least 30 calendar days.
The employer threshold was changed for this specific situation to be fewer than 500 employees. This eliminates the 50 or more employee threshold and requires all counties to provide FMLA for this covered situation.
In general, the first 10 days of leave may consist of unpaid leave, however, you must allow an employee to substitute accrued vacation, sick, paid time off (PTO), compensatory time or other personal leave.
After the first 10 days, the county shall provide not less than two-thirds of the qualified employee’s regular rate of pay for the number of hours the employee is regularly scheduled to work. In no event shall pay exceed $200 per day or $10,000 aggregate over the 12 weeks per qualified employee.
If an employee works variable hours, then the county must average the work hours during the last six months ending on the date the leave begins. If the employee has not worked for at least six months but has worked for 30 days, then the county must use the number of hours the employee was told they might average at the time of hire.
Employees are required to notify the county as soon as practicable of their need for this leave.
Counties will be required to restore the employee to their same or equivalent position, with the same pay, benefits and other terms and conditions of employment.
This will end on the Dec. 31, 2020, the date the qualifying need related to the public health emergency-COVID-19 concludes or the date that is 12 weeks after the date which the employee’s leave begins.
An employer of an employee who is a health care provider or an emergency responder may elect to exclude such employee from the application of the provisions in the amendments made under of section 3102 of this Act.
Emergency Paid Sick Leave Act
A county shall provide to each employee employed by the county paid sick time to the extent that the employee is unable to work (or telework) due to a need for leave because:
- The employee is subject to a federal, state, or local quarantine or isolation order related to COVID-19.
- The employee has been advised by a health care provider to self-quarantine due to concerns related to COVID-19.
- The employee is experiencing symptoms of COVID-19 and seeking a medical diagnosis.
- The employee is caring for an individual who is subject to a federal, state, or location quarantine or isolation order related to COVID-19, or caring for someone who has been advised by a health care provider to self-quarantine due to concerns related to COVID-19.
- The employee is caring for a son or daughter of such employee if the school or place of care of the son or daughter has been closed, or the child care provider of such son or daughter is unavailable, due to COVID-19 precautions.
- The employee is experiencing any other substantially similar condition specified by the Secretary of Health and Human Services in consultation with the Secretary of the Treasury and the Secretary of Labor.
Except that an employer of an employee who is a health care provider or an emergency responder may elect to exclude such employee from the application of this subsection.
Counties will be required to provide paid leave to employees as follows:
- For full-time employees, 80 hours.
- For part-time employees, a number of hours equal to the number of hours that such employee works, on average, over a 2-week period.
Employees are entitled to this paid sick leave for a COVID-19 qualifying event, no matter how long they have worked for the county. This leave must be made available for immediate use.
In general an employee may first use the paid sick leave under this Act and the county may not require the employee to use other accrued leave balances before they use this leave.
What will a county be required to pay?
- For a qualifying absence due to the public health emergency-COVID-19 as described above.
- Both full-time and part-time employees are covered
- Pay is calculated based on the employee’s regular rate and the number of hours the employee would normally be scheduled to work, except that paid sick time shall not exceed:
- $511 per day, with a $5,110 aggregate, and
- Caring for a family member is to be paid at two-thirds the regular rate of pay and a maximum of $200 per day and a $2,000 aggregate for caring for family member.
- In the case a part-time employee has a variable work schedule, the county will average the number of hours that employee was scheduled over the last six months, including hours they took for leave of any type. If the employee did not work for six months then use the average hours per day the employee was told they would normally get.
A county may require an employee to follow reasonable notice procedures in order to continue receiving paid sick time. Notice Requirements
Each county shall post and keep posted, in conspicuous places on the premises where other employment notices are customarily posted, a notice, to be prepared or approved by the Secretary of Labor, of the requirements described in this Act.
Model notice — Not later than seven days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Labor shall make publicly available a model of a notice that meets the requirements of subsection (a).
Prohibited Acts
It shall be unlawful for any employer to discharge, discipline or in any other manner discriminate against any employee who:
- Takes leave in accordance with this Act, and has filed any complaint or instituted or caused to be instituted any proceeding under or related to this Act (including a proceeding that seeks enforcement of this Act), or has testified or is about to testify in any such proceeding.
Enforcement
An employer who violates this shall —
(1) be considered to have failed to pay minimum wages in violation of section six of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 206); and
(2) be subject to the penalties described in sections 16 and 17 of such Act (29 U.S.C. 216; 217) with respect to such violation.
(b) Unlawful termination.—An employer who willfully violates this shall—
(1) be considered to be in violation of section 15(a)(3) of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 215(a)(3)); and
(2) be subject to the penalties described in sections 16 and 17 of such Act (29 U.S.C. 216; 217) with respect to such violation.