Overview

The Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA or Act) requires certain employers to provide employees with paid sick leave or expanded family and medical leave for specified reasons related to COVID-19. The Department of Labor’s (Department) Wage and Hour Division (WHD) administers and enforces the new law’s paid leave requirements. These provisions will apply from April 2, 2020 through December 31, 2020.

Generally, the Act provides that employees of covered employers are eligible for:

• Two weeks (up to 80 hours) of paid sick leave at the employee’s regular rate of pay where the employee is unable to work because the employee is quarantined (pursuant to Federal, State, or local government order or advice of a health care provider), and/or experiencing COVID-19 symptoms and seeking a medical diagnosis; or
• Two weeks (up to 80 hours) of paid sick leave at two-thirds the employee’s regular rate of pay because the employee is unable to work because of a bona fide need to care for an individual subject to quarantine (pursuant to Federal, State, or local government order or advice of a health care provider), or to care for a child (under 18 years of age) whose school or child care provider is closed or unavailable for reasons related to COVID-19, and/or the employee is experiencing a substantially similar condition as specified by the Secretary of Health and Human Services, in consultation with the Secretaries of the Treasury and Labor; and
• Up to an additional 10 weeks of paid expanded family and medical leave at two-thirds the employee’s regular rate of pay where an employee, who has been employed for at least 30 calendar days, is unable to work due to a bona fide need for leave to care for a child whose school or child care provider is closed or unavailable for reasons related to COVID-19.

Covered Employers: The paid sick leave and expanded family and medical leave provisions of the FFCRA apply to certain public employers and private employers with fewer than 500 employees.

Eligible Employees: All employees of covered employers are eligible for two weeks of paid sick time for specified reasons related to COVID-19. Employees employed for at least 30 days are eligible for up to an additional 10 weeks of paid family leave to care for a child under certain circumstances related to COVID-19.

Avionté FFCRA Tracking Tools

To help you manage these new requirements, Avionte has created two new, standard COVID-19 sick leave Accrual plans & three corresponding Transaction types to deplete balances.

Sick Leave Plan Descriptions – Link to Leave Set-Up = COVID-19 – FFCRA Sick Leave

COVID19 - Emergency FMLA (10 weeks/50 days/400 hours of paid leave)

This sick leave plan includes:

• A new transaction type, FFCRA - Emergency FMLA, to use in Time Entry and Payroll to deplete the accrual plan
• A DRM to warn users when the plan would hit negative hours
• $200 cap for 8 hours – A Severe DRM will fire in Time Entry verification 
• $1,000 cap for 40 hours - DRM Severe
• $10,000 cap for 400 hours - DRM severe
• Work at least 30 days DRM based on employees first assignment start date

Plan defaults:

• Creates a "bucket" of 400 hours of paid sick time (50 days, 10 weeks)
• Accrual Plan Start Date: 4/1/2020
• Accrual Plan End Date 12/31/2020​

COVID 19 – Emergency Paid Sick Leave (2 weeks/10 days/80 hours of paid leave)

This sick leave plan includes:

• Two transaction types to use in Time Entry and Payroll to deplete the accrual plan:
  • FFCRA - Employee 
  • FFCRA - Dependent Care
• Time Entry and Payroll DRMs to warn users when the plan's hours or maximum dollar amounts are reached:
  • $200 cap for 8 hours – DRM Warning
  • $2,000 cap for 80 hours - DRM Warning
  • $511 cap for 8 hours – DRM Severe
  • $5,110 cap for 80 hours - DRM Severe

Plan Defaults

• Creates a "bucket" of 80 hours of paid sick time (10 days, 2 weeks)
• Accrual Plan Start Date: 4/1/2020
• Accrual Plan End Date: 12/31/2020

Entering Transactions in Time Entry
Follow the steps below to enter the employee's sick leave time in Time Entry: 

1. From the Main Menu, navigate to Back Office > Time Entry. 
2. Select an accounting period from the Accounting Perioddrop-down menu. 
3. Create a new Time Entry batch to enter the employee's sick time if one is not already open.
4. Click Create Transactions
5. Click Sheet View from the sub-menu. Transactions will display in the grid.
6. Locate the transaction for an employee who will be receiving sick pay under the FFCRA. 
7. Right-click the employee's name in Sheet View
8. Select Insert Transaction Type.
9. Place a checkmark in the box under the Choosecolumn next to the proper transaction:

Reporting

Below is a list of Standard Reports & Advanced Queries that are helpful to view who has used COVID-19 leave hours and the # of leave hours processed in Back Office. 

• Pay Bill Only Transaction
• Processed Transaction Detail AQ
• Time Entry Batch by Accounting Period Date
• Time Entry Sheet View

! COVID-19 Resources !

Please visit our newly re-designed Knowledge Base/Support Center for COVID-19 related Information:      

• Staffing Specific Q&A
• COVID-19 - FFCRA Sick Leave
• Paycheck Protection Program Fact Sheet
• Avionte COVID-19 Compliance Updates Webinar & FAQS
• Form I-9 Revision & DHS Guidelines for Remote I-9 Completion Due to COVID-19
• IRS - COVID-19-Related Tax Credits for Required Paid Leave Provided by Small and Midsize Businesses FAQs