Are You Still Eligible for Paid FMLA Leave?

08 Sep Are You Still Eligible for Paid FMLA Leave?

Posted at 08:45h in COVID-19, Employment by Triage Cancer

Do you have minor children who are in school?

If their school is closed, then you may be able to take time off work through the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA).

The FFCRA provides two weeks of paid sick leave, as well as 12 weeks for FMLA leave (10 of which are paid at 2/3 your normal rate of pay, but capped at $200 a day). Under both of these options, you may be eligible for leave if you have a minor child whose school is closed (or their childcare is closed).

We talked about these employment benefits in a previous blog.

With the uncertainty of schools reopening, it creates some questions about whether or not you can use that leave, if the school opens, only offers remote learning, or offers a hybrid of the two options where students split their time between remote learning and going to class in-person.

The U.S. Department of Labor recently released three new FAQs (#98-100) that explain your options generally:

School remains closed: employees are eligible for FFCRA leave
Hybrid learning: employees are eligible for FFCRA leave on the days the child has remote learning or is not permitted to attend school in-person (e.g., under quarantine)
School is open for in-person learning, but parents choose the remote learning option: employees are not eligible for FFCRA leave

To learn more about employment and education rights, visit TriageCancer.org and CancerFinances.org.