DOL issues brief guidance on Families First Coronavirus Response Act

On March 24, 2020, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) issued an initial and informal set of “Questions and Answers” (Q&As) to assist employers in complying with the recently enacted Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA). Below is a short summary of a few of the answers provided.

Effective date

Most notably, the Q&A guidance announced that the leave provisions become effective April 1—not April 2 as originally expected—and expire on December 31.

500-employee threshold

The Q&As also attempt to provide direction on how and/or when the number of employees should be measured. In this regard, the DOL states:

You have fewer than 500 employees if, at the time your employee’s leave is to be taken, you employ fewer than 500 full-time and part-time employees within the United States, which includes any State of the United States, the District of Columbia, or any Territory or possession of the United States. In making this determination, you should include employees on leave; temporary employees who are jointly employed by you and another employer (regardless of whether the jointly-employed employees are maintained on only your or another employer’s payroll); and day laborers supplied by a temporary agency (regardless of whether you are the temporary agency or the client firm if there is a continuing employment relationship). Workers who are independent contractors under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), rather than employees, are not considered employees for purposes of the 500-employee threshold.