COVID-19 Challenge – Dealing with Sick Pay Requests

As you may know the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) went into effect on April 1^st. 2020.

Employees who are currently working are now eligible to apply for Sick Leave under the Emergency Paid Sick Leave Act and possibly under the Emergency Family & Medical Leave Expansion Act (company may be exempt if under 50 employees).

Here are some steps you can take when someone calls in sick or requests sick pay because their child is home as a result of a school or daycare.

What questions can you ask?

If an employee requests time off due to illness you MAY ask them:

• Are you experiencing COVCID-related symptoms? (fever, chills, cough, shortness of breath, or sore throat.)
• Have you been exposed to anyone that has been diagnosed with COVID-19 or had symptoms?
• Have the employee complete the attached Sick Leave Request Form and sign.

You can ask the employee to stay home if they are experiencing symptoms out of safety concerns for the workplace. If they are ill but not experiencing any COVID-19 related symptoms, the illness would fall under the usual rules for sick time requests.

Depending on their answers, you will have to make a choice that is right for the safety of your workplace.

• You can ask the employee to stay home, or to please get tested before returning to work. You may confidentially ask for a copy of the test results before allowing them to return to work.
• If you have reason to believe they have symptoms, you may confidentially ask for a “fit for duty” test before they come back to work.

Note CDC Guidelines: The CDC has advised the following: “Do not require a healthcare provider’s note for employees who are sick with acute respiratory illness to validate their illness or to return to work, as healthcare provider offices and medical facilities may be extremely busy and not able to provide such documentation in a timely way.” We would recommend the employee be encouraged but not required to go to an urgent care facility if one is available to at least be screened for infection. We recommend that you follow CDC guidelines

If the employee requests time off for reasons related to school or day care closures:

There are specific questions you can ask including the name of the school, age of the children and a copy of the written closure order. Have the employee complete the attached Sick Leave Request form and sign.

If he employee request time off related to a quarantine or isolation order:

You may ask them for a copy of the name of the entity requiring the quarantine and a copy of the written order. Have the employee complete the attached Sick Leave Request form and sign.

Steps you’ll need to take to obtain Tax Credits

• Have them fill out the attached form
• Maintain the form for your records for tax credit purposes
• Determine how much pay they are taking/eligible for and inform payroll when submitting payroll
• Pay the employee the sick leave when the employee would normally have received pay for those days. In other words, you do not have to do an advance on sick leave pay. (Our payroll system will accommodate this new sick pay type)
• If after the employee exhausts the paid sick leave, if the employee does not return, the company will have to determine if they can accommodate additional leave or if they will have to terminate the employee.  Either way the employee may be eligible for unemployment .

Keep all records of this time off or 4 years as you may need to demonstrate to the IRS, that you have properly taken all steps to be eligible for COVID-19 related tax credits.

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact us at 951-816-6434 or info@infiniumhr.com.