FMLA Rights Under Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA): Part One

What All Employees Need to Know (Overview)

The FFCRA is a brand-new law enacted by the federal government as a direct response to the COVID-19 Pandemic. The law requires certain employers to provide their employees with paid sick leave and expanded family and medical leave for specified reasons related to COVID-19, including employees unable to work due to having to care for a child whose school or place-of-care is closed/unavailable. These provisions took effect April 1, 2020 and are scheduled to end December 31, 2020.

Employees interested in applying for this new FMLA should visit the COVID-19 Employee Resources portlet on MyTCC. The portlet is located under the Employee/Procedures and Tools Section. Additionally, employees may view several resources including FAQ and the FFCRA employee poster. The new law is very different and unique in a number of ways:

• The Act allows employees to take time away from work while being paid two-thirds of their salary. Employees may elect to substitute the balance from their leave to receive full pay.
• Employees who are caring for their child(ren) whose school(s) or place-of-care is closed (child-care provider is unavailable) due to COVID-19 related reasons are eligible to apply for this type of leave.
• FFCRA leave may be requested as intermittent or continuous leave depending on the employee’s needs and availability of intermittent work.
• Should legislation for the FFCRA be changed or updated, employees will be notified.

To help communicate this new law and what it means for both employees and supervisors, Human Resources has created a series of articles for The Daily and will provide regular communication to supervisors during SABO meetings.

Supervisors:

As a best practice, anyone in a supervisory position is highly encouraged to attend the SABO meetings to ensure they are receiving this crucial information in a timely manner. If you are a supervisor and you are not currently receiving the SABO invitations/announcements: please contact, Sarah Wyatt at sarah.wyatt1@tulsacc.edu to be added to the list.