Recently, President Trump signed an emergency coronavirus bill into legislation designed to downplay the financial effects of the new coronavirus on workers. The bill expands both family and medical leave for workers who are employed by private entities, or for employers who have less than 500 employees in their business. The bill grants these individuals up to 12 weeks of job-protected leave if the coronavirus prevents them from coming to work or from working remotely due to caring for a child under the age of 18 whose school or place of care has closed or because his/her child care provider is unable to assist as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.
Because of the new legislation, thousands of employers previously exempt from FMLA now must provide this job-protected leave to any employee who has a legitimate coronavirus-related reason for being unable to work. That being said, more than half of all employers in the United States have more than 500 employees, which causes many to fear that this new law will negatively impact smaller businesses. Under the new Act, employees may take paid sick leave for the following scenarios:
- They must care for someone who is subject to a federal, state, or local quarantine because of COVID-19
- An employee has to care for their child if that child’s school or place of care has closed because of COVID-19
- A health care provider has advised them to self-quarantine because of the new coronavirus
- They are currently experiencing COVID-19 symptoms and require medical diagnosis
- They have been subjected to a federal, state, or local quarantine because of the new coronavirus
The bill went into effect on April 2, 2020, and it will continue until December 1, 2020. For any further questions about this bill and how it may affect you and your family, please do not hesitate to speak with our experienced New Jersey business law attorneys today. These are turbulent times, however, we are confident that we will all get through this together.
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