We have compiled a list of resources to help you during this time. Please keep checking back as we will continue to add to this blog.
California Supplemental Paid Sick Leave
On April 16, CA Governor Newsom signed an order creating a new COVID-19 Supplemental Paid Sick Leave that requires employers, who are covered by Industrial Welfare Commission Wage Orders 3, 8, 13, and 14, Health & Safety Code section 113789 and have 500 or more employees, to provide up to two weeks (80 hours) of supplemental paid sick leave to food sector workers unable to work due to COVID-19.
It also establishes a hand washing standard, allowing employees working in a food facility to wash their hands every 30 minutes or more, as needed.
Affected employers using Datatech software may set up a separate sick pay wage type in order to track this supplemental sick pay.
EMPLOYEE RIGHTS
This is the new federal paid sick leave poster .
“The Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA or Act) requires certain employers to provide their
employees with paid sick leave and expanded family and medical leave for specified reasons related to COVID-19.
These provisions will apply from April 1, 2020 through December 31, 2020.”
FELS (Farm Employer Labor Service) Webinar
Slides from the FELS Webinar: Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA): FMLA & Paid Sick Leave Expansion are available from https://www.fels.net/1/images/COVID19/FFCRA_Leaves_Final_4-3-2020.pdf
The webinar will be posted soon at https://www.fels.net/1/30-labor/661-webinar-ffcra-family-medical-leave-expansion-and-paid-sick-leave-mandate.html
Employment Verification Letter Template
Western Growers recently posted a template letter (in both English and Spanish) that can be provided to your workforce verifying their employment in your company and clarifying the federal Critical Infrastructure Sector policy. This letter can be presented to local authorities in the event an employee is stopped on the way to or from work.
We wanted to pass along this information to our clients. This letter and other resources can be accessed from https://www.wga.com/covid-19-resources-page.
Western Growers has also created a PDF entitled, “New Coronavirus Relief Laws Require Paid Employee Leave.”
COVID-19 Federal Paid Leaves Explained + Podcast
CLICK HERE for a link which outlines the Federal COVID-19 Paid Sick Leave and Emergency Family and Medical Leave Expansion.
There is a 20 minute podcast which goes into more details, including caps on amounts paid, and how these leaves may or may not interact with current employer paid sick leave and CFRA.
IRS News Release: March 20, 2020
Treasury, IRS and Labor announce plan to implement Coronavirus-related paid leave for workers and tax credits for small and midsize businesses to swiftly recover the cost of providing Coronavirus-related leave.
US Department of Labor: Families First Coronavirus Response Act Q & A
CLICK HERE for answers to questions like
What is the effective date of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA), which includes the Emergency Paid Sick Leave Act and the Emergency Family and Medical Leave Expansion Act?
How do I count hours worked by a part-time employee for purposes of paid sick leave or expanded family and medical leave?