All eligible employees of this district may take paid sick leave or paid expanded family and medical leave as provided by the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA). Unless extended by law, FFCRA’s leave provisions apply to leave taken between April 1, 2020 and December 31, 2020.
DEFINITIONS
“Child care provider” means someone who cares for the child(ren) of an employee. This includes individuals paid to provide child care, such as nannies, au pairs, and babysitters. It also includes individuals who provide child care at no cost and without a license on a regular basis, such as grandparents, aunts, uncles or neighbors.
“Expanded family and medical leave” means paid leave under the Emergency Family and Medical Leave Expansion Act as adopted in the FFCRA.
“Full-time employee,” for purposes of the Emergency Paid Sick Leave Act, means an employee who is normally scheduled to work 40 or more hours per week.
“Health care provider,” as used to determine individuals whose advice to self-quarantine due to concerns related to COVID-19 can be relied on as a qualifying reason for paid sick leave, means a licensed doctor of medicine, nurse practitioner, or other health care provider permitted to issue a certification for purposes of the FMLA.
“Paid sick leave” means paid leave under the Emergency Paid Sick Leave Act as adopted in the FFCRA.
“Part-time employee,” for purposes of the Emergency Paid Sick Leave Act, means an employee who is normally scheduled to work fewer than 40 hours per week.
“Place of care” is a physical location in which care is provided for an employee’s child. The physical location does not have to be solely dedicated to such care. Examples include day care facilities, preschools, before and after school care programs, schools, homes, summer camps, summer enrichment programs, and respite care programs.
“Son or daughter” means the employee’s own child, which includes a biological, adopted, or foster child, stepchild, legal ward, or a child for whom the employee is standing in loco parentis (i.e. someone with day to day responsibilities to care for or financially support a child). This also includes an adult child who (i) has a mental or physical disability; and (ii) is incapable of self-care because of such disability.
EXPANDED FMLA LEAVE
Employees are eligible for paid expanded FMLA leave if they were employed by the district for at least thirty (30) calendar days prior to the day the leave would begin. Expanded FMLA allows employees to take up to twelve (12) weeks of leave, but only for the purpose of caring for the employee’s child whose school or place of care is closed, or child care provider is unavailable, due to COVID-19 related reasons. The first two (2) weeks of expanded FMLA leave is unpaid, although an employee may use emergency paid sick leave as provided herein during the first two (2) weeks of leave. Employees may also use available vacation or sick leave during the first two (2) weeks of expanded FMLA leave.
Employees requesting expanded FMLA leave should provide the [identify responsible administrator, e.g. superintendent, business manager, etc.] with all of the following information, either verbally or in writing, prior to the dates of requested leave:
- the dates of requested leave;
- the reason for leave;
- a statement that the employee is unable to work for the stated reason;
- the name of the employee’s child;
- the name of the school, place of care, or child care provider that has closed or become unavailable; and
- a statement that no other suitable person is available to care for the employee’s child.
Eligible employees taking expanded FMLA leave will be paid at 2/3 their regular rate or 2/3 of the applicable minimum wage, whichever is higher, up to $200 per day and $12,000 in the aggregate over a 12-week period.
EMERGENCY PAID SICK LEAVE
Eligible full-time employees may receive:
· Two (2) weeks (up to 80 hours) of paid sick leave at the employee’s regular rate of pay (up to $511 per day and $5,110 in the aggregate over a two-week period) where the employee is unable to work because the employee is quarantined (pursuant to Federal, State, or local government order or advice of a health care provider), and/or experiencing COVID-19 symptoms and seeking a medical diagnosis; or
· Two (2) weeks (up to 80 hours) of paid sick leave at 2/3 the employee’s regular rate of pay (up to $200 per day and $2,000 in the aggregate over a two-week period) because the employee is unable to work because of a bona fide need to care for an individual subject to quarantine (pursuant to Federal, State or local government order or advice of a health care provider), or care for a child (under 18 years of age) whose school or child care provider is closed or unavailable for reasons related to COVID-19, and/or the employee is experiencing a substantially similar condition specified by the Secretary of Health and Human Services, in consultation with the Secretaries of Labor and Treasury.
Eligible part-time employees may receive paid sick leave for the number of hours that the employee works on average over a two-week period (e.g., if the employee works an average of 40 hours over a two-week period, the employee is eligible for 40 hours of emergency paid sick leave).
LEAVE ENTITLEMENT
Employees must be unable to work due to a COVID-19 related reason in order to be entitled to either emergency paid sick leave or expanded FMLA leave. Employees who are teleworking or who are deemed essential workers may be denied leave. Recognizing the ever changing conditions related to COVID-19 and the needs of district employees, however, the district may enter into flexible working arrangements with employees, consistent with district policy and applicable Federal and State law, such as intermittent leave, on a case-by-case basis.
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LEGAL REFERENCE:
Families First Coronavirus Act of 2020
29 C.F.R. 826 (Temporary Rule Related to the FFRCA)
CROSS-REFERENCE:
Policy 407 – FMLA Leave
Policy 407.50 – Sick Leave
Policy 480 – Vacation Leave for Non-Certificated Employees
ADOPTED: September 16, 2020
AMENDED: