Employee Leave under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA)
Greetings,
As part of our commitment to keeping the faculty and staff of Ohio University informed, University Human Resources is pleased to share this pertinent update regarding the new Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) which was signed into law on March 18th and is in effect April 1, 2020 through December 31, 2020. The FFCRA provides eligible Ohio University employees with up to two weeks of emergency paid sick leave allowance through the Emergency Paid Sick Leave Act and expands family and medical leave (FML) through the Emergency Family and Medical Leave Expansion Act to include allowance for eligible employee’s to care for their child(ren) whose school or place of care is closed.
Specifically, leave may be taken under FFCRA if the employee is unable to work or telework because the employee:
- is subject to a Federal, State, or local quarantine or isolation order related to COVID-19;
- has been advised by a health care provider to self-quarantine related to COVID-19; or
- is experiencing COVID-19 symptoms and is seeking a medical diagnosis;
- is caring for an individual subject to an order described in (1) or self-quarantine as described in (2);
- is caring for their child whose school or place of care is closed (or childcare provider is unavailable) due to COVID-19 related reasons; or
- is experiencing any other substantially similar condition specified by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Detailed information including eligibility guidelines, pay during leave, leave process information, helpful resources, and frequently asked questions are available for all OHIO faculty and staff are available online at https://www.ohio.edu/hr/benefits/ffcra. To help provide additional access and clarity to information regarding the FFCRA and impact to faculty and staff, University Human Resources will be hosting an open forum on Friday, April 3, 2 – 3p via Teams. Registration is available at https://ohio.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_b2irXyIuUgMaWyh.
Faculty and staff needing to take leave should contact their supervisor as soon as possible, complete the FFCRA Leave Request Form [PDF], and submit supporting documentation as noted in the form. While reporting FFCRA leave in Workforce and Absence Management will be required, systems updates are underway and will be available for leave entry effective April 6 (necessary retroactive time entry will be available; systems limitations will not delay any qualified employee leave).
Faculty, staff, and supervisors with questions beyond those addressed in the FFCRA website listed above are encouraged to contact their HR liaison.
Stay well,
University Human Resources