On August 3, 2020, the US District Court, Southern District Court of New York, issued its opinion in State of New York v. U.S. Department of Labor, et al. striking down four material components of the US Department of Labor’s (“DOL”) regulations implementing the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (“FFCRA”). The Court’s opinion comes approximately four months after the effective date of the regulations and five months before the FFCRA is scheduled to expire.
Background. The FFCRA incorporates the provisions of the Emergency Family and Medical Leave Expansion Act (“Expanded FMLA”) entitling employees up to 12 weeks of paid leave if they are unable to work because of the closure of a child’s school or place of daycare during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Emergency Paid Sick Leave Act (“Emergency PSL”), also incorporated within the FFCRA, requires covered employers to provide employees up to 80 hours of paid sick leave if the employee is : (1) subject to a government quarantine or isolation order related to COVID-19; (2) has been advised by a heath care provider to self-quarantine due to concerns related to COVID-19; (3) experiencing symptoms of COVID-19 and seeking a medical diagnosis; (4) caring for an individual subject to a quarantine or isolation order by the government or healthcare provider; (5) caring for a child whose school or place of care is closed, or whose childcare provider is unavailable, because of COVID-19; or (6) experiencing any other substantially similar condition specified by the Secretary of Health and Human Services.