Employers Must Post Notice of Rights Under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act

The United States Department of Labor (DOL) has provided a notice of employee rights under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) that all covered employers must make available to employees.  The employee rights notice may be accessed here.

As we wrote in a recent blog post, the FFCRA implements a number of significant COVID-19 related employment measures, including a requirement that employers with fewer than 500 employees provide workers with two weeks of paid sick leave and family leave benefits if they are suffering from COVID-19 symptoms and seeking a medical diagnosis for same, if they are caring for a family member subject to a quarantine, or are caring for a child whose school and/or child care service is closed due to the current pandemic or for a similar reason.

According to the DOL, the FFCRA employee rights notice must be posted in a conspicuous place on the company’s premises.  But in recognition of the fact that much of the American workforce is currently teleworking, an employer may satisfy the “posting” requirement by (1) emailing or direct mailing the notice to employees; or (2) posting the notice on an employee information internal or external website.

The notice need only be published in English and need not be provided to recently laid off employees.  The DOL has also published a series of FAQs concerning the FFCRA employee rights notice, which may be accessed here.

The FFCRA takes effect on April 1, 2020.