DOL Updates Q&As for Pandemic-Related Paid Leave

The Department of Labor’s (DOL’s) Wage and Hour Division has issued an update to its question-and-answer guidance on paid employee leave under provisions of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA). Specifically, this update includes the addition of the following.

Q&A-104 provides that employers are not required to provide FFCRA leave after December 31, 2020. However, employers may still provide such leave voluntarily. Employer tax credits for paid sick leave and expanded family and medical leave voluntarily provided to employees until March 31, 2021, are available for those employers that voluntarily offer FFCRA leave after December 31, 2020.

Q&A-105 provides that employees whose employers granted FFCRA leave but did not pay it may file complaints with the DOL’s Wage and Hour Division. Q&A-105 also clarifies that the statute of limitations for both the paid sick leave and expanded family and medical leave provisions of the FFCRA is two years from the date of the alleged violation (or three years in cases involving alleged willful violation).