DEFINITIONS
“Paid sick leave” – means paid leave under the Emergency Paid Sick Leave Act (EPSLA).
“Expanded family and medical leave” – means paid leave under the Emergency Family and Medical Leave Expansion Act (EFMLEA).
QUESTIONS & ANSWERS
1. Are all employing offices under the Congressional Accountability Act (CAA) covered by paid sick leave and expanded family and medical leave provisions of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA)?
Yes.
2. What is the effective date of the FFCRA, which includes the EPSLA and the Emergency Family and Medical Leave Expansion Act?
The FFCRA’s paid leave provisions are effective in the Legislative Branch no later than April 2, 2020, and apply to leave taken until December 31, 2020.
3. How do I count hours worked by a part-time employee for purposes of paid sick leave or expanded family and medical leave?
A part-time employee is entitled to leave for his or her average number of work hours in a 2-week period. Therefore, you calculate hours of leave based on the number of hours the employee is normally scheduled to work. If the normal hours scheduled are unknown, or if the part-time employee’s schedule varies, you may use a 6-month average to calculate the average daily hours. Such a part-time employee may take paid sick leave for this number of hours per day for up to a 2-week period and may take expanded family and medical leave for the same number of hours per day up to 10 weeks after that. If this calculation cannot be made because the employee has not been employed for at least 6 months, use the number of hours that you and your employee agreed that the employee would work upon hiring. And if there is no such agreement, you may calculate the appropriate number of hours of leave based on the average hours per day the employee was scheduled to work over the entire term of his or her employment.
