Is there a potential opportunity to work from home?
This will be determined department by department as the needs of all county positions are diverse. Your department head will cover this when and if the modifications are needed or required.
Does the FFCRA apply to me if I am working from home?
If you and your department have come to the agreement that you can efficiently work remotely from home, their would be no need to use the ePSL or eFMLA time.
What is the difference between eFMLA and ePSL?
The emergency Family Medical Leave Act (eFMLA) will only be used when an employee is caring for a son or daughter whose school or care provider is closed or unavailable due to coronavirus precautions. This time is paid at two-thirds (2/3) your regular rate of pay.
The emergency Paid Sick Leave (ePSL) is for the other 5 qualifying reasons for leave related to COVID-19. An employee is entitiled to take leave related to COVID-19 if the employee is unable to work, including unable to telework or work remotely, because the employee:
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is subject to a Federal, State, or local quarantine or isolation order related to COVID-19;
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has been advised by a health care provider to self-quarantine related to COVID-19;
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is experiencing COVID-19 symptoms and is seeking a medical diagnosis;
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is caring for an individual subject to an order described in (1) or self-quarantine as described in (2);
6. is experiencing any other substantially-similar condition specified by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
For further information on how these apply to your specific scenario, please see the decision tree on the Request Leave page.
Will the emergency Paid Sick Leave (ePSL) deduct hours from my Sick Accrual?
No. The ePSL hours are a separate balance of 80 hours (pro-rated for part time employees) that is available through December 31, 2020 and is separate from your sick accrual you earn each pay period.
Will I be paid?
There are multiple scenarios which will determine your pay.
- If using needing to care for a child, the first 2 weeks (80 hours if leave is intermittent) you will be paid at 2/3 your regular rate using ePSL, or you can substitute your accrued Sick, Vacation, Personal, or Comp leave hours to be paid at 100%. The next 10 weeks (400 hours if leave is intermittent) would be paid at 2/3 your regular rate using the eFMLA, or you can use accrued Vacation, Personal, or Comp leave hours to be paid at 100%.
- If using the ePSL, you will be paid 100% if employee is unable to work on-site or work remotely because the employee is subject to quarantine or isolation (pursuant to Federal, State, or local government order or advice of a health care provider), and/or experiencing COVID-19 symptoms and seeking a medical diagnosis.
- If using the ePSL, you will be paid at 2/3 your regular rate if employee is unable to work on-site or work remotely because of a bona fide need to care for an individual subject to quarantine, or the employee is experiencing a substantially similar condition as specified by the Secretary of Health and Human Services.
For further information on how these apply to your specific scenario, please see the decision tree on the Request Leave page.
If I am only eligible for 2/3 pay, can I use accrued leave instead?
Yes, you may substitute your accrued leave for the 2/3 eFMLA or 2/3 PSL. You still need to complete the required form to take either eFMLA or PSL for one of the eligible reasons, but instead of getting the 2/3 pay, you can choose to receive full pay by using your accrued leave instead of the eFMLA or PSL hours.
For the reason to care for a child who does not have access to child care, you can use Sick, Vacation, Comp, or Personal for the first 2 weeks. After that, you can use Vacation, Comp, or Personal.
For the 2 weeks of 2/3 PSL and any time after, you can use Vacation, Comp, or Personal.
Using accrued time does not extend the amount of leave time you get. You can't use 2 weeks of Vacation and then get 2 weeks of PSL.
Will I continue to receive my Medical Benefits and Leave accrual?
As long as you are on a paid leave (eFMLA, ePSL, Sick, Vacation, etc.), your Medical Benefits and Leave accrual will continue as normal.