NEW CORONAVIRUS BILL REQUIRING PAID EMPLOYEE LEAVE
Nancy Lanard of Lanard & Assoc wrote this information on the firms website:
President Trump signed the Families First Coronavirus Response Act yesterday. This Act provides the first time that the United States has had widespread, federally mandated, paid leave. This law gives two weeks paid sick leave if the employee is ill, seeking a diagnosis, quarantined, or under preventive care of the coronavirus, or if the employee is caring for a sick family member. It provides 12 weeks of paid leave for families whose children cannot attend school due to government mandated closure or whose childcare provider is unavailable due to the coronavirus. The new law covers all employees of small to mid-size businesses, non-profit companies and government workers if the employee has been an employee of the business for at least 30 days prior to the leave. Those employees who work for large companies of greater than 500 employees are excluded from this law. Additionally, if a small business can demonstrate that this law would put them out of business, they can be exempt. Guidelines for this new law will be available after April 2nd. Businesses and non-profits will be reimbursed for these expenses within three months via payroll tax credits. The reimbursement will also cover employer’s contribution to health insurance premiums during this period. The amount paid under the new law is fully refundable, meaning that if the tax credit is insufficient, the government will refund the balance to the business. This law expires on December 31, 2020.
UPDATE ON INSURANCE FOR MANDATED CLOSURES
Check your business interruption and property damage policies for coverage for mandatory closures of your business. Most clients have reported back to me that their carriers and brokers are not helping with this. I would like to suggest that each reader of this newsletter contact their local congressperson and ask that this issue be addressed with Congress – requiring insurers to cover the mandated closures due to Covid-19 in business interruption insurance and property damage insurance. Perhaps enough pressure on Congress will help get carriers to cover this unique situation. You can find your local congressperson by click on the following link: Find Your Representative.
Please let us know how we can help you during this very unique time.
