UPDATE: The Families First Coronavirus Response Act, HR 6201, was passed by the Senate and signed by the President the evening of March 18, 2020. The legislation remains largely the same as the House bill as outlined here with a few exceptions.
The Department of Labor (DOL) retains the ability to issue regulations exempting employers with 50 employees or less. Additionally, the Senate removed the amendments requiring that the paid leave be in addition to previously provided benefits. Those employers previously providing unrequired benefits can now be used in satisfaction of new requirements. The Senate also more clearly defined some requirements of qualifying for the paid sick leave, in part by specifying “the employee is unable to work or telework, due to a need for leave to care for the son or daughter of such employee if the school or place of care has been closed or the child care provider of such son or daughter is unavailable.”
