"[A]ll New York State employers will now have to provide NYPSL to their employees.... [L]arge employers in New York City and Westchester County may have to increase the amount of sick/safe time that they provide. Unlike New York State's paid sick/quarantine leave legislation, which was passed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic ... the NYPSL requirement addresses a different and broader range of covered reasons for taking sick leave and has permanent effect."

"[S]tarting September 30, 2020, employees in the state of New York will begin accruing sick leave at a rate of at least one hour for every 30 hours worked. We are still awaiting guidance from the State on key issues, such as coordination with the New York City and Westchester County sick leave laws, the impact of frontloading leave on carryover, and managing sick leave during the last quarter of 2020."

"The temporary expansion of the DC Family and Medical Leave Act to provide D.C. employees up to 16 weeks of unpaid, job-protected 'COVID-19 leave' has been extended through October 9, 2020. The D.C. Office of Human Rights has published an updated notice reflecting the extended effective date, which employers 'must post and maintain ... in a conspicuous place and transmit it to employees working remotely.' ... [S]hould the Mayor extend the declared COVID-19 public health emergency beyond October 9, 2020, this leave expansion will likely be extended again."

Article includes a summary table of CFRA before and after SB 1383 amendments, which are effective January 1, 2021.

"The new rule clarifies that to be eligible to take any FFCRA paid sick or family/medical leave, a person must be an active employee. Not only that, but the employee's FFCRA qualifying event must be the ONLY reason why the person cannot work.... On the off chance an employer is currently letting furloughed or reduced hour employees take FFCRA leave for hours that they would not usually be at work, they will have to stop (or not get reimbursed). "

"The new law requires California employers with as few as five employees to provide family and medical leave to their employees effective January 1, 2021. SB 1383 also expands the scope of 'family members' for whom employees can take leave and the protected reasons for taking leave."

"[A]ffected health care providers should immediately conduct a position-specific analysis of their employees ... to make a reasoned determination regarding whether their services are truly integral to the provision of patient care. Gray areas will likely include patient food service and EMR-related services.... Employers should take care to document their decision-making process in this regard before denying leave requests to such employees."

"Employers outside the food sector are required to provide COVID-19 supplemental paid sick leave (CSPSL) as of September 19, 2020 ... For food sector workers, the leave requirement is retroactive to April 16, 2020 ... The CSPSL provisions expire on December 31, 2020 or the expiration of the FFCRA (including any extension); whichever is later."

"The CFRA will apply to much smaller employers -- those with five or more employees (down from 50, or 20 employees for new parent leave).... [T]he new law eliminates the requirement that employees work within 75 miles of a worksite.... AB 1867 also immediately established supplemental COVID-19 paid sick leave for private employers with 500 or more employees anywhere in the nation, as well as public and private employers of first responders and health care employees who opted out of the leave under the federal law."

"[A]ll employees in New York State will be entitled to between 40 and 56 hours of annual sick leave.... For employers choosing to allow employees to accrue sick leave based on time worked, accrued sick leave must be tracked as of September 30. But, because employees cannot use the accrued time before January 1, 2021, employers must permit employees to carry their 2020 accruals into the new year."

"Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Mayor Phil Kenney signed ... an amendment to the city's generally applicable paid sick and safe time law ... [which] requires new public health emergency leave for employees, gig workers, and others who do not receive leave under the federal [FFCRA]. The emergency leave requirements take effect immediately, but generally will expire on December 31, 2020....[Effective on September 9, an additional amendment requires] compensation and medical care or reimbursement for certain healthcare employees who contract a disease during a declared pandemic or epidemic."

"Employers should now follow a two-step process when responding to employees' notices of the need for leave under the EFMLEA: first, they must determine whether the request is for intermittent leave (as opposed to several discrete days of leave) under applicable guidance; and second, if it is such a request, they may engage in a dialogue with the employee to see if alternative work arrangements are feasible."

"California employers with as few as five employees must provide family and medical leave rights to their employees under a new law signed by Governor Gavin Newsom on September 17, 2020. The new law significantly expands the state's existing family and medical leave entitlements and goes into effect on January 1, 2021."

"[1] Develop comprehensive FMLA policies, procedures, and forms.... [2] Carefully review and follow up all medical certifications.... [3] Require employees to work with you to schedule planned medical treatments during non-working, or less disruptive, hours.... [4] Consistently maintain and enforce call-in procedures.... [5] Exercise the right to recertify."

"When do I have to give employees leave under the new law? ... How do I have to pay for the new COVID-19 leave? ... But what if I already provided COVID-19 paid sick leave? ... Food sector employees.... Update Wage Statements/Written Notice.... Enforcement.... What else should employers do now?"

"Senate Bill 1383 expands [the California Family Rights Act (CFRA)] to apply to employers with five or more employees, and expands the scope of 'family members' for whom employees can take leave to include many additional categories. It will go into effect on January 1, 2021 ... [B]ecause SB 1383 now expands the definition of 'family member' under the CFRA in a manner inconsistent with the definition under the federal FMLA, the two laws are no longer in sync. This creates the unfortunate situation in which an employee is eligible for 12 weeks of leave under the CFRA but remains eligible for a full additional 12 weeks under the FMLA."

"The bill will broaden the scope of Philadelphia's Promoting Healthy Families and Workplaces sick leave law by providing paid 'public health emergency leave' to more people who work within the geographic boundaries of the city, including individuals workings for companies with 500 or more employees, independent contractors and 'gig economy' workers."

"[T]he COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the need for a uniform, nationwide approach to paid leave and put a spotlight on the patchwork of state and local requirements that arise in the absence of a federal solution. The comment letter explains that employers, particularly multijurisdiction employers, are struggling in a time of crisis to understand the compliance requirements of numerous different laws, while trying to support their workforce in a consistent and meaningful way."

"Employers may want to be aware of their ability under Oregon law to grant unpaid leave requests for volunteer firefighters and other first responders who need to perform services to battle the wildfires and perform search and rescue efforts."

"Employers who already provided supplemental paid leave for the reasons related to AB 1867's covered reasons ... may count those hours toward the required amount of CSPSL hours under AB 1867. However, compensation for any qualifying supplemental paid leave provided to the employee must have been greater than, or equal to, the amount of compensation the employee would have received under AB 1867."

"Employers of healthcare providers should carefully review all requests for FFCRA leave using the limited definition set forth in the September 11, 2020 Amendments.... [E]mployers can continue to provide FFCRA leave only when there is work available for employees and can require approval for intermittent leave.... Employers should ensure compliance with the DOL's regulations and guidance when evaluating requests for leave related to school closures or virtual learning."

"While the new statewide mandate does not preempt existing local laws -- including New York City's Earned Safe and Sick Time Act and Westchester County's Earned Sick Leave and Safe Time Leave Law -- some of its provisions offer more generous PSL benefits and employee protections. In addition, the new sick leave law allows cities with a population of at least one million to enact a local sick leave ordinance that meets or exceeds statewide requirements for minimum hours and use."

"[E]mployers with fewer than 500 employees that provide health care services now must evaluate each employee, on a case-by-case basis, to determine if the employee falls under the definition of 'health care provider.' If the employee does not, the employee now has FFCRA leave rights."

"While the DOL suggests that it is merely 'clarifying' its earlier guidance that intermittent leave is available only by agreement between employee and employer, the revised rule redefines 'intermittent' leave to exclude the some of the most common intermittent leave scenarios.... Given the potential for further court challenges, employers should also exercise caution before denying intermittent FFCRA leave in other situations."

"For the most part, the DOL respectfully disagreed with the court, provided more explanation of the rationale for the existing regulations, and made minor tweaks or corrections. However, health care employers should note that the 'health care provider' exclusion from FFCRA eligibility has been significantly narrowed.... [H]ealth care employers who are subject to the FFCRA -- either because they have fewer than 500 employees or because they are public-sector employers -- will no longer be able to take advantage of a blanket exclusion of all employees from FFCRA eligibility."