Press Release

Delivery Contractor Pays Back Wages After Wrongly Denying Paid Sick Leave to Employee Ordered to Quarantine

Issued by Wage and Hour Division [WHD], U.S. Department of Labor [DOL]

June 26, 2020

KATY, TX – After an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD), Zoom X Inc. – a delivery service contractor based in Katy, Texas – has paid $1,700 in back wages to an employee for wrongly denying paid sick leave for a qualifying reason covered under the Emergency Paid Sick Leave Act (EPSLA) provisions of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA).

WHD investigators found that ZoomX Inc. failed to pay the employee paid sick leave despite a healthcare provider’s order for the employee to self-quarantine for two weeks. The FFCRA allows employees to take leave when advised by a healthcare provider to self-quarantine or while experiencing coronavirus symptoms and seeking a medical diagnosis.

ZoomX Inc. cooperated fully with investigators and, once it understood its responsibility under the new law, agreed to pay the employee’s full wages for the days quarantined. The employer agreed to future compliance with the FFCRA, which went into effect on April 1, 2020.

“Employers must take all necessary steps to comply with the Families First Coronavirus Response Act and provide employees paid sick leave to care for themselves and family members when required. We appreciate the employer’s cooperation in this case,” said Wage and Hour District Director Robin Mallett in Houston, Texas. “The U.S. Department of Labor continues to protect employees and educate employers during the coronavirus pandemic. We encourage employers and employees to contact us for assistance to improve their understanding of new requirements under the FFCRA, and to use our educational online tools to avoid violations like those found in this case.”

The FFCRA helps the U.S. combat and defeat the workplace effects of the coronavirus by giving tax credits to all American businesses with fewer than 500 employees either to provide employees with paid leave for the employee’s own health needs or to care for family members. Please visit WHD’s “Quick Benefits Tips” for information about how much leave workers may qualify to use, and the wages employers must pay.The law enables employers to keep their workers on their payrolls, while at the same time ensuring that workers are not forced to choose between their paychecks and the public health measures needed to combat the virus.

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