Government affairs

Legislative Updates

Second emergency package signed into law

Today, the President signed the second emergency relief package for the Coronavirus response into law. Following long talks between Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, the House of Representatives and the Trump Administration came to an agreement last Friday on the second package to address the looming national crisis caused by the spread of the virus.

The “Families First Coronavirus Response Act” (H.R. 6201) passed the House 363-40 in the early hours of Saturday morning with further adjustments made and passed on Monday evening. It then proceed to the Senate, which voted 90-8 to pass the bill and send it to the White House for a signature.

The broad package includes numerous provisions to strengthen the health care sector and minimize the impact of the virus that hit the economy and threatens the livelihood of millions of Americans. Most significant is the creation of a temporary right to paid leave for certain workers under certain circumstances. All government employers will be required to provide the paid leave to their employees, as will private-sector employers with fewer than 500 employees, though small businesses with fewer than 50 employees may be exempted from the temporary requirement. Employees defined as health care providers or emergency responders may be excluded from this requirement, subject to the authority of the Secretary of Labor.

The temporary paid leave that is covered in this bill is described as “emergency paid sick leave” and “emergency family leave” and the circumstances in which the leave can be taken are defined below.

Emergency paid sick leave is available only when an employee is unable to work (or to telework) due to any of the following reasons related to COVID-19:

  1. The employee is under an official federal, state, or local quarantine or isolation order.
  2. The employee has been advised by a health care provider to self-quarantine due to the virus.
  3. The employee is experiencing COVID-19 symptoms and seeking a medical diagnosis.
  4. The employee is caring for an individual who is under an official quarantine or isolation order or who has been advised by a health care provider to self-quarantine.
  5. The employee is caring for a son or daughter under 18 years old if the child’s school or place of care has been closed, or childcare provider is unavailable, due to COVID-19 precautions.
  6. The employee is experiencing substantially similar conditions to those listed above, as specified by the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services.

Emergency family leave is available only when an employee is unable to work (or to telework) due to caring for a son or daughter under 18 years old if the child’s school or place of care has been closed, or childcare provider is unavailable, due to COVID-19 precautions.

The duration of leave is up to two weeks for emergency paid sick leave and up to twelve weeks for emergency family leave. For emergency paid sick leave, employees are to be paid the regular rate of pay, capped at $511 per day and $5,110 total. For emergency family leave, employees are to be paid at a two-thirds rate of regular pay, capped at $200 per day and $2,000 total.

The temporary leave requirement is set to begin no less than 15 days following enactment of the bill (today March 18, meaning April 2) and end on December 31, 2020.

Also included in the emergency package are provisions to provide tax credits to eligible private-sector employers to offset the costs of providing emergency paid leave, make Coronavirus tests free, expand unemployment insurance benefits, expand emergency funding for several nutrition programs and unemployment insurance, increase Medicaid funding to states, and would require insurers, Medicare, Medicaid, and other federal health programs to fully cover testing and related services for the virus.

Work has begun in the Senate on a third package to address the crisis, which could be introduced as soon as the end of this week or early next week. Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) stated he will keep the chamber in session until they pass it. It is unclear at this time what all will be included in that package.

NALC will be sure to continue monitoring Congressional activity to keep letter carriers informed.

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