To: Honorable Mayor and Members of City Council
From: Joanne Fabia, Human Resources Manager
Prepared By: Joanne Fabia, Human Resources Manager
TITLE:
Title
Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA)
LABEL
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
Recommendation
Adopt a resolution authorizing the City Manager to implement the Federal Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) Program, in order to expand protected leave benefits to City employees in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, including the Emergency Family and Medical Leave Expansion Act (EFMLEA) and Emergency Paid Sick Leave Act (EPSL).
Body
DISCUSSION:
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, FFCRA includes Emergency Family and Medical Leave Expansion Act (EFMLEA) and Emergency Paid Sick Leave Act (EPSL).
EPSL provides paid leave to eligible employees in addition to any other leave accrued and does not accrue beyond 80 hours. An employee qualifies for paid sick time if the employee is unable to work (or unable to telework) due to a need for leave because the employee:
1. is subject to a Federal, State, or local quarantine or isolation order related to COVID-19;
2. has been advised by a health care provider to self-quarantine related to COVID-19;
3. is experiencing COVID-19 symptoms and is seeking a medical diagnosis;
4. is caring for an individual subject to an order described in (1) or self-quarantine as described in (2);
5. is caring for a child whose school or place of care is closed (or child care provider is unavailable) for reasons related to COVID-19; or
6. is experiencing any other substantially-similar condition specified by the Secretary of Health and Human Services, in consultation with the Secretaries of Labor and Treasury. (It is believed Congress intended to insert a placeholder to expand eligibility later if an unexpected need arises, therefore eligibility under this item is subject to future update and clarification by Congress).
Leave taken as EPSL is in addition to any other leave accrued and does not accrue beyond 80 hours. Unused leave does not carry over after December 31, 2020 for any employees. Full-time employees will be compensated for 80 hours at their regular rate of pay, and part-time employees will be compensated for 40 hours at their regular rate of pay. Employees are not required to use other available paid leave (such as leave accruals available to the employee) before using sick leave under EPSL. Employees are not required to find replacements to cover their duties during use of leave and are prohibited from discharging or discriminating against any employee for requesting or taking paid sick leave under the EPSL.
Emergency Responders are excluded from eligibility for leave under the EPSL, except for leave taken under reasons (2), or (3) listed above. The City may deny leave to emergency responders whose services are necessary for emergency response operations. In addition, emergency responders may be called back to service after being approved for leave if emergency conditions change and the emergency responder’s service is required. The City has made agreements with Napa City Firefighters Association (NCFA), Napa Chief Fire Officers (NCFO), and Napa Police Officers’ Association (NPOA) on the amount of EPSL hours available to the respective groups for reasons (2) or (3). Per the agreements, NCFA will be eligible for 120 hours of EPSL, and NCFO employees who work 56-hour shifts will also be eligible for 120 hours EPSL. NPOA will be eligible for 80 hours of EPSL.
The City of Napa complies with the Federal Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and the California Family Rights Act (CFRA). Eligibility for FMLA and CFRA is the same and in most cases, the two leaves run concurrently. The FMLA (and CFRA) provides 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave per 12-month period to employees to care for themselves or seriously ill family members. Public employees are eligible for FMLA/CFRA leave if they have worked at least 1,250 hours in the preceding 12-month period and are employed within 75 miles of at least 50 other employees of the public agency. “Family member” is defined under the law.
The EFMLEA expands the FMLA for reason (5) of EPSL but does not provide additional time beyond the 12 total weeks available for FMLA leave. Eligibility differs from FMLA in that EFMLEA applies to employees who have been employed with the City for at least thirty (30) calendar days. Eligible employees for reason (5) may receive up to 12 weeks of job-protected leave if they are unable to work (including telework) due to a need to care for the son or daughter under 18 years of age whose school or place of care has been closed, or whose child care provider is unavailable due to a COVID-19 emergency declared by either a Federal, State, or local authority. The employee will be required to provide reasonable notice of the need for leave.
Per EFMLEA, the first 10 days of leave are unpaid. However, the employee will qualify for paid leave under reason (5) of EPSL and therefore, such employee may use EPSL or other available accrued leave during the initial 10-day unpaid period. After the tenth (10th) day of leave, the employee is entitled to Public Health Emergency Paid Leave under FFCRA. Full-time employee leave shall be paid by the City at the employee’s regular rate of pay up to a $12,000 aggregate cap (over a 12 week period). Part-time employees are entitled their regular rate of pay, subject to a pro-rated $12,000 aggregate cap (over a 12 week period) based on the number of hours they would otherwise have been scheduled to work during the time they are taking leave. Employees may use their available accrued leave (sick leave, vacation, CTO, or management leave) in the event that they reach the cap before the end of the leave.
An employee requesting additional leave under EPSL for reasons other than reason (5), may be eligible for protected leave in accordance with FMLA/CFRA. FMLA and CFRA are unpaid, however, an employee may use their own accrued leave or EPSL in accordance with current policy.
These provisions go into effect as of April 1, 2020 and remain in effect until December 31, 2020.
FINANCIAL IMPACTS:
It is unknown how many employees may need EPSL and/or EFMLEA. The cost of these programs will be paid from each position’s salary/benefits budget until December 31, 2020.
CEQA:
The Human Resources Director has determined that the Recommended Action described in this Agenda Report is not subject to CEQA, pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15060(c).
DOCUMENTS ATTACHED:
ATCH 1 - Resolution
EX A - FFCRA Program
NOTIFICATION:
All City Employees