Families First Coronavirus Response Act

The Families First Coronavirus Response Act (H.R. 6201) is now law, and attorneys, accountants, and other professionals are reviewing the main provisions.
The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) highlighted the following provisions:
Paid family leave. The law provides 12 weeks of qualifying family and medical leave at two-thirds of their salary when employees cannot work because their minor child’s school or child care service is closed due to a public health emergency. Those on the payroll for at least 30 calendar days are eligible. Benefits are capped at $200 a day, or $10,000 total, and expire at the end of the year.
Paid sick leave. Employers have to provide 80 hours of paid-sick-leave benefits in various scenarios, including a situation in which an employee has been ordered by the government to quarantine or isolate or has been advised by a health care provider to self-quarantine. The payment is capped at $511 a day and expires at year-end.
Covered employers that are required to offer emergency FMLA or paid sick leave are eligible for refundable tax credits. Employers with fewer than 50 workers can apply for an exemption from providing paid family and medical leave and paid sick leave if it “would jeopardize the viability of the business.” According to SHRM, “Gig-workers and other self-employed workers will be eligible for a tax credit to cover the benefits.”
A notable exemption is companies with more than 500 employees. Capitol Hill believed such companies are capable of providing benefits without direct government help.
Part-time workers are covered. Such employees will receive the amount they typically earn in a two-week period. The self-employed, from freelance writers to Uber drivers, should calculate their average daily self-employment income for the year, then claim the amount they take as a tax credit. In the meantime, they can reduce their estimated quarterly tax payments.
Is everyone getting a check?
There are rumors about everyone getting a relief check. The government is still working on who gets a check, how much, and how to distribute the money to everyone who is eligible. Details will follow as these proposals become more solid.
Keep in mind, legal situations change as quickly as the health situation, and ruling and reinterpretations of laws also change suddenly, which may modify portions of this article.

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