Employee Leave During COVID-19

As an employer, is it reasonable for me to ask for a doctors note from employees that are requesting sick time during this coronavirus pandemic?

Yes it is. If an employee is going to be sick and out of work for 3 or more days it is more than reasonable to have a physician’s order that your employee needs to be out of work. In addition to the note to validate the sick leave it is also appropriate to request a return to work order. This should include a statement from the physician asserting that the employee is healthy enough to be able to return to work and is believed to be not contagious.

As an employee in these times, what are your rights?
The Families First Coronavirus Response Act requires certain employers to provide paid sick leave or expanded family medical leave to their employees for reasons related to the coronavirus and are enforced by the Department of Labor. Unless congress makes changes these new expanded provisions apply though December 31st 2020.

The FFCRA makes employees eligible for three types of leave:

• Paid sick leave at the employee’s regular rate up to 80 hours, when the employee is unable to work because they are experiencing COVID-19 symptoms, seeking a medical diagnosis, and/or quarantined.
• Paid sick leave at two-thirds of the employee’s regular rate because the employee needs to take care of a quarantined individual or to care for a child whose school or program has shut down.
• Paid extended family and medical leave at two-thirds of the employee’s regular rate for up to 10 weeks. The employee must have worked for the organization for at least 30 calendar days and is unable to work due to a genuine need to care for a child whose school or provider is closed or unavailable due to COVID-19.

Covered employers consist of public companies and private with fewer than 500 employees. Businesses with less than 50 employees maybe exempt from the act if the leave requirements would jeopardize the viability of the business.

All employees are eligible for paid leave if the reasoning is in any way related to the outbreak of the coronavirus. Employees who have worked for their company for a minimum of 30 calendar days are qualified for the 10 weeks of paid family leave.

If you have any other questions, please check out these additional articles for more information:
Families First Coronavirus Response Act: Employee Paid Leave Rights
COVID-19 and the Family and Medical Leave Act Questions and Answers