Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA)

The following notice is required by law. USTASC May be exempt from providing the following under the act due to either 1) USTASC is considered an essential/emergency service or 2) USTASC currently has under 50 employees per waiver. At this time, there is no waiver process but is forthcoming. We, of course, do not want to file for any of these actions. 

FFCRA is very muddy currently. We are attempting to clarify what is occurring here. There is a 30-day temporary relief on enforcement actions by the Department of Labor. 

According to Bambee, our HR support service, an employee qualifies for FFCRA if the following occurs after April 1, 2020:

1. Employee is subject to a quarantine or isolation order related to COVID-19. (this applies to individuals who do not work for an essential business and are not considered essential employees.  Since your business is considered essential, your employees would be expected to report to work if your business is open)
2. Employee advised by a health care provider to self-quarantine because of COVID-19 
3. Employee experiencing symptoms of COVID-19 and seeking a medical diagnosis (a doctor's note would be required for this)
4. The employee is caring for an individual subject or advised to quarantine or isolation. (some type of documentation should be provided for this as well)
5. The employee is caring for a son or daughter whose school or place of care is closed, or child care provider is unavailable, due to COVID-19 precaution
6. The employee is experiencing substantially similar conditions as specified by the Secretary of Health and Human Services, in consultation with the Secretaries of Labor and Treasury (this means they may have some other thing going on health wise, which could be related, or could be another kind of pandemic)

Please see https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/pandemic/ffcra-employer-paid-leave for more information.

Unless you meet the prior requirements, you are required to come to work.

Commentary:

• We will require all employees to provide documentation for the above per FMLA and policies and procedures manual. 
• We are essential employees.
• We are lucky to be able to be still employed due to our industry. Many businesses have closed.
• We are attempting to get additional precautionary devices to the staff. We, as most employers, are waiting for shipments to come in. 
• Be aware, do not abuse this policy. Abuse of this policy by employees of any company may result in the collapse of the company.

The federal and state government are supposedly working to get employees and employers relief from issues directly associated with COVID-19. No funds have been dispursed to USTASC. At this time, USTASC is financially stable and will meet payroll requirements.

I appreciate everyone's efforts during this very difficult time.

-Chief E. Avnet