Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA)

Stinger

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Effective April 1, 2020, is the Families First Coronavirus Response Act. Provides for paid sick leave up to 80 hours.
FAA isn't really meant to be included, but on a manager's telcon today one of the speakers said a "nuance" makes the FAA included.
Was also posted in the FAA Daily Broadcast (quoted below).

And Department of labor wording: Families First Coronavirus Response Act: Employee Paid Leave Rights | U.S. Department of Labor

On March 18, 2020, the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) was signed by the President in response to the spread of the pandemic.

The Department of Labor indicates the provisions of the FFCRA will be in effect from April 1, 2020, through December 31, 2020.

There are two components in particular that will be available to all FAA employees:

  1. the Emergency Paid Sick Leave Act, providing up to 80 hours of paid leave to employees for use in six categories related to the pandemic,
  2. the Emergency Family and Medical Leave (FMLA) Expansion Act, which provides up to 10 weeks of paid FMLA leave to provide dependent care in connection with the pandemic.
The FAA is working diligently to have all of the tools in place to fully implement the Act; however, there are a number of implementation challenges. For example:

  • Creation of CASTLE and FPPS codes to account for FFCRA leave will require significant coordination with the Department of the Interior and Department of Transportation.
  • Pay limitations in FFCRA leave may result in shortfalls to paychecks of FAA employees who earn more than $511 per day (approximately $133,000 per year) for sick leave; and an even more restrictive limitation of around $200 per day for the FMLA leave.
Although we do not have all the implementation resources needed to answer all of your questions regarding the FFCRA, we are attaching the Department of Labor poster to provide a high-level overview. We will provide updated information as soon as it becomes available.
 

Attachments

  • FFCRA_Poster_WH1422_Federal_3.pdf
    186.9 KB · Views: 57
NEA telecon on Saturday RVP said that we would be getting excused leave with a valid personal doctor's note, in contrast to their original ruling that a mandatory quarantine from a public health official was needed. I have about 60 hours of sick leave that needs to be reimbursed, FacRep says he's working on it (I'm sure my ATM is throwing a petulant temper tantrum).
 
NEA telecon on Saturday RVP said that we would be getting excused leave with a valid personal doctor's note, in contrast to their original ruling that a mandatory quarantine from a public health official was needed. I have about 60 hours of sick leave that needs to be reimbursed, FacRep says he's working on it (I'm sure my ATM is throwing a petulant temper tantrum).
Yeah I’ll bet they get right on that one
 
NEA telecon on Saturday RVP said that we would be getting excused leave with a valid personal doctor's note, in contrast to their original ruling that a mandatory quarantine from a public health official was needed. I have about 60 hours of sick leave that needs to be reimbursed, FacRep says he's working on it (I'm sure my ATM is throwing a petulant temper tantrum).
Since this says effective April 1, if I had to take leave waiting for my covid results before April 1, would I qualify for excused instead of sick? Or what are you using here with the effective date of apr 1?
 
A little more guidance coming out about this.
If an employee requests leave, it's treated like any other leave request on whether it will be annual/sick/excused.
If an employee meets the requirements to take FFCRA leave, they have to specifically tell their management they want to take leave under FFCRA. And then management will tell their HR/LR/ETR who will make the determination.

If anyone takes this, report back on how it works out.
 
HR came out with their Policy Bulletin about the leave.
 

Attachments

  • PB_115.pdf
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Can't (shouldn't) go to work because if some COVID19 related reason? 80 hours of free sick leave at full pay (capped at $511/day).
2/3rds of pay if you're caring for a family member.
Also expanded FMLA.
 
Can't (shouldn't) go to work because if some COVID19 related reason? 80 hours of free sick leave at full pay (capped at $511/day).
2/3rds of pay if you're caring for a family member.
Also expanded FMLA.
Thanks that document was a little tough
 
Prefacing by saying I would never actually show up to work after testing positive. My question is really just whether we could call the FAAs bluff, since FFCRA is expired.
Say you test positive, tell the FAA, and they say you need to stay home 14 days on SL, and you come back and say... nah, I'll just show up. At that point when they say no, you can't report to work, can you force their hand into excused?
Or... since as I understand it, your medical is pulled when you test positive, can you ask (or demand) to be given work opportunities at home, especially when some of your controller colleagues who lost their medical (for other reasons) are working from home doing zoom, scheduling, or other admin tasks.
 
Wait you think the controller colleagues who lost their medical are working from home? ?

The FAA is going to force you to use SL and NATCA ain’t gonna do shit to help.
 
Legit question, you got sick, why shouldn’t you use sick leave?
Because the FAA cant force you to use sick leave, so they made a loophole by pulling your medical if you test positive for COVID.

If you just had the plain ol' flu and didnt have any sick leave or didnt feel like using it or whatever, you can freely go in to work and vigorously cough on all your coworkers.
 
Because the FAA cant force you to use sick leave, so they made a loophole by pulling your medical if you test positive for COVID.

If you just had the plain ol' flu and didnt have any sick leave or didnt feel like using it or whatever, you can freely go in to work and vigorously cough on all your coworkers.
Do you think those co workers with the flu should be showing up to work?

Also, all the free leave we have got this year, 10 days sick leave if we get it will really kill us?
 
Legit question, you got sick, why shouldn’t you use sick leave?
I agree with you, part of the reason why we get so much leave is so that you can use it when you need it. Even on your first day with the Agency you accrue over 5 weeks a year when you combine annual and sick.

Try going to the private sector and asking how long it takes to get 5 weeks of leave a year or why you are not getting free leave (though I still think ATC should for private, it’s for the greater good and NATCA could still collectively bargain protections for us similar to what exists now).
 
Do you think those co workers with the flu should be showing up to work?

Also, all the free leave we have got this year, 10 days sick leave if we get it will really kill us?

It's not really whether they "should be" showing up to work with the flu.. Pre-pandemic, if they wanted to show up sick as a dog, I would've never said a word. I get wanting to save your sick leave, especially since 99% of my sick leave usage to begin with is when my wife wants me to stay home with her.

Obviously we're in a different scenario now, if somebody is actually sick, they shouldn't show up to work. But this wasn't really what I was getting at.
 
Legit question, you got sick, why shouldn’t you use sick leave?
Sick leave is to be determined by the person the has accrued it. If the person sick feels he can still perform his duties, why can he not work? Everyone does it. It’s not gonna change. It’s different with a virus now. But I bet when this is all behind us, we will continue to have people come in when they’re sick
 
Wait you think the controller colleagues who lost their medical are working from home? ?

The FAA is going to force you to use SL and NATCA ain’t gonna do shit to help.
I mean, one of them literally helps create the schedule for us at home.
As to whether it's "working" like actual work more than a few hours... obviously not.
 
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