COVID-19 Leave Policy

The Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA)requires certain employers to provide their employees with paid sick leave and expanded family and medical leave for specified reasons related to COVID-19.

These provisions will apply from April 1, 2020 through December 31, 2020.

Eligibility

Employees are eligible for up to two weeks of fully or partially paid sick leave for COVID-19 related reasons (see below).

Employees who have been employed for at least 30 days prior to their leave request may be eligible for up to an additional 10 weeks of partially paid expanded family and medical leave for reason #5 below.

Qualifying Reasons for Leave Related to  COVID-19

An employee is entitled to take leave related to COVID-19 if the employee is unable to work, including unable to, including unable to telework, 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 his or her child whose school or place of care is closed (or childcare provider is unavailable) due to COVID-19 related reasons;
  6. is experiencing any other substantially-similar condition specified by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.            

Recording Time Off

Employees are required to self-report leave for COVID-19 reasons at https://hr.kzoo.edu/covid-19-leave-self-reporting.  The Human Resources Department will reach out to you to confirm your COVID-19 leave and let you know how your leave time will be communicated to the Payroll Department.

Employee Responsibilities

To prevent unnecessary burden on co-workers or disruption to operations, employees must notify his/her/their direct supervisor of any need to take COVID-19 Leave under the FFCRA. Employees must provide this notice to his/her/their supervisor as soon as practicable.

Employees must follow all College rules for calling into to report absences, tardiness, or leaving early, including compliance with departmental policy.

If an eligible employee has been absent from work because of his/her/their own illness or health condition (as defined in the MPMLA) for a period of three (3) of working days, the College reserves the right to request documentation from a healthcare provider indicating that the eligible employee is able to return to work.

The College expressly reserves the right to require appropriate documentation, in compliance with the FFCRA, from the employee to ensure that the use of COVID-19 Leave complies with the uses outlined in this policy and the FFCRA. When the College requests documentation, the College will give the employee up to 2 weeks (14 days) to provide it.

Accrual

Up to two weeks (80 hours, or a part-time employee’s two-week equivalent) of paid sick leave based on the higher of their regular rate of pay, or the applicable state or Federal minimum wage, paid at:

  • 100% for qualifying reasons #1-3 below, up to $511 daily and $5,110 total;
  • 2/3 for qualifying reasons #4 and 6 below, up to $200 daily and $2,000 total; and
  • Up to 12 weeks of paid sick leave and expanded family and medical leave paid at 2/3 for qualifying reason #5 below for up to $200 daily and $12,000 total.
  • A part-time employee is eligible for leave for the number of hours that the employee is normally scheduled to work over that period.

Payment for COVID-19 Leave is set to pay at 100% an employee’s regular rate subject to change by the College.

COVID-19 Leave time under the FFCRA does run concurrently with other Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and Michigan Paid Medical Leave Act (MPMLA) time previously used.  Time available will be adjusted based on previous usage under the FMLA or MPMLA.

Granting COVID-19 Leave Time

If a COVID-19 Leave request is for a reason listed above, the College will grant the request, provided that: The employee has the amount of time available, the employee has complied with the responsibilities outlined in this policy.

Payout

Unused COVID-19 Leave time is not eligible for payout at time of termination or retirement.

Questions?

Please contact Human.Resources@Kzoo.edu.

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