By Joseph P. Kelly

Earlier this week we wrote here about emergency paid sick leave (“EPSL”) under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act and expansion of the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA+).

Unless you have Covid-19-related sick or quarantined employees or employees caring for Covid-19-related sick or quarantined family members, the main way these new laws would affect you is if you have employees who are home and can’t telework because of a Covid-19 related school closure or closure of a child care (paid) provider. But these laws will only apply if a company is still open; if closed because of a stay-at-home order, employees aren’t entitled to paid leave.

The IRS yesterday provided detailed guidance relating to such childcare-related leave.

Of note is the IRS’s position that only one caretaker per household may take leave to care for a child after a school or daycare closure.

The IRS also detailed the documentation an employee must provide in requesting such leave, as well as the documentation an employer must have to claim tax credits under these new laws.

For more information, please consult the IRS’s “COVID-19-Related Tax Credits for Required Paid Leave Provided by Small and Midsize Businesses FAQs.”