Does the FFCRA Cover a Travel-Related Quarantine?

In yesterday’s blog post, we addressed a question that many employers have been faced with in recent weeks: how to ensure that employees who have traveled to states where COVID-19 cases are spiking do not put their co-workers at risk upon returning to work. One of the potential solutions that we discussed was requiring such employees to self-quarantine for fourteen (14) days, as is recommended by the CDC and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. During this period, the employer should require the employee to work remotely if his/her job duties permit. If, however, the employee’s duties do not permit him/her to work remotely, the employer can require the employee to use paid time off.

In light of this recommendation, many employers have wondered how the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (“FFCRA”) would apply to leave if the employee’s job duties do not permit him/her to work remotely during a quarantine period. Although there is not a clear-cut answer, it is our position that any quarantine imposed pursuant to the Commonwealth’s travel advisory would qualify for Emergency Paid Sick Leave (“EPSL”) under the FFCRA. The regulations to the FFCRA provide, in pertinent part, that, for purposes of EPSL:

“[A] quarantine or isolation order includes quarantine, isolation, containment, shelter-in-place, or stay-at-home orders issued by any Federal, State, or local government authority that cause the employee to be unable to work even though his or her employer has work that the employee cold perform but for the order. This also includes when a Federal, State, or local government authority has advised categories of citizens . . . to shelter in place, stay at home, isolate, or quarantine, causing those categories of employees to be unable to work even though their employers have work for them.”

29 C.F.R. 826.10. Employers must note, however, that the employee’s entitlement to EPSL under these circumstances only applies if: (1) the employer is covered by the FFCRA; (2) the employee has not used his/her full complement of EPSL; and (3) the employee is unable to work remotely during the quarantine period because his/her job duties do not permit for such an arrangement.

For questions about this or any other labor and employment issues, please do not hesitate to contact the attorneys at Hoffman & Hlavac.  To stay updated on the key labor and employment law developments that affect your workplace, subscribe to our blog and follow us on social media.