{"id":363,"date":"2023-06-09T20:04:45","date_gmt":"2023-06-09T20:04:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/s37407.p1377.sites.pressdns.com\/homepay\/how-the-families-first-coronavirus-response-act-affects-families-and-their-caregivers\/"},"modified":"2023-06-09T20:04:45","modified_gmt":"2023-06-09T20:04:45","slug":"how-the-families-first-coronavirus-response-act-affects-families-and-their-caregivers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.care.com\/hp\/how-the-families-first-coronavirus-response-act-affects-families-and-their-caregivers\/","title":{"rendered":"How the Families First Coronavirus Response Act affects families and their caregivers"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

On March 18, 2020, the President signed the Families First Act<\/a> to help employers and their employees deal with the personal and financial strain associated with COVID-19. The law took effect April 1, 2020 and does cover household employers. However, under the recently signed Continuing Appropriations Act 2021<\/a>, employers are no longer required to provide the paid leave explained below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We know families have a lot of questions about these laws, so we wanted to address them so you can feel informed. The biggest impact to household employers are the refundable payroll tax credits available through March 31, 2021. These are designed to reimburse families dollar for dollar for the cost of providing Coronavirus-related leave. This could result in thousands of dollars in tax credits. Additionally, the Families First Act provides paid sick leave and paid family leave for employees that are affected by COVID-19.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Here are the most pressing questions we\u2019re seeing about the items within the Families First Act and what it could mean for your family and household employees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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How much paid sick time may my caregiver receive?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Your nanny or caregiver is eligible to take up to 80 hours of paid sick time if they work full-time for you. If your household employee works part-time, their paid sick time will be the average weekly hours they typically work in a two week period. Sick time is available to be taken immediately, regardless of how long your employee has worked for you, but it will expire on March 31, 2021 if it is not used.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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How much expanded FMLA (paid family leave) can my caregiver receive?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

If your caregiver needs to take paid family leave to care for their children because their school or daycare is closed, they are eligible to take a total of 12 weeks, but the first two weeks can be unpaid<\/em><\/strong> time off. The remaining 10 weeks would need to be paid if your employee needs them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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When would it be appropriate for my nanny or caregiver to use their paid sick time?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Your caregiver may use their paid sick time for any of the following reasons:<\/p>\n\n\n\n