In the first installment of this five-part series exploring the US Department of Labor (DOL) regulations (29 CFR Part 826) interpreting the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA), we summarized which employees are eligible to take, and which employers are required to provide, emergency paid sick leave or emergency paid family leave under the FFCRA. In the second installment, we reviewed the six reasons why an eligible employee may take job-protected paid sick leave or paid family leave for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)-related reasons. In the third installment, we looked at the unique rules regarding how emergency paid sick leave (EPSL) and paid public health emergency FMLA leave (EFMLA) may be used.
In this fourth installment, we consider how employers calculate the “regular rate of pay” in order to pay employees exercising EPSL and EFMLA leave rights, a concept far easier in theory than in practice.
