For the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) passed into law last week, the US Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division requires all covered employers to now post a notice of the FFCRA requirements in conspicuous places on their premises.

Important note: The FFCRA’s paid leave provisions are effective on April 1, 2020, and apply to leave taken between April 1, 2020, and December 31, 2020.

Important note for employers with teleworkers: the DOL says employers "may satisfy this requirement by emailing or direct mailing this notice to employees, or posting this notice on an employee information internal or external website."

The FFCRA requires employers with 500 or fewer employees to provide employees with paid sick leave or expanded family and medical leave for specified reasons related to COVID-19.

Special note for small businesses (with fewer than 50 employees): these companies "may qualify for exemption from the requirement to provide leave due to school closings or child care unavailability if the leave requirements would jeopardize the viability of the business as a going concern." We are still waiting for specific guidelines regarding this exemption.

Primary DOL guidelines in posting the required notice in your workplace are:

• You are not required to post this notice in multiple languages (but DOL is working now on translations)
• The FFCRA poster applies only to your current employees
• You need to give notice of the FFCRA requirements to new hires
• This poster and all DOL workplace posters are free of charge and downloadable anytime

More key resources about the FFCRA:

FFCRA Poster – Frequently Asked Questions