President Trump on Wednesday signed a second aid bill into law providing paid sick and family leave for some workers impacted by the coronavirus outbreak.
The bill, known as the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (H.R. 6201), which is expected to cost upwards of $100 billion, also includes provisions that would provide individuals with food assistance, unemployment insurance and free coronavirus testing.
Importantly, the individual leave benefits only apply to companies with fewer than 500 workers. The benefits include two weeks of paid sick leave if a worker is being tested or treated for coronavirus or have been diagnosed with it. Workers who are told by a doctor or government official to stay home are also eligible. Benefits would be capped at $511 per day.
Workers with family members affected by coronavirus and those whose children’s schools have closed would receive two-thirds of their pay, and that is capped at $200 per day. Benefits would run through December 31, 2020.
Benefits also include paid family leave, which would provide workers with two-thirds of their pay for up to 10 weeks only if their children’s schools are closed. The first 10 days of this leave are unpaid. Payments after that are limited to $200 per day and up to $10,000 total. Benefits would run through December 31, 2020.
These paid family leave benefits are not extended to those who have been tested or treated for coronavirus or have been diagnosed with it or someone caring for an affected family member. That provision was not originally included in the first version of the bill the House passed on Saturday morning, but a second House vote held on Monday made the modification. Benefit caps were also modified – originally the bill would have only placed a cap on employer’s reimbursements from the federal government, not on the funds workers receive.
As a means to pay for these benefits, the bill provides quarterly tax credits to employers to offset the costs.
The House first passed the bill on March 14 by a vote of 363-40. The House on Monday passed modifications to the bill by unanimous consent. The Senate then passed the bill on Wednesday by a 90-8 vote.
The bill follows an initial $8 billion package that provided funding for testing, masks and other protective equipment. Work has now begun on a third relief package expected to provide direct cash payments to Americans and relief for specific industries heavily affected by the outbreak. That bill is expected to cost upwards of $1 trillion.
