Happy New Year! Now, what's your FFCRA paid leave plan?

Free whitepaper: Emergency Paid Leave - What Now? The FFCRA emergency paid leave and emergency paid FMLA mandates expired on December 31, 2020, but the tax credits live on. 

Bottom line: After December 31, 2020, employers are no longer required to provide emergency paid sick leave or emergency paid FMLA leave to employees - BUT - employers may voluntarily provide such leave and still receive the tax credit through March 31, 2021.

In the whitepaper, I included some pros and cons of voluntarily continuing FFCRA leave:

• CONS 
• 
  Administrative overhead. Someone will have to continue to track employee balances, document the requests, and obtain the tax credits. 
• Compliance costs. I’m still fielding calls and emails asking whether assorted absences are covered. o Cash flow. The payroll tax credits will likely not result in full reimbursement until after the employer has already paid for the leave. 
• PROS 
• Workplace and public health. The whole point of the emergency paid leave is to incentivize employees to stay home if they are experiencing symptoms or quarantined to prevent the spread of COVID-19. 
• Employee morale. Employees will likely appreciate employers shouldering the burdens described above to provide them with this extended benefit for the next three months.

Now is the time to decide!