Your Nonprofit Guide to FFCRA
Are you wading through the complex language and provisions of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, or FFCRA?
You’re in good company. The more than 60 nonprofit leaders who attended InterSector’s April 3 interactive Q&A with J. J. Keller and Associates HR Editors feel your pain — and they got and shared answers that you might value.
FFCRA expands access to paid sick leave and family medical leave for employees, and reimburses employers for these expenses through payroll tax credits. It can apply to your nonprofit even if you employ fewer than 50 people.
The interactive Q&A is lengthy — 1 hr. 17 min. in total. You’ll find specific info at these minute markers:
| Hr./Min./Sec. | Question/Topic |
| 12:30-24:00 | Intro to InterSector and Participants |
| 24:00-26:00 | Intro to J. J. Keller & Associates Experts |
| 26:00-29:00 | FFCRA Poster – Where to Get It, How to “Post” It |
| 29:00-32:30 | What Constitutes a Workplace Closure as a Result of the Governor’s Isolation Order? |
| 32:30-39:30 | Can Independent Contractors Take Advantage of FFCRA during Venue Closures? |
| 39:30-45:00 | What Documentation Is Required from Employees and Employers for Leave? |
| 45:00-48:30 | How Do We Go About Getting the Tax Credit? What’s the Process, and When Does It Happen? |
| 48:30-53:00 | What Limits Are There on Leave for Employees with Irregular Hours? |
| 53:00-58:00 | Am I Exempt If I Have Fewer Than 50 Employees? How Do I Apply for Exemption? |
| 58:00-1:01:00 | If An Employee Is Quarantined and Able to Work Remotely, Can Employers Require That They Work? |
| 1:01:00-1:04:15 | What Documentation Is Required from a Physician If an Employee Has Been Asked to Quarantine? |
| 1:04:15-1:05:15 | Can Employees Under State Isolation Order Who Work Remotely Use the State Isolation Order (Reason 1 in FFCRA) to Request Leave? |
| 1:05:15-1:11:15 | Can Employees Taking Paid Sick Leave to Care for Children Use PTO Concurrently to Get Their Full Pay Rather Than the 2/3rds Reimbursable Under FFCRA? |
| 1:11:15-1:15:15 | What Is Best Practice for Using Leave Intermittently with Exempt Employees? |
Those who participated in the Q&A got these pointers:
- Get your FFCRA Employee Rights Poster.
- Post at your sites NOW. (FFCRA went into effect on April 1, 2020.)
- Email the poster to employees who are offsite. (FAQs on posting requirements are on J. J. Keller’s website.)
- Know that there is a grace period through April 17, 2020, to comply with FFCRA.
- Adhere to the Dept. of Labor’s guidelines/FAQs around leave. (There are 79 FAQs!!)
- Track and report paid sick and FMLA leave between April 1, 2020, and Dec. 31, 2020, for reimbursement.
As an employer, you may be wondering how to track your employees’ paid leave to claim reimbursement. The IRS’s FFCRA FAQs detail the process — specifically, Questions 44-46.
Oliver Zornow, executive director of the Building for Kids Children’s Museum in Appleton, created this Microsoft Forms FFCRA leave request template. He generously and joyfully offers it to you and your nonprofit as a gift. It enables you to collect from your employees the information the Dept. of Labor deems acceptable to justify paid FFCRA leave.
You’ll find additional resources, including free employee training, on the J. J. Keller and Associates Coronavirus web page.
Watch this space in the days ahead for additional guidance on:
- Supporting the independent contractors who are critical to your mission in leveraging FFCRA.
- Guidance on best-practice documentation of your nonprofit’s exemption from FFCRA, if you employ fewer than 50 people. (This question is answered in a subsequent post.)
