Department of Labor issued the following announcement on July 22.
After an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD), Rockonwireless Inc. – doing business as Metro T-Mobile in Houston, Texas – will pay $900 in back wages after failing to provide an employee with coronavirus symptoms paid sick leave after their doctor ordered them to self-quarantine for two weeks, in violation of the Emergency Paid Sick Leave Act, part of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA).
Investigators determined the employee’s request qualified for FFCRA paid sick leave and contacted the employer. Rockonwireless Inc. cooperated fully once it understood its responsibility under the new law and agreed to pay the employee’s full wages for the days quarantined. The employer also agreed to future compliance with the FFCRA, which took effect April 1, 2020.
“Employers must take all necessary steps to comply with the Families First Coronavirus Response Act and provide employees paid sick leave to care for themselves and family members when required,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director Robin Mallett in Houston, Texas. “The U.S. Department of Labor continues to provide updated information through our online educational tools to ensure that workers and employers have the information they need about the benefits and protections of this new law.”
The FFCRA helps the U.S. combat and defeat the workplace effects of the coronavirus by giving tax credits to American businesses with fewer than 500 employees to provide employees with paid leave for certain reasons related to COVID-19. Please visit WHD’s “Quick Benefits Tips” for information about how much leave workers may qualify to use, and the amounts employers must pay. The law enables employers to provide paid leave reimbursed by tax credits, while at the same time ensuring that workers are not forced to choose between their paychecks and the public health measures needed to combat the virus.
Original source can be found here.