As 2020 winds down, so do the protections offered by the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA).
The law, which was designed to provide employees with both
paid sick leave and emergency family and medical leave, is set to expire on
Dec. 31 if the Senate doesn’t extend it.
Waiting on the Senate
The expiration of the FFCRA comes on the heels of a significant spike in COVID-19 cases; the U.S. is averaging over 100,000 new cases and over 1,000 deaths per day.
Besides providing workers with flexibility, the FFCRA was shown to have helped reduce the spread of the virus. According to a study, states in which employees gained this paid leave saw 400 fewer cases of COVID-19 per day. That comes down to about one prevented case among 1,300 workers.
Congress voted to extend the FFCRA’s protections through 2021, but the Senate has not yet weighed in.
