📖What Is the Families First Coronavirus Response❀ Act (FFCRA)?

The Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) was signed into law March 18, 2020, as the second major legislative initiative designed to address COVID-19. The FFCRA, effective April 1 through Dec. 31, 2020, provided expanded nutrition assistance, paid sick leave, enhanced unemployment insurance coverage, free coronavirus testing, and increased federal Medicaid funding.

Appropriations

The table below shows how funds were apportioned for each provision of the FFCRA. Amounts listed include only direct appropriated funds. According to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) and Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT), this law will increase federal deficits by $192 billion between 2020 and 2030.

Source: H.R. 6201 and FFCRA Summary

Nutrition Assistance

This provision addressed four nutrition programs: the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP), the 🌊澳洲幸运𝓀5官方开奖结果体彩网:Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), including an allowance to households normally eligible for free or reduced breakfast or lunch if the child's school has been closed due to COVID-19, and a program serving U.S. territories (Northern Mariana Islands, Pღuerto Rico, and American Samoa).

Additionally,๊ the legislat♉ion allowed for waivers on:

• The physical presence requirement under WIC during recertification
• Anthropometric and bloodwork nutritional risk requirements under WIC
• Other administrative requirements are not possible due to COVID-19
• Work and work training requirements for the SNAP program
• Certain SNAP application, issuance, and reporting requirements

Emergency Paid Leave

Two provisions of the FFCRA provided up to two weeks (80 hours) of paid sick leave plus an additional 12 weeks (10 of those weeks pai🌱d) of expanded family and medical leave for reasons relaꦕted to COVID-19.

The Emergency Paid Sick Leave Act (EPSLA) required employers with fewer than 500 employees to grant wꦛorkers up to two weeks (80 hours) of paid sick leave:

• At their regular rate of pay (up to $511 per day with a cap of $5,110) if the employee was unable to work due to being quarantined or was experiencing symptoms of COVID-19
• At two-thirds of their regular rate of pay (up to $200 per day with a cap of $2,000) if the employee was unable to work because they were caring for someone under quarantine or a child (under 18) whose school was closed due to COVID-19 or the employee was experiencing symptoms of COVID-19 and seeking a diagnosis.

Self-employed individuals could claim a sick leave tax credit equal to the amounts above (or an equivalent percentage of their "average daily self-employment income," whichever is less) for up to ten days. Full-time workers were eligible for 80 hours of paid leave. Part-time employees received😼 paid leave equal to the average number of hours they work in a two-week period.

The Emergency Family and Medical Leave Expansion Act (EFMLEA) required employers with fewer than 500 employees to grant up to an additional 12 weeks of expanded family and medical leave, with 10 of those weeks paid at two-thi𓆏rds the employee’s regular rate of pay, if the employee was unable to work (including telework) to care for a child whose school or child care provider was closed due to COVID-19.

There was no waiting period or accrual required for paid sick leave. Benefits were not retroactive and could not be carried forward. The employee was not required to find a replacement and was not required to use accrued sick leave befoꦬre taking advantage of leave provided by EPSLA or 𒅌EFMLEA.

The first two weeks (of 12) under EFMLEA could be unpaid, but the employee could use other paid leave if available including EPSLA leave. To be eligible for EFMLEA, the employee must have been covered under Title I of the 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩𓂃网:Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and have worked for the employer for at least 30 days. This leave included job protection as provided by the FMLA.

Self-employed individuals could claim up to $200 per day or 67% of their "average daily self-employment income" (whichever ws less) for up to 10 weeks of family leave.

Special Situations

Employers could exclude healthcare providers or emergency responders from EPSLA and EFMLEA leave. If the employer did allow leave, it had to be paid according to guidelines for EPSLA and EFMLEA.

Businesses with fewer than 50 employees could qualify for an exemption from paid sick leave or family and medical leave for child care if granting the leave would jeopardize the viability of the business.

Employer Tax Credits

Employers required to extend paid sick leave and/or emergency family and medical leave would receive refundable 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:tax credits to offset the costs of pro🌠viding this leave. The credits allowed would be for the full cost of benefits (leave) extended to employees 🃏(up to the limits noted above).

Employers would report total qualified leave wages and the related credits for each quarter on their federal employment tax returns (typically Form 941). In anticipation of receiving the credits, employers could fund leave wages (including health plan expenses and the employer's share of Medicare taxes) by withdrawing that amount from employment taxes and withheld income taxes required to be deposited with the IRS. Employers could also request an advance using Form 7200, Advance Payment of Employer Credits Due to COVID-19.

Self-employed individuals entitled to sick or family leave if employed by a regular employer could claim an income tax credit to offset their federal self-employment for any taxable year equal to their “qualified sick leave equivalent amount” or “qualified family leave equivalent amount.” They could do this by withholding an appropriate amount from estimated tax payments for 2020 or claiming the credit on their Form 1040 files in 2021.

Unemployment Insurance

The legislation increased 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:unemployment benefits by nearly $1 billion in state g🎀rants. States with high unemployment and workers who had already exhausted benefits could receive addi🥃tional funding.

States also gave access to interest-free loans to help pay unemployment benefits through Dec. 31, 2020, and states with a 10% or higher 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:unemployment rate compared to the previous year received 100% federal funding for extended benefits. Normally, this was a 50% match.

Testing and Health Provisions

The FFCRA included provisions to make testing for COVID-19 free to everyone without deductibl🌠es or copayments. Included waivers allowed testing costs to be covered by government programs or insurance.

The legislation also provided a temporary 6.2% increase in Medicaid payments to states so long as the states promi🍌sed not to restrict eligibility or charge cost-sharing for COVID-19 testing services or treatment.

The 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:Chi⛦ldren's Health Insurance🔥 Program (CHIP) got coverage of diagnostic products related to COVID-19 along with additional funding for testing veterans, members of Native American tribes, and testing costs for uninsured Americans.

Bottom Line

The Families First Coronavirus Response Act was a major piece of legislation that expanded funding for programs aimed at helping individuals, families, and employers during the COVID-19 pandemic. Among its key provisions were additional funds for nutrition assistance and COVID-19 testing. FFCRA also enacted paid sick and family leave programs, which required employers to extend leave to workers under various medical situations in exchange for tax credits. FFRCA was effective through December 31, 2020, though many programs were extended in subsequent aid legislation.