In less than two weeks, U.S. small businesses have experienced a drastic change in the compliance landscape.

The onset of the novel coronavirus pandemic and its associated disease, COVID-19, gave a shock to global society and business. Non-essential businesses have been forced to close in many states and localities, and those that remain open have difficult decisions to make, HR-related and otherwise. Adding to that mix, March 18 introduced new wrinkles when Congress passed and President Donald Trump signed into law the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA), the second of two laws aimed at mitigating the pandemic’s impact.

The FFCRA generally requires that employers with fewer than 500 employees provide two buckets of emergency paid leave to employees impacted by the pandemic. The law expanded the Family and Medical Leave Act to guarantee paid leave in the event that an employee must care for a child whose school or childcare provider is closed or otherwise unavailable due to COVID-19. It also established a paid sick leave requirement for employees, the payout for which differs depending on the reason for the employee's leave.

HR Dive will cover FFCRA developments as they occur and house those stories here, with the most recent update located at the top of the page. If there are questions about the law that you believe we should address in future updates, please contact us at [email protected].