Discussion and Possible Action Regarding Implementation of the Provisions of the American Rescue Plan Act - Specifically the Emergency Paid Sick Leave and Family Medical Leave Expansion Effective April 1, 2021 [Woldanski]
BACKGROUND:
The American Rescue Plan Act is offering employers the ability to extend previous benefits under the Families First for Coronavirus Response Act that included 10 days of emergency paid sick leave for employees who became ill or were quarantined due to COVID-19. Further the same act instituted an expansion of the Family Medical Leave Act to include time off needed to tend to childcare due to school or daycare closings at a 2/3 rate of pay up to 12 weeks.
The American Rescue Plan Act is now offering employers to "reset" the Emergency Paid Sick Leave benefit as of April 1, 2021 and allow employees an additional 10 days paid sick leave under the same guidelines and in addition should an employee need time off to get the vaccine, become ill after receiving the vaccine and/or are awaiting test results for COVID-19 after an exposure.
This Act also expands the previous Family Medical Leave expansion to not only include time off to care for children but also for any of the reasons you can take the Emergency Paid Sick Leave.
The Council needs to determine whether to voluntarily implement this Act which is retroactive to April 1, 2021 and ends September 30, 2021.
FINANCIAL IMPACT:
The City would receive a tax credit for extending these benefits to the staff however would subsidize the cost of offering the additional paid sick leave. Per our accountant, the tax credit we received between January 2020 and June 2020 when we had the most people use this leave, was $1,840.00.
RECOMMENDED MOTION: