[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 72 (Tuesday, April 14, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 20723-20724]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-07821]


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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Wage and Hour Division


Agency Information Collection Activities; Comment Request; 
Information Collections: Paid Leave Under the Families First 
Coronavirus Response Act

AGENCY: Wage and Hour Division, Department of Labor.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Labor (DOL) is soliciting comments 
concerning a proposed extension of the information collection request 
(ICR) titled, ``Paid Leave under the Families First Coronavirus 
Response Act.'' This comment request is part of continuing Departmental 
efforts to reduce paperwork and respondent burden in accordance with 
the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA).
    This program helps to ensure that requested data can be provided in 
the desired format, reporting burden (time and financial resources) is 
minimized, collection instruments are clearly understood, and the 
impact of collection requirements on respondents can be properly 
assessed. A copy of the proposed information request can be obtained by 
contacting the office listed below in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION 
CONTACT section of this Notice.

DATES: Written comments must be submitted to the office listed in the 
ADDRESSES section below on or before June 15, 2020.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments identified by Control Number 1235-
0031, by either one of the following methods: Email: 
[email protected]; Mail, Hand Delivery, Courier: Division of 
Regulations, Legislation, and Interpretation, Wage and Hour, U.S. 
Department of Labor, Room S-3502, 200 Constitution Avenue NW, 
Washington, DC 20210. Instructions: Please submit one copy of your 
comments by only one method. All submissions received must include the 
agency name and Control Number identified above for this information 
collection. Because we continue to experience delays in receiving mail 
in the Washington, DC area, commenters are strongly encouraged to 
transmit their comments electronically via email or to submit them by 
mail early. Comments, including any personal information provided, 
become a matter of public record. They will also be summarized and/or 
included in the request for Office of Management and Budget (OMB) 
approval of the information collection request.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Robert Waterman, Division of 
Regulations, Legislation, and Interpretation, Wage and Hour Division, 
U.S. Department of Labor, Room S-3502, 200 Constitution Avenue NW, 
Washington, DC 20210; telephone: (202) 693-0406 (this is not a toll-
free number). Copies of this notice may be obtained in alternative 
formats (Large Print, Braille, Audio Tape, or Disc), upon request, by 
calling (202) 693-0023 (not a toll-free number). TTY/TTD callers may 
dial toll-free (877) 889-5627 to obtain information or request 
materials in alternative formats.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    I. Background: On March 18, 2020, President Trump signed into law 
the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA), which creates two 
new emergency paid leave requirements in response to the COVID-19 
global pandemic. Division E of the FFCRA, ``The Emergency Paid Sick 
Leave Act'' (EPSLA), entitles certain employees to take up to two weeks 
of paid sick leave. Division C of the FFCRA, ``The Emergency Family and 
Medical Leave Expansion Act'' (EFMLEA), which amends Title I of the 
Family and Medical Leave Act, 29 U.S.C. 2601 et seq. (FMLA), permits 
certain employees to take up to twelve weeks of expanded family and 
medical leave, ten of which are paid, for specified reasons related to 
COVID-19. On March 27, 2020, President Trump signed into law the 
Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, Public Law 116-136 
(CARES Act), which amends certain provisions of the EPSLA and the 
provisions of the FMLA added by the EFMLEA.
    In general, the FFCRA requires covered employers to provide 
eligible employees up to two weeks of paid sick leave at full pay, up 
to a specified cap, when the employee is unable to work because the 
employee is subject to a federal, state, or local quarantine or 
isolation order related to COVID-19, has been advised by a health care 
provider to self-quarantine due to concerns related to COVID-19, or is 
experiencing COVID-19 symptoms and seeking a medical diagnosis. The 
FFCRA also provides up to two weeks of paid sick leave at partial pay, 
up to a specified cap, when an employee is unable to work because of a 
need to care for an individual subject to a federal, state, or local 
quarantine or isolation order related to COVID-19 or who has been 
advised by a health care provider to self-quarantine due to concerns 
related to COVID-19; because of a need to care for the employee's son 
or daughter whose

[[Page 20724]]

school or place of care is closed, or whose child care provider is 
unavailable, due to COVID-19 related reasons; or because the employee 
is experiencing a substantially similar condition, as specified by the 
Secretary of Health and Human Services. The FFCRA also requires covered 
employers to provide up to twelve weeks of expanded family and medical 
leave, up to ten weeks of which must be paid at partial pay, up to a 
specified cap, when an eligible employee is unable to work because of a 
need to care for the employee's son or daughter whose school or place 
of care is closed, or whose child care provider is unavailable, due to 
COVID-19 related reasons.
    The FFCRA covers private employers with fewer than 500 employees 
and certain public employers. Small employers with fewer than 50 
employees may qualify for an exemption from the requirement to provide 
paid leave due to school, place of care, or child care provider 
closings or unavailability, if the leave payments would jeopardize the 
viability of their business as a going concern.
    Under the FFCRA, covered private employers qualify for 
reimbursement through refundable tax credits, as administered by the 
Department of the Treasury, for all qualifying paid sick leave wages 
and qualifying family and medical leave wages paid to an employee who 
takes leave under the FFCRA, up to per diem and aggregate caps, and for 
allocable costs related to the maintenance of health care coverage 
under any group health plan while the employee is on the leave provided 
under the FFCRA.
    The CARES Act amended the FFCRA by providing certain technical 
corrections, as well as clarifying the caps for payment of leave; 
expanded family and medical leave to certain employees who were laid 
off or terminated after March 1, 2020, but are reemployed by the same 
employer prior to December 31, 2020; and provided authority to the 
Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to exclude 
certain federal employees from paid sick leave and expanded family and 
medical leave.
    The FFCRA grants authority to the Secretary to issue regulations 
for certain purposes. In particular, sections 3102(b), as amended by 
section 3611(7) of the CARES Act, and 5111(3) of the FFCRA grant the 
Secretary authority to issue regulations ``as necessary, to carry out 
the purposes of this Act, including to ensure consistency'' between the 
EPSLA and the EFMLEA. The Department issued the temporary rule to carry 
out the purposes of the FFCRA. This rule published in the Federal 
Register on April 6, 2020 (85 FR 19326). The new paid sick leave and 
expanded family and medical leave requirements became operational on 
April 1, 2020, and expire on December 31, 2020. As part of OMB's 
consideration of the temporary rule, the Department submitted an 
emergency processing request for the PRA package associated with the 
rule. Where OMB approves the collection of information on an emergency 
basis, the approval is time-limited and the agency must publish notice 
and comment on the collection to give the public opportunity to 
respond. Pursuant to 5 CFR 1320.13, OMB assigned control number 1235-
0031 to this collection and approved the request on April 2, 2020 with 
an expiration of October, 2020.
    II. Review Focus: The Department of Labor is particularly 
interested in comments which:
     Evaluate whether the proposed collection of information is 
necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the agency, 
including whether the information will have practical utility;
     Enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the 
information to be collected;
     Evaluate the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the 
burden of the proposed collection of information, including the 
validity of the methodology and assumptions used;
     Minimize the burden of the collection of information on 
those who are to respond, including through the use of appropriate 
automated, electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection 
techniques or other forms of information technology, e.g., permitting 
electronic submissions of responses.
    III. Current Actions: The Department of Labor seeks an approval for 
the extension of this information collection in order to ensure 
effective administration of the Paid Leave provisions under the 
Families First Coronavirus Response Act (as amended by the CARES Act).
    Type of Review: Extension.
    Agency: Wage and Hour Division.
    Title: Paid Leave under the Families First Coronavirus Response 
Act.
    OMB Control Number: 1235-0031.
    Affected Public: Business or other for-profit, Not-for-profit 
institutions, Farms, Federal, State, Local, or Tribal Government.
    Total Respondents: 7,903,071.
    Total Annual Responses: 7,903,071.
    Estimated Total Burden Hours: 801,962.
    Estimated Time per Response: Varies with type of request (1.25-20 
minutes).
    Frequency: On occasion.
    Total Burden Cost (capital/startup): $0.
    Total Burden Cost (operation/maintenance): $4,255,500.

    Dated: April 8, 2020.
Amy DeBisschop,
Director, Division of Regulations, Legislation, and Interpretation.
[FR Doc. 2020-07821 Filed 4-13-20; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4510-27-P