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A Potential Childcare Disruption for Rehired Employees

Client Alert

As businesses reopen, employers with fewer than 500 employees need to brush up on the FFCRA Paid Leave rules, including a potential disruption to your return to operations. 

Under the FFCRA, employees may be eligible for up to 80 hours of Emergency Paid Sick Leave, and up to 12 weeks of paid Emergency Childcare Leave. The eligibility and use of Childcare Leave have presented the most questions. Check out Bryan Meek’s article about summer vacations

Under the FFCRA and the Department of Labor guidance, employees would be eligible for Childcare Leave only if the employer had them on its payroll for at least 30 calendar days immediately prior to the day leave would begin. 

Many of the reinstated employees have been on unemployment, rather than the employer’s payroll for the past month or so.  

Does this mean the rehired employees are not eligible for Childcare Leave until they work for at least a month? Not necessarily

Why? Under the CARES Act, Congress added a loophole for rehired employees. If an employee was laid off on or after March 1, 2020 and is then rehired, the employee is immediately eligible for Childcare Leave if the employee worked 30 of the last 60 calendar days prior to layoff. 

What is the concern? An employee can return to work as part of a rehire program for one day, and then go on 12 weeks of a combination of Emergency Sick Leave and Emergency Childcare Leave paid at a 2/3 rate up to $200 per day. 

What should employers do? The Childcare Leave process is designed to be interactive. Engage in an interactive process with your employees about their scheduling and childcare needs. You can remind employees that the childcare disruptions will likely extend into the next school year, so it’s wise to conserve the leave for when it is absolutely necessary. 

For additional questions, please contact Jeffrey Miller 216.658.2323 or any member of the Labor + Employment Team of BMD.  


Surprise! A Cautionary Tale for Out-Of-Network Billing: The No Surprises Act and the Impact on Healthcare Providers

SURPRISE! Congress passed The No Surprises Act at the end of 2020. Providers, particularly those billing as out-of-network providers, should start thinking about strategies to comply with this new law, set to take effect on January 1, 2022. In its most basic sense, the new law prohibits providers from billing patients for more than the in-network cost-sharing amount in most situations where surprise bills happen. It specifically applies to non-government payers and the amounts will be set through a process described in the new law. In particular, the established in-network cost-sharing amount must be billed for the following services:

Ohio Enacts Substantial Changes to Employment Discrimination Laws

In January, Governor Mike DeWine signed into law the Employment Law Uniformity Act, amending the employment protections in the Ohio Civil Rights Act in several significant ways. Such changes to the state’s anti-discrimination and anti-harassment laws have been considered and debated for years and finally made their way into Ohio law. What has changed for employment claims under the amended Ohio Civil Rights Act?

OHIO ADOPTS THE SERIES LLC: Implementation of Ohio’s Revised Limited Liability Company Act is Coming

On January 7, 2021, Ohio adopted S.B. 276. The new legislation establishes the Ohio Revised Limited Liability Company Act (“ORLLCA”) which effectively replaces the current Ohio LLC Act. ORLLCA will be fully effective as of January 2022. While the new law contains numerous changes to the existing LLC landscape, below is an overview of some of the key differences under the ORLLCA.

Will Federal Legislation Open Cannabis Acquisition Floodgate?

Are potential buyers quietly lobbying at federal and state levels to kick open the door to launch a new round of strategic acquisitions? Will presently pending federal legislation, the SAFE and MORE Acts, providing safe harbor for banks and re- or de-scheduling marijuana, be sufficient to mobilize into action major non-cannabis companies that previously shunned the cannabis industry due to the unknown implications of owning businesses whose activities are illegal under federal law?

The Future of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act

Over the last year we all have had to adjust to the new normal ushered in by the coronavirus pandemic. Schools and daycares closed, businesses transitioned from in-office work to work from home, bars and restaurants have closed their doors...all to slow the spread and try to prevent this pandemic from spiraling out of control. The start of the pandemic was utter pandemonium. Working parents trying to balance both caring for their now at-home children and their livelihood. Businesses trying to decide how to implement leave policies with limited information. Employees determining if they could financially afford to take time off. We were all flying by the seat of our pants trying to adjust to our new normal.