Employer Provides Back Pay After Denying FFCRA Paid Leave For Quarantined Employee

Atlanta, Georgia-based Risk & Insurance Consultants Inc. has paid $1,599 in back wages after denying paid sick leave to an employee who received a healthcare professional’s instructions to self-quarantine due to coronavirus concerns. The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) determined that Risk & Insurance Consultants violated the emergency paid sick leave provisions of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA). After the DOL notified the Company of its obligations, the employer paid the back wages. The FFCRA gives tax credits to U.S. businesses with fewer than 500 employees to provide employees with paid leave for the employee’s own health needs or to care for family members for COVID-19-related reasons.