By Clay Creps
We recently advised you about remembering employee leave obligations in the face of COVID-19. In that publication, we advised that BOLI was engaged in emergency rulemaking to allow employees to take OFLA leave to care for their children during official school closures to limit the spread of COVID-19.
On March 18, 2020, BOLI adopted an emergency rule expanding the reasons for which an employee can take OFLA protected leave. BOLI expanded the definition of sick child leave to include “absence to care for an employee’s child whose school or place of care has been closed in conjunction with a statewide public health emergency declared by a public health official.”
Therefore, time that an employee is away from work to take care of children because of the closure of schools is now protected leave. As with all other leave pursuant to OFLA, the leave is unpaid, although an employee may substitute paid leave if the employee has accrued and unused paid leave.
We anticipate further developments will occur in this and other areas affecting employment and will keep you up-to-date on those developments.
UPDATE: On April 2, we published DOL Announces Temporary Rules for FFCRA which provides updated information on this topic.
This update is prepared for the general information of our clients and friends. It should not be regarded as legal advice. If you have questions about the issues raised here, please contact any of the attorneys in our Labor & Employment Practice Group, or the attorney with whom you normally consult.
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