Author Description

Responding to the COVID-19 crisis, Congress fast-tracked much needed relief for both workers and businesses struggling to survive in a climate of quickly spreading infections, social distancing directives, state and local stay-at-home orders, and mounting business closures and layoffs. On March 18, 2020, President Trump signed into law the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) in an attempt to limit the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic and support relief efforts, mainly for employees and small- and medium-size businesses. The FFCRA includes provisions to expand the FMLA to include public emergency paid family and medical leave; emergency unemployment insurance; emergency paid sick leave; health care relief provisions; and tax credits to employers for paid sick and paid family and medical leave. Further relief came on March 27, 2020, when the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) was signed into law. Largely targeted toward stabilizing the economy, the CARES Act contains significant relief for companies and individuals, including rebates for individual taxpayers and the creation of three new unemployment insurance programs, as well as a multitude of tax benefits for companies of all sizes and significant payroll relief. The CARES Act also clarifies the emergency paid family leave and paid sick leave provisions in the FFRCA, among other relief. This Families First Act and CARES Act, Selected Provisions: Law, Explanation and Analysis provides a thorough analysis of important aspects of the FFCRA and the CARES Act, affecting a broad range of individuals, workers, and businesses of all sizes. It provides practitioners with a single integrated law and explanation guide on this historic legislation, which continues the Wolters Kluwer tradition of empowering labor and employment, human resources, employee benefits, and payroll professionals with the information and resources necessary to help them understand and work