COVID-19 leave options available to school employees, at least until the end of this calendar year.
Federal COVID-19 Leave
Earlier this year, Congress enacted two new legal provisions that impacted FMLA and expanded sick leave related to COVID-19: (1) the Emergency Family Medical Leave Expansion Act (EFMLEA); and (2) the Emergency Paid Sick Leave Act (EPSLA). Unless extended by Congress, those leave provisions are in effect from April 1, 2020 until December 31, 2020. Both types of leave apply to full and part-time employees. A fact sheet, which describes the eligibility for both types of leave, is attached to this email. Also attached to this email are the forms eligible employees can use to request these types of leave.
Arkansas COVID-19 Leave
On August 18, 2020, the Arkansas CARES Act Steering Committee approved funds to establish a separate COVID-19 Emergency Leave Fund for Arkansas school employees. This state program is in addition to the federal programs described above.
This program provides two weeks (10 workdays) of paid leave for public school employees if they are unable to work remotely, required to isolate or quarantine, and either:
(1) test positive for COVID-19;
(2) experience COVID-19 symptoms and are seeking a medical diagnosis; or
(3) are a probable close contact or close contact to an individual diagnosed with COVID-19. Whether an employee meets one of these conditions must be determined by the Arkansas Department of Health (ADH), a medical professional, or school district administration (in cases where the school district administration requires the employee to stay home and when the employee cannot work remotely).
According to the requirements set forth by the Division of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE), these leave requests must be supported by medical documentation. Also according to DESE, employees who are unable to work because of a lack of childcare, are at “high-risk” for possible exposure to COVID-19 because of a medical condition, refuse to return to work onsite as required, or are unwilling to work remotely if offered by the school district, are not eligible for this specific type of leave unless those employees also meet the requirements and conditions set forth above. As with EPSLA and EFMLEA, employees who are eligible for this leave category may use this state-approved leave before using their own accumulated personal or sick leave.
Under the Arkansas CARES Act leave category, each instance of eligibility is limited to a maximum of 10 days of paid leave for the employee and the days do not have to be used consecutively. Again, these 10 days are in addition to the paid leave days provided by the EPSLA and the EFMLEA. Eligible instances must occur between August 1, 2020 and December 30, 2020.
Leave Forms (to request leave under the Arkansas CARES Act Leave category)
Leave Expansion Fact Sheet
Arkansas CARES Act Leave Form
EFMLEA Request Form
EPSLA Request Form