You may remember the leave programs we rolled out last spring 2020 under legislation known as the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA). This mandated two kinds of leave: Emergency Paid Sick Leave (EPSL) and Emergency Expanded FMLA (EEFMLA). While the mandated leave programs under the FFCRA expired on December 31, 2020, and were voluntarily extended through March 31, 2021, Albemarle County Government and Albemarle County Public Schools are again voluntarily extending and expanding these programs effective April 1 through September 30, 2021, pursuant to the recently signed American Rescue Plan Act of 2021.

Some aspects of the program have changed. NEW as of April 1:

Emergency Paid Sick Leave (EPSL)

• “Bucket” of EPSL has been reset to a max of 80 hours (a full-time or part-time* employee’s two-week equivalent) for all eligible employees as of April 1, 2021.
• Employees may also use EPSL for the following new reasons: (See the EPSL Request Form for a full list of reasons.)
  
  • The employee is obtaining a COVID-19 immunization (available April 1, 2021).**
  • The employee is recovering from an injury, disability, illness, or condition related to the immunization (available April 1, 2021).
  • The employee is seeking or awaiting the result of a COVID-19 test or diagnosis when the employee has either been exposed to COVID-19 or the employer has requested the test or diagnosis (available April 1, 2021).

*Part-time employees will be eligible for leave for the number of hours that the employee is normally scheduled to work over that period.

**Employees are not required to use EPSL for this reason; employees may continue to use COVID-19 Admin Leave to obtain immunization.

Emergency Expanded Family and Medical Leave (EEFMLA)

• No waiting period: The 10-day waiting period for EEFMLA has been removed.
• Provides up to 12 weeks of job-protected leave that will be paid at two-thirds of your regular rate of pay. Leave used for Emergency Expanded FMLA will only be paid at two-thirds and will be supplemented by one-third COVID-19 Admin Leave.
• Employees may now use EEFMLA for ALL reasons listed under EPSL. (See the EEFMLA Request Form for a full list of reasons.)

Please note: If you have used leave under the FMLA in the last 12 months, you may use any remaining time from your 12-week FMLA entitlement for Emergency Expanded FMLA. If you have already exhausted your 12 weeks of FMLA, you would not be eligible for Emergency Expanded FMLA.

Resources

• The updated EPSL form can be found at our COVID-19 Resource Center. Completed EPSL Forms and any supporting documentation will continue to be collected by the department/school.
• The updated EEFMLA form can also be found at our COVID-19 Resource Center. Completed EEFMLA forms and any supporting documentation should be emailed to benefits@albemarle.org. An HR representative will be in touch following receipt of this form.
• An updated Understanding COVID-19 Leave Codes document can be found at our Kronos Documentation Center.

Please email COVID19@albemarle.org with any questions. Thank you for all you do!