COVID-19 Namely Time and Federal Paid Sick and Family Medical Leaves

 

OVERVIEW

On March 18, 2020, Congress passed the Family First Coronavirus Response (FFCR) Act which:

  1. Created a Federal Paid Sick Leave requirement for coronavirus-related needs.

  2. Expanded the Family and Medical Leave Act to include a paid leave component for employees caring for children.

We've created new earning codes to accommodate the proper taxation and limits for leave payments as detailed in the FFCR and ARPA. Refer to COVID-19: Pay Type Codes for Paid Sick Leave and Paid Family Medical Leave for more information.

Note: These earnings can only be distributed as flat dollar amounts. For hourly employees, use the number of hours and the earning's rate to determine the amount they should be paid.
 

STAY UP TO DATE:

Always stay up to date with COVID-19: Consolidated Appropriations Act Updates for 2021, American Rescue Plan Act: Federal Paid Family Leave, and American Rescue Plan Act: Federal Paid Medical Leave.

Namely Time Tracking

If you would like to track these hours in Namely Time, you may do so using the steps outlined in Accrual Banks in Namely Time; however, you cannot import these hours from Namely Time to Namely Payroll using hour benefits. Hour benefits are paid at an employee’s standard hourly rate, which is not necessarily the rate at which an employee would be paid for this earning.

Additionally, the hour benefits will not respect limits or apply the proper taxation for Federal Paid Medical Leave or Federal Paid Family Leave earnings. Using hour benefits for Federal Paid Medical Leave or Federal Paid Family Leave may result in incorrect wage calculations and missed tax benefits. 

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Can I use Namely Time to track hours used for the new Federal Paid Medical Leave and Federal Paid Family Leave?

Yes - you can track leave hours in Namely Time; however, we do not recommend importing hours to Namely Payroll using hour benefits.

 

If I track these hours in Namely Time, can I import them into Namely Payroll and receive the corresponding tax benefits?

No - hour benefits are paid at an employee’s standard hourly rate, which may not be the rate at which they are being paid for Federal Paid Medical Leave or Federal Paid Family Leave. Additionally, these hours would not track the monetary limit of the Federal Paid Medical Leave or Federal Paid Family Leave earning, nor would they capture the proper taxation.

 

How should I pay hourly employees if they utilize the new Federal Paid Medical Leave or Federal Paid Family Leave?

We recommend multiplying the number of hours by the corresponding rate to determine the flat dollar amount employees should be paid.