COVID-19 Employee Benefits
Lake Tahoe Community College District (LTCCD) has identified the following options for qualified employees to utilize when work or remote work is unavailable during the COVID-19 pandemic. Every individual employee will have a unique situation and so may be able to utilize more than one of these options. Please note that employees can only exercise one option at a time.
OPTIONS |
Other Benefits |
Option 1: Families First Coronavirus Response Act |
Reallocation of WorkTeleMedicine |
Option 2: District Expanded LeaveOption 3: California State Unemployment Insurance |
|
Option 1 (Federal):
Families First Coronavirus Response Act
On March 18, 2020, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, and in an effort to reduce the impact of the virus on American families, the U.S. Senate passed the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) and President Trump signed the bill into law a few hours later. The FFCRA includes private sector employers with fewer than 500 employees, most [1] local and state employees, and certain employees working for the federal government. The FFCRA’s paid leave provisions are effective on April 1, 2020, and apply to leave taken between April 1, 2020, and March 31, 2021 (extended from December 31, 2020).
The FFCRA includes provisions for Emergency Paid Sick Leave and Emergency Family and Medical Leave Expansion to employees for certain coronavirus-related or COVID-19-related reasons. The leaves associated with the Act are not retroactive before the April 1 effective date.
Update: LTCCD elected to extend the deadline of the act from December 31, 2020 to March 31, 2021. The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021, extended employer tax credits for paid sick leave and expanded family and medical leave voluntarily provided to employees until March 31, 2021. If an employee did not use EPSL or EFMLE between April 1, 2020 and December 31, 2020 then they may apply for it between January 1, 2021 and March 31, 2021. This Act, however, did not extend an eligible employee’s entitlement to FFCRA leave beyond December 31, 2020.
Emergency Paid Sick Leave (Option 1A)
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The employee is subject to a Federal, State, or local quarantine or isolation order related to COVID-19.
Please note: An employee subject to a quarantine or isolation order is able to work remotely if (a) their employer has work for the employee to perform; (b) the employer permits the employee to perform that work from the location where the employee is being quarantined or isolated; and (c) there are no extenuating circumstances that prevent the employee from performing that work. - The employee has been advised by a health care provider to self-quarantine related to COVID-19.
- The employee is experiencing symptoms of COVID-19 and seeking a medical diagnosis.
All LTCCD employees, regardless of length of employment, are entitled to EPSL at two-thirds of the employee’s regular rate of pay only if they are unable to work or work remotely because: [3]
- The employee is caring for an individual who is subject to a Federal, State, or local quarantine or isolation order related to COVID-19 or been advised by a health care provider to self-quarantine related to COVID-19 order as described in subparagraph (1) or has been advised as described in paragraph (2).
- The employee is caring for his, her, or their child if the school or place of care of the child has been closed, or the child care provider of such child is unavailable, due to COVID-19-related reasons.
- The employee is experiencing any other substantially similar condition specified by the Secretary of Health and Human Services in consultation with the Secretary of the Treasury and the Secretary of Labor.
How to Apply for Emergency Paid Sick Leave
To complete a request for this leave you will need acceptable supporting documentation which will vary depending on the reason for EPSL. A reference to the applicable Federal, State or local quarantine or isolation order related to COVID-19 applicable to the employee or written documentation by a health care provider advising the employee to self-quarantine due to concerns related to COVID-19 are examples of acceptable documentation. If EPSL is related to the need to care for a child, acceptable documentation includes a notice that has been posted on a government, school, or day care website, or published in a newspaper, or an email from an employee or official of the school, place of care, or child care provider. To apply for the EPSL, please click to fill out this request form.
Emergency Family and Medical Leave Expansion (Option 1B)
Employees may qualify for up to an additional 10-weeks of Emergency Family and Medical Leave Expansion (EFMLE) at two-thirds the employee’s regular rate of pay where an employee, who has been employed for at least 30 calendar days, is unable to work or work remotely due to a bona fide need for leave to care for their child whose school or child care provider is closed or unavailable for reasons related to COVID-19.[4]
How to Apply for Emergency Family and Medical Leave Expansion
To complete a request for this leave you will need acceptable supporting documention such as a notice that has been posted on a government, school, or day care website, or published in a newspaper, or an email from an employee or official of the school, place of care, or child care provider. To apply for the EFMLE, please click to fill out this request form.
In Summary
Emergency Paid Sick Leave (EPSL): 2 weeks
Emergency Family & Medical Leave Expansion (EFMLE): 10 weeks
These can be used subsequently but not intermittently. This leave is applicable to employees who are unable to work or work remotely. Please view the Department of Labor Employee Rights poster for the Families First Coronavirus Response Act.
Frequently Asked Questions
A full-time employee is entitled to 40 hours of leave per week in coordination with EPSL and EFMLE.
A part-time employee is entitled to leave for their average number of work hours per week. For example: If a part-time employee works 20 hours a week, they would receive 40 hours of Emergency Paid Sick Leave (EPSL)
No. The only type of EFMLE that is paid leave is when such leave exceeds ten days. This includes only leave taken because the employee must care for their child whose school or place of care is closed, or child care provider is unavailable, due to COVID-19 related reasons.
An employee qualified for this type of leave when the employee needs to, and actually is, caring for his or her child. Generally, an employee does not need to take such leave if another suitable individual—such as a co-parent, co-guardian, or the usual child care provider—is available to provide the care the employee’s child needs.” Therefore, if another parent or other person is available to provide child care, the District can deny this leave. It is LTCCD’s intent to leave this determination to the employee.
An employee is considered to have been employed at least 30 calendar days if they are on payroll for 30 calendar days immediately prior to the day the leave would begin. For example, if an employee wants to take leave on April 1, 2020, they would need to have been on payroll as of March 2, 2020.
An employee must provide documentation in support of their EPSL or EFMLE as specified in the Emergency Paid Sick Leave and/or Emergency Family and Medical Leave Expansion Request Form.
Option 2 (Local-LTCC):
District Expanded Leave
District has added the following reasons an employee may utilize accrued leave:
- If you are unable to work or work remotely due to having or being exposed to COVID-19;
- If you are unable to work or work remotely because you are caring for an ill or quarantined family member due to the COVID-19 pandemic; or
- To care for their child of an employee if the child’s school or place of care has been closed, or the child care provider is unavailable, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
District is expanding:
Part-time, hourly employees. As of March 13, 2020, LTCCD has temporarily expanded the use of part-time hourly employee sick leave until June 30, 2021. This expansion allows the use of all accrued sick leave by part-time hourly employees without limiting to the typical three-day maximum.
Option 3 (State):
California State Unemployment Insurance
(Employment Development Department)
The Governor’s Executive Order waives the one-week unpaid waiting period, so you can collect UI benefits for the first week you are out of work. If you are eligible, the EDD processes and issues payments within a few weeks of receiving a claim.
Workers who are temporarily unemployed due to COVID-19 and expected to return to work with their employer within a few weeks are not required to actively seek work each week. However, they must remain able, available, and ready to work during their unemployment for each week of benefits claimed and meet all other eligibility criteria.
Eligible individuals can receive benefits that range from $40-$450 per week.
If you have experienced a reduction in work hours or shut-down operations due to COVID-19, you can file an Unemployment Insurance (UI) claim. UI provides partial wage replacement benefit payments to workers who lose their job or have their hours reduced through no fault of their own.
Human Resources is set-up to support employees as they navigate this system.
Reallocation of Work
LTCC will attempt to reallocate part-time hourly or adjunct employees who experience a reduction in hours due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
If you have experienced a reduction in hours due to COVID-19, please email Human Resources at humanresources@ltcc.edu for possible reassignment.
All reassignments will be paid at a rate appropriate to the responsibility level of the work assigned.
LTCC cannot guarantee an equal number of hours or rate of pay the employee had prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. Employees may use a reduction in hours or pay in conjunction with state unemployment insurance.
TeleMedicine
- TCSIG Wellness Center eVisits, this FREE benefit for TCSIG members uses an online application will allow you to visit face-to-face
with one of our Nurse Practitioners via video-chat from your desktop or mobile device.
- To register go to the eVisit (https://app.evisit.com/ng/#/enroll/tcsigwellnesscenter) site to set up your telehealth account.
- Download the eVisit app for virtual visits on your mobile device.
- Click to see which generic medications and other designated supplies are FREE when you visit the TCSIG Wellness Center via eVisit! Arrives in 4-5 business days.
- PlushCare gives you 24/7/365 access to top U.S. doctors through the convenience of phone or video consults. That means you can talk to a doctor anytime you need care NOW
- LiveHealth Online, whether you’re at home in the middle of the night or in the middle of a road trip.
You can talk to a doctor any time of day, wherever you are. LiveHealth Online lets
you have face-to-face conversations with a doctor on your computer or mobile device.
It’s medical advice the moment you need it. No appointments. No waiting. So simple.
And it costs the same or less than you’d pay for a regular doctor visit.
- Download the LiveHealth Online app for virtual visits on your mobile device.
- FREE for TCSIG members on the premier, standard, and basic plans. Cost for CDHP plan members is $49 per visit.
- The cost is $49 per medical visit if you do not have insurance.
- Now you can see a psychologist or therapist at home in just a few days, using LiveHealth Online Psychology you can talk face-to-face with a licensed therapist or psychologist through high-definition video on your smartphone, tablet or computer with a webcam. Cost for per cognitive visit ranges from $89-$110 per visit.
Footnotes:
[1] First responders and health care providers are exempt.
[2] This leave is capped at $511 per day and $5,110 over a 2-week period.
[3] This leave is capped at $511 per day and $5,110 over a 2-week period.
[4] This leave is capped at $200 per day and $10,000 over a 12-week period (two weeks plus 10 weeks).