U.S. Department of Labor Offers Webinar for Employers On Coronavirus-Related Paid Leave and Employee Safety

COLUMBUS, OH – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) will present a webinar for Ohio area employers and human resources professionals on the paid leave requirements of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) and safety guidance for returning to work and maintaining a safe and healthy working environment.

Department representatives will provide overviews of the FFCRA’s paid sick leave and expanded family and medical leave requirements; as well as workplace safety and health compliance with a special emphasis on OSHA’s coronavirus response. There will also be a segment for questions and answers.

WHAT:          Webinar on FFCRA Paid Leave, Workplace Safety and Health

WHEN:          Aug. 14, 2020, 10 a.m. EDT

WHERE:       Click here to register and join the event.

The FFCRA helps the U.S. combat and defeat the workplace effects of the coronavirus by giving tax credits to American businesses with fewer than 500 employees to reimburse the costs of providing employees with paid leave provided for reasons related to the coronavirus. Please visit WHD’s “Quick Benefits Tips” for information about how much leave workers may qualify to use, and the amounts employers must pay. The law enables employers to provide paid leave reimbursed by tax credits, while at the same time ensuring that workers are not forced to choose between their paychecks and the public health measures needed to combat the virus.

For further information about the coronavirus, please visit the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

WHD provides additional information on common issues employers and employees face when responding to the coronavirus and its effects on wages and hours worked under the Fair Labor Standards Act and on job-protected leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act at https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/pandemic. For more information about the laws enforced by WHD, call 866-4US-WAGE, or visit www.dol.gov/agencies/whd.

WHD’s mission is to promote and achieve compliance with labor standards to protect and enhance the welfare of the nation’s workforce. WHD enforces the federal minimum wage, overtime pay, recordkeeping and child labor requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act. WHD also enforces the Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act, the Employee Polygraph Protection Act, the Family and Medical Leave Act, wage garnishment provisions of the Consumer Credit Protection Act and a number of employment standards and worker protections as provided in several immigration related statutes. Additionally, WHD administers and enforces the prevailing wage requirements of the Davis Bacon Act and the Service Contract Act and other statutes applicable to federal contracts for construction and for the provision of goods and services.

Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, employers are responsible for providing safe and healthful workplaces for their employees. OSHA’s role is to help ensure these conditions for America’s working men and women by setting and enforcing standards, and providing training, education and assistance. For more information, visit https://www.osha.gov.

The mission of the Department of Labor is to foster, promote and develop the welfare of the wage earners, job seekers and retirees of the United States; improve working conditions; advance opportunities for profitable employment; and assure work-related benefits and rights.

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