Emergency Paid Leave Act of 2020

[BobKamman]

Do you expect your clients to ask for help with this?  Are you ready for their questions?

The following is part of a House Appropriations Committee summary of  HR 6201, expected to pass the House tonight and be sent to the Senate for action as early as Monday. The final bill may not have the same provisions.  Edited:  Apparently this was not included -- it may be the subject of a separate bill.  

The program is administered by Social Security and it is expected that applications will be made online, by phone or by mail. As easy as a short form, right? And the phone lines will not have music on hold. But one of the questions will be how much income applicants had in the “most recent year of wages or self-employment income for which records are readily available.” (Note, there doesn’t seem to be an adjustment for those who earn most income in the first four months of the year.)

Note the final provision – benefits are not taxable.

DIVISION D – Emergency Paid Leave Act of 2020

Prepared by the Democratic staff of the House Committee on Ways and Means
Section 101. Short Title. The short title for the bill is the Emergency Paid Leave Act of 2020.

Section 102. Emergency Paid Leave Benefits. Amends the Social Security Act by inserting
after title V the following: Title VI-Emergency Paid Leave Benefits. This section creates a new
federal emergency paid leave benefits program as Title VI of the Social Security Act, consisting
of the following Social Security Act sections.

Section 601. Definitions. This section defines an “emergency leave day” as a day in which an
individual is unable to work due to one of four qualifying reasons related to COVID-19:
• The worker has a current diagnosis of COVID-19.
• The worker is quarantined (including self-imposed quarantine), at the instruction of a
health care provider, employer, or government official, to prevent the spread of COVID19.
• The worker is caring for another person who has COVID-19 or who is under a quarantine
related to COVID-19.
• The worker is caring for a child or other individual who is unable to care for themself due
to the COVID-19-related closing of their school, child care facility, or other care
program.
It also defines other key terms including “eligible individual,” which is someone who was
working in the thirty days before they were impacted by COVID-19.

Section 602. Emergency Paid Leave Benefits. This section creates a new federal emergency
paid leave benefit program. Eligible workers will receive a benefit for a month (up to three
months) in which they must take 14 or more days of leave from their work due to the qualifying
COVID-19-related reasons. Days when an individual receives pay from their employer (regular
wages, sick pay, or other paid time off) or unemployment compensation do not count as leave
days for purposes of this benefit.
The program will be administered by the Social Security Administration (SSA). Specifications
include the following:
• Benefit amount: Two-thirds of the individual’s average monthly earnings (based on the
most recent year of wages or self-employment income for which records are readily
available), up to a cap of $4,000.
• Program and benefit period: The benefits will be available for leave that occurs from
January 19, 2020 (the date of the first U.S. COVID-19 diagnosis) through one year after
the bill’s enactment.
• Retroactive benefits: Benefits can be paid retroactively, and applications can be filed up
to 6 months after enactment.
• Application: Applications will be taken online, by phone, or by mail. Individuals will not
visit SSA field offices to apply. Payments will in most cases be issued electronically.
• Program integrity: Applicants must attest that they meet the criteria for eligibility and
existing penalties for fraud or misrepresentation with regard to Social Security benefits
are applied to the federal emergency paid leave benefits program.
The program will operate in coordination with other relevant benefits and leave programs,
including:
• Protection of existing benefit rights: Existing benefit rights are protected, including any
rights to State or local paid leave benefits, and greater benefits are allowed including
under a contract, collective bargaining agreement, or other employment benefit program.
• Reduction based on receipt of state or private paid leave: Benefit amounts are offset
(reduced) dollar-for-dollar by the amount of any state or private paid leave benefit the
individual also receives.
• Reimbursement grants to States: States will be reimbursed for the total amount of these
offsets that are due to state-run or state-mandated paid leave programs.
• No effect on eligibility for SSI: Benefits paid under this program do not count as income
or resources for the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program.

Section 603. Funding and Expedited Implementation Authority. SSA will receive additional
direct (mandatory) funding for both the cost of the benefits and the cost of administering the
program. Treasury will receive additional direct (mandatory) funding for reimbursement of
states.

Section 604. Protection of Social Security Trust Funds. Social Security’s Trust Funds and
regular administrative budget will be kept separate from this new program and cannot be used to
administer or fund it.

Section 605. Taxation of Emergency Leave Benefits. Benefits paid under this program are not
subject to federal income taxes.

[sjrcpa]

We have already had clients ask for help. We are working on something to send them today.

[qbteachmt]

"Edited:  Apparently this was not included -- it may be the subject of a separate bill."

Until something is Finalized, I would never post these types of details. It helps to refer people to the proper links for monitoring, but now that all of this is posted here, you risk someone taking it as Fact.

There are so many listings of false guidance and mistaken understandings on the web; you don't want to further add to the confusion of what Passed and what did Not Pass.